Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Creswell's position on skydiving questioned

A report says the risk posed by allowing skydiving at the city's airport is manageable

By Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

But first, click here and check this out. Also click on the video, it's great.
What a joy to see this lovely woman enjoy a skydive with Urban Moore of Eugene Skydivers. This is a day and airport she will remember forever.

CRESWELL - A new consultant's report questions the city's position that skydiving poses unacceptable risks at Creswell Airport. It also urges the City Council to set clearer airport policies and hold the city administrator and airport manager accountable for improving relationships with unhappy airport users.

Council members received copies of the report last week from Jim Johnson, a former acting Creswell city administrator. They hired Johnson to advise them on airport issues, including tensions between airport manager Shelley Humble and some airport users, including Eugene Skydivers and Wright Brothers Skydiving.

The rival companies in 2006 lost their long-standing right to land customers in a "drop zone" on Hobby Field east of the runway and on nearby state-owned land. Both city and state officials cited liability concerns following complaints by some pilots that the skydiving operations posed a safety hazard at the airfield.

Bringing back skydiving would increase risks to general aviation at Hobby Field, consultant Johnson acknowledged in his report to the council. But he called such risks "manageable" if the city works with skydiving operators to craft a safety plan and the operators abide by its terms. Eugene Skydivers owner Urban Moore and Wright Brothers owner David Wright said they were pleased with Johnson's recommendation that the city revisit the skydiving issue, but had only guarded hopes that things will change.

"We have asked the city three other times since we've been off the airport to negotiate with us or at least to open up the communication lines so we can develop some kind of process," said Moore. He won county permission in 2007 to land skydivers on a farmer's field several miles north of the airport, but the arrangement increases both overhead costs and his turnaround time between jumps. "I'm going to be out of business shortly," Moore said. "This has knocked my business down by better than 60 percent."

Wright said the city's action has already "pretty well destroyed" his 18-year business at the airfield. He stopped scheduling jumps last summer after the county denied his application to drop skydivers on a farmer's field just off the airport. The city urged the county to deny his proposal, again citing safety concerns.

Wright expressed hope that Johnson's report might end a Catch-22 situation in which city officials say they cannot sign a new safety agreement with the skydiving companies because of Federal Aviation Administration safety concerns, while the FAA based its safety concerns on the lack of a signed safety agreement.

In his report, Johnson also calls on the city administrator to draft "measurable goals" for Humble that include "rebuilding and managing in a positive manner" relationships with users who've long complained she plays favorites. The administrator should "personally assist" Humble and closely monitor her progress, Johnson said, adding: "If relationships do not improve, then the administrator should use the powers of his office to make appropriate changes."

Johnson also urged the city to draw up a contract that delineates Humble's dealings with her husband, who runs a private aviation business on the airport, citing "the appearance of a conflict of interest." "The agreement would ensure that no real conflict arises," wrote Johnson. An independent fact-finder hired by the city in 2006 found no evidence of Humble using her city office to benefit her husband's business. She has managed the airport since Creswell purchased it from private owners in 2000. Humble declined comment, saying acting city administrator Jamon Kent had advised her to wait until the council takes up the report, which it is scheduled to discuss March 10.

At least one councilor, David Case, plans to respond to the report at tonight's council meeting. The report also includes a summary of a Jan. 22 town hall meeting on airport issues that drew 60 people. Of 24 people who testified, a majority seemed to support Humble, Johnson said, but others were sharply critical of her leadership style.

Airport user Jerry Norcia, who attended the meeting, praised Johnson for "an excellent job" summarizing airport issues and tensions and urged the council to adopt his recommendations and "get ahold of the situation." "We need a fresh start," he said.

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