FAA Requesting More Info
September
5, 2014
Oakdale
Leader
By Richard
Paloma
The Stanislaus Civil Grand Jury
has made a formal request to the City of Oakdale for records pertaining to the
operation and maintenance of Oakdale Municipal Airport according to an Aug. 27
letter shared by Oakdale City Manager Bryan Whitemyer.
“We welcome the opportunity to
present any and all airport information to the Grand Jury,” said Whitemyer on
Sept. 5. “We want to be as transparent as possible.”
Earlier this year the city was
notified of a Federal Aviation Administration investigation regarding
accusations it was violating portions of its grants assurances sections as it
applied to the condition and operation of the facility. That complaint
surrounded four violations of three separate grant assurance sections regarding
economic nondiscrimination, operations and maintenance, and its fee and rental
structure.
“The Grand Jury doesn’t say
we’re ‘under investigation’ so much as they’re just requesting information,”
Whitemyer said. “It’s really no different than a Public Information Request.”
Whitemyer said he was unaware
of any Grand Jury subpoenas or summons issued to any city personnel.
The Grand Jury letter comes on
the heels of a letter received by the city from the FAA dated Aug. 22 which
stated that their May 5 response to their original investigation demonstrated
that the city “…has adequately planned or implemented actions to maintain the
safe and efficient operations of the airport.”
The FAA’s letter, by Airports
Compliance Specialist Robert Lee, notified the city that their May 5 response,
however, lacked sufficient information to make a determination regarding the
non-aeronautical use of facilities by Sierra West Airlines and the accusation
of charging “unequitable or too low of rental rates to certain airport
tenants.”
In March 2013, the Oakdale City
Council voted to raise rents for all the airport hangar tenants, but city
officials later cut a closed-door deal with Sierra West allowing the business
to pay only $1350 per hangar rent for each of the two facilities that the
council announced was going to be billed at $2,000 each or $4,000 total.
Sierra West has been mentioned
by many airport tenants for not strictly operating aeronautical activities at
the Laughlin Road facility. Even the city has acknowledged that the company
only uses two of its three rented hangars for airport activities, using one for
storage for its family-owned property rental business.
A July 28 article in The Leader
also revealed that Sierra West Vice-President Kyra Robinson-Busam was using the
Sierra West offices to conduct a real estate/property management business
within the facility.
The FAA also requested
clarification on the “actual cost” of the airport’s liability insurance,
explaining that their information showed the city only paid $3,800 from the
state’s annual grant but listed amounts of $14,000 - $16,000 on their budgets.
“The $3,800 is the liability
insurance for crashes and other liabilities of the airport, not necessarily the
hangars,” Whitemyer said, explaining that the $14,000 to $16,000 was a small
portion of the city-wide premium. “I can’t speak to other cities or airports,
but just in liability insurance from our general fund is over $100,000.”
Whitemyer explained that the
city belonged to a 56-city pool for workman’s compensation and liability
insurance known as the San Joaquin Risk Management Authority.
“In the eyes of the FAA we’re
still in good standing since we’re getting accepted for grant funding,”
Whitemyer said.
In the
last two years the city has received, or is in the process of receiving, grants
totaling over $550,000 including one recently for $58,000 for erosion control
and a $397,000 grant late last year for security fencing and taxiway
modifications
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