HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 30 1989 Sebastian to Hire Airport Consultant6A, Wednesday, August30, 1989, Vero Beach, Fla., Press -Journal
Sebastian To Hire Airport Consultant
By PATRICIA DiLALLA
Sebastian Bureau Chief
Sebastian is ready to start
looking for an engineering consul-
tant now that all interested gov-
ernment agencies have approved
language for two documents that
will kick off the airport study pro-
ject.
According to a recent timetable
of events relating to. the renamed
Sebastian Municipal Airport Plan
and Community Compatibility
Study, a consultant is expected to
be hired by Oct. 6, begin the study
by Jan. 15, 1990, and -have a final
re ort completed by Nov. 1,1990.
p
The documents, a request for
consultant services and a brief
statement of program, were
approved by the Federal Aviation
Administration, city officials and
state officials with the Florida Di-
vision of Building Construction for
the Departmentof General Ser-
vices. The agencies are assisting
the city in putting together the
procedure to be followed.
The request for consultant ser-
vices, which will be advertised in
local and major state newspapers,
requests applicants' qualifications
to provide a wide range of services.
Those services would include
engineering and design, operations
survey and forecasting, noise study
and analysis, environmental
analysis and economic analysis
services.
Hotline Gets 44 Calls In Month
A breakdown of the first
month's calls to Sebastian's
airport complaint line shows
44 calls were received be-
tween July 18 and Aug. 17,
according to a report prepared
by the city clerk on Aug. 24.
The callers, some of whom
made more than one com-
plaint, relayed 54 complaints
of noise; low flying airplanes;
"The proposed study when com-
pleted, will serve as a foundation
for negotiations between the city
and the FAA, with input from
other interested parties, aimed at
determining the future role of the
Sebastian Municipal Airport," the
request says.
City Planner Peter Jones, Sebas-
tian's project coordinator, said
consultants who respond to the ads
will receive a brief statement of
program that outlines the tentative
scope of the work. A final scope of
work will be finalized during nego-
tiations with whoever wins the
project.
The goal of the study is to gener-
ate recommendations on the future
role of the airport and how it
should be changed or improved to
illegal touch and goes; the use
of runway 13 for takeoffs
and/or landings, despite the
lack of wind;: as well as miscel-
laneous complaints.
In addition to the complaints,
16 non -complaining calls were
received by the Sebastian
Answering Seivice from people
who said they liked the airport
or had no complaint about it.
make it compatible wltri the city s
community planning objectives,
federal objectives and the terms of
the deed that conveyed the land to
the city.
"An essential premise of the
study," the statement reads, "will
be that the airport's role and use
must be consistent with the overall
goals and needs of the city of Se-
bastian in property balance with
such appropriate federal objec-
tives.
"Rather than fitting the city of
Sebastian to the Sebastian Munici-
pal Airport or vice versa, the study
will attempt to identify ways to fit
the two together."
In making a choice of consultant,
the city will consider a consulting
firm's "exceptional experience" in
the various components of the
study and its track record of per-
formance in meeting specified time
and cost constraints, the statement
reads.
Responses to the city's request
for services must be received by
Sept. 22, according to the timeta-
ble, and a consultant will be chosen
by Oct. 6. Although the city has re-
sponsibility over the study, under
the terms of the standstill
agreement, the FAA has the right
to reject the city's choice for cause.
The agreement also provides for
"significant opportunity for input
from the FAA, the airport users,
the citizens of the city of Sebastian
and the citizens of the neighboring
community of Roseland."
Once a consultant is chosen, the
city will apply to the FAA by Nov.
1 for the grant agreed to in the
standstill agreement. If all goes as
scheduled, the FAA is expected to
make its grant offer by Dec. 1 and
the city to accept it by Dec. 31.
The project is expected to begin
by Jan. 15 and a draft study Avail-
able Aug. 1. Jones said he expects
the draft to include 80 percent of
the final report, less definitive con-
clusions and recommendations and
whatever data the consultant
might still be collecting.
The final study will be due Nov.
1.