Greetings and Happy 55th Anniversary of San Marcos' acquisition of HYI!
On February 14, 1966, the Department of Defense officially deeded our Airport to the City of San Marcos and thank you President Johnson! While a lot has changed in the ensuing 5+ decades, one critical characteristic of this former United States War Department facility that has persevered is its overall reliability and dependability. Record floods, heat, droughts, and last week's artic weather invasion may have caused a few knockdowns, but never a knockout. This month let's salute the enduring strength of our Airport and be thankful for the City's foresight to acquire Gary Air Force Base.
I also need to recognize and thank our TAP crew that dedicated countless hours last week to monitor the daily situation of HYI. Stacey Batch, who fortunately lives minutes away (she might not agree with fortunately), led the week-long effort while working in dangerous and miserable conditions to provide real time, accurate assessments of airport conditions. Kolby Bullard, our Maintenance wizard was right there with her. We're grateful for his commonsense experience with evaluating, correcting, and repairing many airport systems and equipment that didn't respond well to single-digit temperatures. Cassidy Berenato handled the daily critical communications with all our constituents from the comfort of her home, while enjoying a balmy inside temperature of 58 degrees.
This uncontrollable event often brought out the best in people, and we witnessed it big time with these dedicated folks. Thank you, Stacey, Kolby, and Cassidy, for demonstrating your loyalty and commitment to our airport and the community we serve.
Jim Wimberly
Partner
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MONTHLY TRAFFIC OPERATIONS |
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The final count for traffic operations in 2020 are in and we saw a 22% increase in takeoffs and landings!
As you're aware, we have requested extended Air Traffic Control operating hours from the FAA and are still awaiting a response. We'll report back as soon as more information is available.
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Annual total operations by year:
2017: 66,781
2018: 59,679
2019: 63,955
2020: 78,010
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We had an all-time high traffic day on January 29 with 546 operations. This is the first time to ever have operations over 500 in a day! Over the years our annual operations have increased as well as our monthly averages.
We monitor operations each month to help us secure funding for future airport projects and improvements. The operations (aircraft landings and takeoffs) are counted every day during the Air Traffic Control Tower's hours of 7:00am to 7:00pm. Operations that occur outside of these hours are not tracked.
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HANGAR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS |
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A Request for Proposal (RFP) for a hangar will be issued on Monday, March 1 and will be available for download here: http://sanmarcostx.gov/bids.aspx. Please download the full RFP document for information on the site tour and deadline for submissions.
The hangar, located at 1991 Airport Drive, is 4,800 square feet (80’ wide x 60’ deep) with manual sliding doors with a clear opening of 16.10’ high and 60’ wide.
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VAST Concerts & Events LLC announced today that they are moving forward with Go
Wheels Up! Texas scheduled for May 29-30, 2021 at the San Marcos Regional Airport. The event, an air show, car show and concert hosted by Texas musician Cory
Morrow was first held in 2019 but was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
“We’re all relieved and excited to get to do an event this year,” says Morrow. “We believe in giving San Marcos and Central Texas something to look forward to during these turbulent times. We just want to bring everyone together and celebrate what’s great about America and Texas. It’s going to be an incredible weekend and we hope everybody in the community comes out to see what we have, what San Marcos has.”
The air show will feature the United States Air Force F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, along with several performances by some of the top aerobatic pilots and skydivers in the nation. The car show will showcase hundreds of classic, exotic and unique automobiles from across the state and Cory Morrow himself will headline the entertainment lineup which will also feature other well-known local and regional performers.
“Of course, our central concern is the safety of our spectators, performers and staff,” says Go Wheels Up! Texas’ director of operations Clayton Corn when asked about the ongoing pandemic. “We will be monitoring all available information regarding public health and we will act in accordance with directives from city, county and state officials.”
Mayor of San Marcos, Jane Hughson, said, “I attended Go Wheels Up in 2019 and I thought it was fabulous! The air show, car show, and music certainly provided a full weekend of fun. I am encouraged to hear that planning of the event is moving forward with preventive measures included in case we’re still dealing with effects of COVID-19 and gatherings at the end of May.”
Clayton Corn continued, “We are moving forward under the assumption that the pressure on the healthcare system will ease by the end of May to a point that we all feel it’s appropriate to hold a large outdoor event. Should we need to incorporate social distancing and other precautions, we are certainly including that in our planning.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale February 8. Sponsorship, vendor and volunteer opportunities are also available. For more information, visit Go Wheels Up! Texas or email info@gowheelsup.live.
