Brewster City Council hears update on Airport Master Plan

BREWSTER – Members of the Brewster City Council heard the latest developments on the Airport Master Plan for Anderson Field at their regular monthly meeting on Sept. 12.
Consultant Steve Marshall of J-U-B Engineers, Inc. in Spokane brought Working Paper No.1 of the project that he said is about 35 percent on the road – or runway – to completion.
Marshall’s reported touched on all the key players in the Plan’s development:
• The Airport Committee serves at the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that makes plan recommendations to the City Council.
• J-U-B in guiding the process refers exhibits, drawings, presentations, and recommendations to the TAC.
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves plan forecasts, comments during the process, and reviews plan updates.
• The Washington State Department of Transportation also comments during the plan process and reviews the plan update.
• The Brewster City Council gives the final approval.

Marshall’s review revealed that 32 based aircraft, including 12 helicopters, use Anderson Field and that Life flight and wildland fire aircraft are important users.
Marshall’s projections estimate that based helicopters will increase from the present 12 to nearly double that, 21, in 20 years.

Among the topics the plan will address for the next update will be Global Positioning System (GPS) approaches, more airport apron space for helos, long-term runway length, land use and zoning, and FAA design standards.

The Airport Master Plan was undertaken “to provide the city with a development program to meet aviation needs in the short, intermediate and long-range planning periods,” the Working Paper said.

The plan will also help city administrators use the data to guide local decisions regarding airport infrastructure investment.