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JH Airport Board Meeting to be Streamed on April 17th at 9:00 am

At the April 17th meeting, beginning at 9 am, the Jackson Hole Airport Board will consider all regular business items, including the application of Wind River Air, LLC (WRA) to conduct scenic helicopter tours from Jackson Hole Airport.

The application was received in August 2018.  The Airport Board delayed consideration until WRA consulted with GTNP, the Elk Refuge, the Town and the County. An open house was held in early December 2019 at which WRA heard public comment from members of the community. On December 18, 2019 the Airport Board directed staff to revisit over the next 60-days anything that could be done to prevent scenic helicopter tours from the Airport. The Congressional Delegation was consulted, and FAA was asked to re-evaluate the safety of the operations.  FAA responded that WRA’s proposed operations met all application safety standards.

Since the application was filed, the Airport has received written comments over the last several months about WRA’s application. The Airport has kept a record of all such comments, and they have been provided to Board Members for their consideration.

The application was placed on the Airport Board’s March 2020 agenda, but because of COVID-19 was again delayed until public participation could be assured. The April 17th Airport Board meeting will be held at the County Chambers and Board members will attend remotely via Zoom, with limited staff physically present.

This meeting  can be watched by visiting http://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1185/Meeting-Video . Public comment can be made by emailing publiccomment@jhairport.org. Comments received at this email, will be read aloud and entered into the public record. Emails must be received between Friday April 10 at 8:00 am and no later than 1 hour prior to the meeting at 9:00 am on April 17, 2020. Written comments are be 200 words or less. You can also participate by calling (346) 248-7799 at the time of the meeting. When calling in, please state your name for the public record before you comment and limit your comment to two minutes. Complete instructions on how to watch the meeting and how to provide public comment will be listed on jacksonholeairport.com.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and making safety a priority, the Airport Board must conduct public business in a manner which balances the rights of the community to participate, with the rights of applicants to be heard.  By holding the meeting in the County Chambers, through the Zoom platform, we are confident we will be able to strike that balance.

Your options for watching or participating in the meeting:

To watch a meeting live: https://tetoncountywy.gov/1185/Meeting-Video
Ways to make public comment:
1. Public comment can be made via an identified e-mail and read aloud in the Board meeting. You must use these guidelines to have your e-mail read aloud in a meeting.
a. E-mails must be received by the Airport no earlier than Friday, April 10 at 8:00 am and no later than 1 hour prior to the meeting at 9:00 am on April 17, 2020.
b. Emails must be sent to publiccomment@jhairport.org and in the following format:
i. The email subject line must include the meeting date (month-day) and the name of the agenda item. Example: for comment on the FY 2020/2021 Budget on the April 17th meeting the subject line would have: “04-17 FY Budget 2020/2021”
ii. For general, open public comment taken at during … the subject line must state the meeting date (month-day) and general comment “04-17 General Comment”
iii. These emails are limited to a word count of 200 words so they can be read aloud in 2 minutes or less.
iv. These emails will be read as written. Emails containing threatening, obscene, foul language, or the like will be excluded.
2. Public comment can be made through the Zoom platform in real-time.
a. Comment will be accepted over the telephone during the meeting. To call into the meeting:
i. Phone Number: (346) 248-7799
ii. Meeting ID: 760 714 234
iii. Password: 254671
b. When it is your turn to speak, you will be notified that you have been unmuted.
i. Please identify yourself and the topic you’re providing comment on.
ii. Please limit comment to 2 minutes.