Committee Meeting Information

November 9, 2006

Room H10, Capitol Building

Cheyenne, Wyoming

 

Committee Members Present

Senator Henry “Hank” Coe

Senator Grant Larson

Representative Floyd Esquibel

Representative Pete Illoway

 

Committee Members Absent

Representative Tom Walsh

 

Legislative Service Office Staff

John H. Rivera, Senior Staff Attorney

 

Others Present at Meeting

Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.

 

Executive Summary

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 Wyoming air services from Great Lakes Airlines.

 

Call To Order

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.

 

Air Services Enhancement Program

Ms. Shelly Reams, Administrator, Aeronautics Division, distributed the following:

 

 

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 Wyoming.  She said the airports in Casper, Cody, Gillette, Jackson, Riverton and Rock Springs had applied for air service enhancement grants.  Senator Larson requested a summary of the flow of funds from the air services enhancement account to show that some funds are being returned to the account from airports that applied for funding to improve services.  The returned funds demonstrate that the program is a success because increased emplanements at the airports that requested the funds resulted in the airports not having to use the funds for revenue guarantees to the airlines serving those airports.  The air services enhancement account is thus being used as a revolving account.

 

Northwest Wyoming Helicopter Request

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.

 

State Plane Usage Analysis¾Status Report

Ms. Reams stated that the Aeronautics Division has hired a fleet analysis expert from Atlanta, Georgia, to evaluate the efficiencies of state officials and employees using the state planes to conduct business statewide versus using ground transportation for those purposes.  The results of that study have not yet been completed, but it is clear that usage of the current state aircraft fleet has been maximized.  The Division has no plans to increase the fleet because there is no stream of funding for the purchase of additional aircraft or to meet operating and maintenance costs for those aircraft.  Ms. Reams said that the data shows for the average state employee the cost for travel on the state plane is $.92/ mile, compared to $1.17/mile for ground transportation or commercial flights.  For executive level employees the costs are $.99/mile on the state plane versus $1.49/mile for ground transportation or commercial flights.  In response to questions from the Committee, Mr. Reams and Director John Cox, WDOT, stated these estimated costs do not factor in the savings gained by WDOT needing fewer geologists because they can fly to more sites in a day than they could if driving in a car, nor does it include savings from per diem costs that are not paid because overnight travel is avoided by the use of the state plane.  Ms. Reams estimated that the analysis should be completed by the end of November.

 

State Hangar¾Status Report

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. 

 

Great Lakes Airlines¾Wyoming Services Update

Mr. Chuck Howell, Great Lakes Airlines, described the Gillette, Rock Springs and Riverton Airports as success stories for Wyoming because of the energy boom.   Each of the airports has had a record year for emplanements.  Even the Cheyenne airport is showing double digit increase in traffic, despite its proximity to Denver International Airport.  Great Lakes Airlines may look at the possibility of establishing intra-state air service at some day in the future if airport traffic in Wyoming continues to improve, but that day is still not close at hand.

 

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.

 

Public comment

Mr. Scott Hinderman, Cheyenne Municipal Airport, spoke on behalf of the Wyoming Airport Operators Association.  He reiterated that the state needs to provide more funding to meet the infrastructure needs of airports. The airport loan program wasn't used much because if unfavorable interest rates and because the program was relatively new and the airport operators didn't know enough about the program to use it effectively.

 

Mr. Jerry DeLano, Chairman, Aeronautics Commission, thanked the Committee for its consideration of issues that are important to the Commission and air services in Wyoming.

 

Other Business

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.

 

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Illoway adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Representative Pete Illoway, Chairman

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