The relocation of the 14-gate terminal at Burbank Bob Hope Airport will be addressed by the City Council at its meeting tonight and Mayor Bob Frutos hopes residents will educate themselves on the subject so they can make an informed decision should it be placed on a future ballot.
Burbank voters could be asked to decide on the issue as early as next November, Frutos said.
“Once and for all, either we have a majority on the council to endorse it and move forward so they can begin the environmental impact process so they can start doing the scoping meetings or it doesn’t go anywhere now.”
Back in July, Frutos gave his commitment to the public and the Airport Authority that within 30 to 45 days he would address the authority’s proposal.
The Council met in closed sessions, looking at the authority’s points and then the Council gave Frutos a parameter to revisit the latest proposal and he and Council member Jess Talamantes met with the authority so they could ask members questions. The Council met again in a closed session and the majority was willing to address the latest proposal.
“This is not a guarantee that we are still building a new terminal or 100 percent accepting the latest proposal,” Frutos said. “This is a proposal to give us a snapshot of what the footprint will be and what certain conditions that we have come to agreement mutually between the two government bodies in deciding should we move this forward to begin the environmental impact process to see exactly what locations they can build this terminal and also talk about the no-build option. This way everybody in Burbank can follow along, can get engaged, be involved and make that educated decision vote hopefully sometime in the very near future.”
Frutos just wants to present the facts to Burbank residents and allow them to make their own independent decision.
The City Council is meeting on Monday so there will be a full Council to vote on the airport issue, Frutos added.
On Tuesday, Mayor Frutos and Council member David Gordon will leave for Incheon, Korea, Burbank’s Sister City, where they will participate in an unveiling ceremony of a sculpture that is a gift from the city of Burbank.
“Council member Gordon and I are looking forward to traveling to our Sister City Incheon, Korea in the spirit of cultural exchange, friendship and relationship building on behalf of the people of Burbank as we unveil the art sculpture for the good people of Inchon,” Frutos said.
The Council has temporarily moved some of its meetings to Monday nights over the past few weeks because of the Veterans Day holiday and because official business has taken Council members out of town. After Frutos was hospitalized for vertigo, and Gordon attended the National League of Cities Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
“We’ve been moving the City Council meetings so we facilitate the city’s business with a full contingency of council members and it’s unusual but we wanted to make sure to meet as frequently as possible,” Frutos said.
The Bob Hope Airport Replacement Terminal Conceptual Term Sheet:
