Airport Newsletter June 2021

Posted on June 2, 2021


Water Conservation

Pursuant to North Marin Water District’s water use prohibitions per Conservation Ordinance 41, starting in June the airport’s wash rack will be CLOSED Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for water conservation. All irrigation systems will be turned off as well. Please plan accordingly and observe the closure and do your part to conserve! Also, during this period, we ask that you wash aircraft only, no personal vehicles please.

July 2021 CPI Increase

Please be aware that on your July 2021 statements, the monthly fees will be increased by the recently published April 2021 CPI of 3.8% on all month-to-month accounts. Also, please check your monthly statements from the Department of Finance and bring any outstanding fees up to date as soon as possible.

COVID-19 Status

June 15 marks a great day for Marin County and California as the state lifts most COVID-19 restrictions. However, please be prepared to follow any posted instructions for entering the County building and have a mask ready and available if needed. For more information, please check out these websites for updates:

https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/covid-19-status-update-06142021

https://covid19.ca.gov/

Skydive Operations

As many of you may know, Michael Knight sold his Skydive business to Tyler Wareham from NorCal Skydiving LLC. Tyler has notified us that he will begin operations soon and pilots should be aware of possible parachute operations in the area.

Request for Qualifications: Airport Consulting Firms

In April, the County put out a request for qualifications (RFQ) for an airport consultant consisting of Airport Planning, Architecture/Engineering, Environmental, and Consulting Services. County staff interviewed consultant firms to provide design, planning, engineering, construction management and environmental review/approval services associated with airfield improvements identified on the Airport Capital Improvement Plan (ACIP) for funding the next five (5) years. The County is currently in the process of negotiating contracts with two firms for these functions and will be bringing the proposals to the Board of Supervisors in the very near future.

General Airport Issues and Requests:

Noise Abatement Procedures

Noise sensitive residents occupy homes to the south and southeast of the airport. Please follow the Noise Abatement Procedures. Please, no straight in approaches to runway 31 and no straight-out departures from runway 13 over the homes. It truly helps with the noise for our neighbors to the south!

Unauthorized Contractors and Mechanics

A permit must be obtained from the Airport Manager prior to any mechanical work or aircraft detailing services performed at Gnoss Field. Any aircraft/hanger owner who hires unauthorized contractors to work on Gnoss Field will be held responsible for allowing unauthorized work to be performed at the airport. If tenants are found to violate Marin County Code (see below for specifics), fines will be accessed to both the aircraft and/or hanger owner.

  • Marin County Code 12.04.050 – Business activities: No person shall use the airport in any manner whatsoever for any commercial, profit, gainful,  or revenue producing purpose, including, without limitation, flight instruction or mechanical work, without written approval of Marin County. No person shall distribute, post or display any commercial or noncommercial signs, circulars, handbills or advertisements on the airport without the consent of the airport manager. No person shall solicit funds for any purpose on the airport.
  • Marin County Code 12.04.210 – Violations: Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

Aircraft Storage Permits and Insurance

Please update your information with current aircraft and contact information on your space at Gnoss Field. Per the County Aircraft Storage Permit for habitually situated aircraft:
“All Permittees agree to disclose all aircraft he/she has caused to locate on the Airport and shall be financially responsible for these aircraft or for any other access onto the property granted by this permit. Any owner shall furnish the County, in advance of arrival of the aircraft, evidence of financial responsibility in the minimum requirements of: $1,000,000 combined single limit coverage with exception of per/passenger sub-limit of $100,000.”

Please use the following link to update your hangar and aircraft information:
http://bit.ly/AircraftStorageForm

Trash and Recycle Bins

Please only put allowed items in the Trash and Recycle dumpsters. Items that are not allowed are still being discarded in the dumpsters and the airport is getting charged extra for these items. Staff will now be closely monitoring the video cameras and contacting offenders to recover these extra fees.

Also, please DO NOT leave ANY items outside the dumpster enclosures. The only acceptable fluid in the recycle shed is used aircraft motor oil. Please do not leave propane tanks, electronics, paints, thinners, or any type of solvents. These are not recyclable and hazmat service providers are very expensive to discard these items. This is an ongoing problem and staff may have to place locks on the dumpsters and the recycle shed if this persists. Thank you for your help and corporation!

FAA Hangar Use Policy and Sponsor Responsibilities

The primary purpose of Gnoss Field hangars must be for Aircraft Storage. If no aircraft is in your hangar, the hangar must be empty. Staff will be following up with individual hangar owners that have no aircraft associated to their hangar.
As an Airport Sponsor who accepts Federal airport grants, the County is bound by the conditions and assurances in the associated grant agreements. These obligations include grant assurances related to use of hangars and other designated aeronautical facilities on the airport for exclusively aeronautical purposes.

Please follow the link below for more information:
http://bit.ly/HangerUseFAA

Vehicle/Trailer Parking on the Airport Operations Area (AOA)

All vehicles must be parked inside your hangar for overnight flights. There is no long-term parking on the airport AOA. Vehicles that are parked on the AOA for extended periods of time (overnight) will receive notice that vehicles parked should be inside your hangar or the long-term parking areas outside the AOA. Upon a second notice of parking violations, your vehicles may be towed at the vehicle owners’ expense.

Thank you and fly safe!

For further questions or comments, please contact:
Dan Jensen, Airport Manager, at (415) 897-1754 or djensen@marincounty.org

 

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