Officers Present: Jerry Dunn (president), John Holcombe (vice president), Pat
Dunlap (safety officer), Charles Cantrell (treasurer) Tedd Payne (outreach
Jerry started the meeting at 10:00 am with an announcement that the future turf
runway was seeded using a slicing machine that buries the seed just below the
surface. Kudos to Jerry for running the machine! There was a nice rain before and
a day or two after the seed went down.
The NeST field has a temporary water well that will supply water to the new turf.
This well is a “monitoring well” related to the de-watering project. Because of
that de-watering process going on along 166 th , the purpose of which is to lower
the water table to allow a stable area for the new sewer line, we likely will not
have sufficient water in the well until early spring of 2024. But the water table is
naturally about 13 feet below the surface in our field’s location, so we should
have sufficient NON-POTABLE water for our watering needs. There was some
discussion about how to get the water from the well to the turf. The idea had
been to cut the GeoTextile, dig a trench to bury a pvc line, and repair the GeoTex.
Jim David cautioned against that approach because the ‘trenched’ area would
never be flat again. With that great advice, John volunteered to investigate the
cost of renting a directional drilling machine that would allow us to install PVC
across but under the runway.
Charles presented the treasurer’s report. With the field’s improvements this year,
Charles has been very busy keeping good records and paying bills. The monthly
electric bill is around $20, with a basic fee of $13/month. In the past, the porta
potty has been removed from the field during the winter to reduce the monthly
cost. However, after discussion, the members present decided that we’d like to
keep it on the premises year-round, primarily because there are no restroom
facilities close by for the folks who fly on nice winter days. Charles reminded folks
that to get reimbursed for any Club expense, he must have a reimbursement form
completed along with RECEIPTS for the expenditure. The Club has approximately
$3,800 in the NeST account.
There was discussion about the Club’s status as an LLC (limited liability
corporation) and our tax reporting status. Irving Materials Inc, (IMI), asked that
we receive an LLC designation to allow our lease to go forward. Jerry volunteered
to speak with Jeff Uchino (attorney member) about tax reporting requirements.
John Holcombe reported that he will build some shelving for the new storage
shed. Bob, another member present, mentioned that he already has built some
shelving like that of the charging shelf he built. John and Bob will work together
on future shelving.
Pat presented his safety report:
A member lost control of his aircraft and it crash-landed ON BODEN ROAD.
A courteous motorist returned the plane to the NeST field. Pat strongly
reiterated that we are most likely one serious mishap away from losing the
right to have our flying field. He reminded all members that aircraft should
not congregate between the runway and Boden Road. On the day of the
incident, we had the AMA Foundation guests and at times there were more
than four aircraft in the air at one time. When waiting to land, all pilots
should keep their aircraft east of the runway. Pat also reminded pilots that
we should be competent at both right hand and left-hand patterns.
A second (potential) incident involved a member who hand-launched an
aircraft well behind the pilots’ stands. Pat reminded members that there is
a taxiway between the yellow hold-short line and the pilots’ stands. That
area should be used for taxiing aircraft or hand launching. There should be
no turning propellers at any time behind the white pilots’ stands.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned about 10:45 am.
Respectfully submitted,
John Holcombe
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