It was with great sorrow that the community learned today of the sudden passing of Airport Commission Chair Rick Brown.  He suffered a devastating stroke while attending as a speaker at a health conference in Kentucky.  Rick was 70 years old.  Our heartfelt condolences go out to Rick’s family in this time of loss.  He will be sorely missed by us all, the community has lost a powerful advocate, and many of us a friend and wise councilor.

The following new data was presented at the April 23, 2012 Airport Commission ‘Visioning Workshop’ Meeting:

SMO – Economic Review – Presented by Commissioner Goddard
SMO – Legal Agreement Review – Presented by Jonathan Stein, Attorney
SMO – Airport Proprietor Rights – Presented by Phillip Tate, Attorney
SMO – What we can do Now and in 2015 – Presented by Commissioners P. Donald and D. Goddard

Results & Analysis of CASMAT Visioning Survey – Presented by John Fairweather, CASMAT
     ( detailed report available here. Raw results available 1-here, 2-here, and 3-here )

Ocean Park Assoc. Airport Visioning Survey Results – Presented by Michele Perrone, OPA

Land Use Evaluation – Presented by Matt Ottoson, David Koo, Michael K Woo (Dean – Environmental Design) – Cal State Polytechnic University

The meeting was heavily attended and highly informative and many attendees expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the commission and presenters to inform the public.  Unfortunately, it seems there were no attendees from City visioning staff, and, in a break from the norm, neither Airport Service Director Bob Trimborn, nor Director of Public Works Martin Pastucha attended any of the presentations or discussions.

Of note is the fact that the Ocean Park Association survey results indicate that 84% of respondents wish the airport either closed or its effects mitigated.  This corresponds very closely to the 82% of respondents in the CASMAT survey that feel the same way.  The close correlation between these two independent surveys validates the statistical accuracy of both.

Myla Reson who attended the meeting has posted the following YouTube videos of portions, primarily the presentation by Jonathan Stein 1-here, 2-here, 3-here and 4-here.