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MASTER PLAN PRESENTATION DATE CHANGE |
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The Master Plan will be presented to City Council on Tuesday, April 6 at 3:00pm. We will sent out a link to the meeting as the date approaches. |
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YOUTH ORIENTED EAA CHAPTER SEEKS DONATED HANGAR SPACE |
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EAA Chapter 958 of San Marcos, a 501(c)3 corporation, is seeking a hangar space donation or lease at KHYI. Our Chapter mission focuses on the fostering of aviation with the community and especially the youth. Our members provide free flights for youth ages 8 to 17 and are looking for a facility that could serve as a home base. It would be used to hold student workshops, have student aircraft builds and provide classroom space.
We currently work with the Byron Steele High School JrROTC, the San Marcos High School JrROTC , the Lockhart High School JrROTC and individual students from local schools who have an interest in aviation or STEAM programs. We also work to provide a chapter scholarship to a deserving student each year for the EAA Advanced Air Academy in Oshkosh, WI and assist in applications to other EAA scholarships.
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SAN MARCOS URGED TO REPORT STORM DAMAGES TO FEMA |
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San Marcos Daily Record
The City of San Marcos urges its residents and businesses to report any damages from last week’s winter storm to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as soon as possible.
As temperatures rise, people across the state have begun to assess problems caused by the unprecedented winter weather experienced this past week, from busted water pipes to roof repairs.
Hays County is among 77 counties across the state currently eligible for Individual Assistance from FEMA. Reporting damages to FEMA ensures residents, business owners and the city will receive federal resources to aid in recovery efforts.
Residents can apply for disaster assistance online by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov. Once on the site, select the “Apply Online” tab to begin a new application. During the application process, remember to select “snow/ice” as the cause of the damage reported as a result of the recent winter weather event.
Residents applying for both home and business disaster assistance are only required to complete one registration form. To complete the application, be prepared with the Social Security number of the applicant or the Social Security number of household minor child, annual household income, contact information including phone number and addresses as well as insurance information, company name and policy coverage.
In order to review registration status online, an email address is required. Residents applying without providing an email address will be required to contact FEMA for status updates.
Anyone without computer or internet access is welcome to use the lobby computer lab at the San Marcos Public Library, 625 East Hopkins Street, to complete the online disaster assistance application. The lobby will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Guests are encouraged to bring their own devices to connect to the internet as a limited number of library computers are available. Individual assistance from staff will not be available and the main portion of the library remains closed to the public due to COVID-19 concerns. All visitors are asked to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
For more information or to apply for assistance without using a computer, call the FEMA Disaster Assistance Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. TTY users can call 1-800-462-7585.
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Implementing Region’s Economic Development Strategy Will Be Community-Led Effort |
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San Marcos Record
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Jason Giulietti
President, Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP)
Vision 2025, as I will continue to share, is the region’s ambitious economic development strategic plan, developed by community stakeholders from across Hays and Caldwell counties for our communities across the two counties. As we move into the next phase of the strategy — implementation — community leadership and participation will continue to be paramount to its success.
Just as the creation of the Vision 2025 plan was guided by the community-based Steering Committee, a group of dedicated volunteers will form several workgroups to carry out the important work to accomplish the year-one goals. Each workgroup will be led by two co-chairs and supporting vice chairs. I’m pleased to introduce you to the leadership team for each workgroup now.
For goal one, Support Quality Employment Growth, our co-chairs are Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden and Dr. Gene Bourgeois, provost of Texas State. They will be assisted by City of San Marcos City Manager Bert Lumbreras, Don Tracy of Austin Community College and Thomas McKinney of Christus Health Santa Rosa Hospital as vice chairs. Among this workgroup’s tasks will include further maximizing our local and regional business retention and expansion efforts, executing and leveraging a new familiarization tour model and regional engagements, and institutionalizing our strategies for showcasing our region to site consultants.
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LOCAL AVIATION NON-PROFIT MEETINGS |
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KHYI INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CLUB
IMC meetings are currently being conducted via Zoom.
Follow their Facebook page for more information or email Gary White to be added to the newsletter.
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EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 958
EAA meetings are currently being held via Zoom.
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CIVIL AIR PATROL TEXAS WING 435
Meetings are held every Tuesday in accordance with COVID 19 Standards.
For more information, visit their website, send an email, or call (512) 710-8435.
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