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On Thursday, July 30th, 2009 we had a meeting kicking off the Committee that will be formed per the State's Resolution SJR#3. Those in attendance were:
- Steven Horsford, Nevada Senate Majority Leader and sponsor of SJR#3
- Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Nevada Assemblywoman, co-sponor of SJR#3
- Tom Collins, Commissioner Clark County Board of Commissioners
- Robert Eliason, Councilman, City of Las Vegas
- Randy Walker, Director of the Clark County Department of Aviation
- Rosemary Vassiliadis, Deputy Director Clark County Department of Aviation
- Cecil Johnson, Assistant Director General Aviation for the Clark County Department of Aviation
- Pete Yiakos, Las Vegas FSDO Office Manager, FAA
- David Lerner, President of the Clark County Aviation Association
- David Edwards, Vice President of the Clark County Aviation Association
- Stacy Howard, Western Region Representative Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association
- Kathleen Vasconceios, Director, Safety EducationPrograms, AOPA Air Safety Foundation
- Scott Fuller, Deputy Chief, Las Vegas Fire Department
- Ben Czyzewski, Manager of the North Las Vegas Airport
- Dennis Anderson, Manager of Henderson Executive Airport
- Doug McNeely, Senior Management Analyst
Although invited to the meeting, neither Commissioner Weekly or Ricky Barlow ( LV City Council) attended, in fact they never even sent their regrets.
Also in attendance seated in the "guest" area were local members of the CCAA and AOPA.
Below is my general perception of the meeting:
Although Dave Lerner provided the "leg-work" organizing the meeting and arranging for a convenient time for all to meet, Mr. Walker took it upon himself to Chair the proceedings. Rather than get into a "procedural argument " that could have easily de-railed the process, Mr. Lerner took the high road and allowed Mr. Walker his moment in the sun. What was disturbing about this was Mr. Walker's last minute decision to attend the meeting and then announce one half hour before that he demanded to position himself as Chair.
To Mr. Walker's credit, he did run a good meeting, recognizing all the participants at the table and followed with a review of the events to date.
Senator Horsford's comments were extremely brief in nature. He did mention that his original statistics were in error, and he was under pressure from his constituents to do something. It was not the time to debate his motives or question his knowledge of aviation.
Assemblywoman Kirkpatrick"s comments were also brief with many of her concerns appearing unrelated to SJR#3.
A roundtable discussion on safety in the valley was the next order of business. Dan Markoff presented his take on a few items, one in particular, the tendency to allow the traffic pattern to extend beyond reasonable limits. Jess Meyers pointed out his concerns on essentially be profiled as a "high risk" just because he flies an experimental aircraft. I stepped out for just a moment only to return with Tom Collins and Jess finishing up what appeared to be a heated argument. At that point, Assemblywoman Kirkpatrick left the meeting.
Nothing was really decided by any of the parties, basically it gave all participants a chance to meet each other and, of course, Randy Walker a chance to get more media coverage.
The CCAA Board of Directors will be meeting this Thursday to finalize how we will present the CCAA's position during the upcoming Committee meetings. At the present time, Cecil Johnson is trying to determine who will be representing what position. I believe that he is trying his best to come up with a good mix of individuals and he is coordinating that effort with Dave Lerner.
Until the positions are officially filled, I hesitate to speculate at this time, however, I can say that the CCAA will be well represented.
I will pass on any additional information as I receive it.
Dave Edwards
Vice President CCAA
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