November 9, 2006
Room H10,
Senator Henry “Hank” Coe
Senator Grant Larson
Representative Floyd Esquibel
Representative Pete Illoway
Representative Tom Walsh
John H. Rivera, Senior Staff Attorney
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the
Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
The Committee met
for one day at the State Capitol. The
Committee considered issues presented by the Wyoming Aeronautics Division,
including airport needs in the state, the air services marketing campaign, a
proposal for a helicopter to be used by emergency services in the Northwest
Wyoming area and a study of the usage of state aircraft, as well as an update
of
Chairman Illoway
called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by
topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to
review the Committee Meeting Agenda.
Ms. Shelly Reams,
Administrator, Aeronautics Division, distributed the following:
Appendix 3, Aviation Infrastructure
Funding Levels;
Appendix 4, Report on the Air Service
Enhancement Program;
Appendix 5,
Appendix 6, Aircraft Operating Cost
Report.
Ms. Reams described
the funding needs of airports throughout the state and the lack of funds to
meet some of those needed projects (Appendix 3). The Division will be requesting an additional
$18 million in its supplemental budget request in an attempt to meet the most
pressing of those projects. The airport
projects listed in Appendix 3 are off the existing priority list and the
runways may become unusable before they can be placed on the priority
list. Senator Larson advised the
Division and the Aeronautics Commission to prioritize the listed projects so
legislators could consider the individual requests in terms of greatest
need. Ms. Reams explained that the
airports on the list would receive state funding as soon as the local airport
raises the matching funds necessary to qualify for the state funds, thus making
it difficult to prioritize the airport projects on the list, based on need
alone. She said that the Division and
Commission will nevertheless attempt to prioritize the projects on the list.
Ms. Amber Schlabs
described the Air Service Enhancement Marketing Campaign (Appendix 4). The marketing campaign was structured after
research by CCT Advertising. She explained the focus point discussion group
process that arrived at what consumers considered the most important concerns
airlines should address to improve air services in
Ms. Reams introduced
Tom Gould, Chief Pilot, and Pete Gosar, Pilot, Aeronautics Division, who along
with Teton County Sheriff Bob Zimmer, would explain the needs assessment
contained in Appendix 5 and the possible ways to address the need for an
emergency service helicopter to be used by the counties of Northwest
Wyoming. Senator Larson suggested the
proposal could be presented to the Legislature for some initial funding to
purchase a helicopter, but there has to be a more developed regional approach
by the county officials to show their commitment to meet the on-going costs for
the helicopter program. The Committee
recommended further development of information on the proposal before
presenting it to the Legislature.
Senator Coe stated the Aeronautics Division should make a presentation
to the Joint Appropriations Interim Committee for the funds (estimated at
between $7 and $30 thousand) to conduct the study and develop the necessary
information for further consideration by the Legislature.
Ms. Reams stated
that the Aeronautics Division has hired a fleet analysis expert from
Ms. Cheryl Bean,
Aeronautics Division, described the current status of the hangar that is being
built for state aircraft. The hangar
should be completed by February, 2007.
Mr. Chuck Howell,
Great Lakes Airlines, described the Gillette,
Mr. Doug Voss, Great
Lakes Airlines, added that the bankruptcy filings of Northwest Airlines and
Delta Airlines have helped the recent financial successes of Great Lakes
Airlines. The company is in the process
of adding to its fleet of airplanes by purchasing 4 Brasilias next Spring. As the aging fleet of 1900s are phased out,
they will also be replaced by Brasilias.
Mr. Scott Hinderman,
Mr. Jerry DeLano,
Chairman, Aeronautics Commission, thanked the Committee for its consideration
of issues that are important to the Commission and air services in
Chairman Illoway
advised the Committee of legislation he may propose to authorize the Committee
to sponsor legislation. After discussion
of the ramifications of the legislation, the Committee took no action on the
proposed legislation.
There being no
further business, Chairman Illoway adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Representative Pete
Illoway, Chairman