10-09-00 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 9, 2000 Ms. Rolanda Hughes, 1029 Riverside Drive, South Bend, Indiana, Vice - President, Near Northwest Neighborhood Association, submitted to the Council a prepared statement of which she read excerpts. Ms. Hughes noted that she lives on one of the flight paths of the helicopter but that is not so much of a concern as for the neighborhood that abuts the proposed heliport. She further noted that she and her neighbors are concerned about the negative impact on the health, safety, overall quality of life and neighborhood health that the heliport would have if it were allowed to be built on North Lafayette Street, adjacent to homes, parks and a school. She cited The National Resources Defense Council as documenting that intermittent helicopter noise can cause heart problems, learning disabilities and sleep deprivation. She urged the Council to encourage Memorial to find a better location for the sake of all parties involved. Ms. Hughes cited the Heliport Evaluation report as indicating that the only location for which a concern for the neighborhood was expressed was the Lafayette Street parking garage and it is this site that is the problem. Mr. Tim Wilson, 715 Forest Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, submitted to the Council for their review in evaluating this matter, guidelines used in Arizona which define helistops, airports and prescribed distances to and from residences. In rebuttal, Mr. Neufelder stated that a lot of issues have been raised by the neighbors but he wanted them to know that they are not being portrayed as evil villains and that the hospital recognizes the neighbors as concerned citizens. He noted that the hospital has been asked to compromise their standards and location but the issue is looking at what impact those compromises would have on the lives of patients. The neighbors have commented that the service is designed for those who live outside of the City but the service will be provided to all trauma victims regardless of their street address. Mr. Neufelder stated that there are three (3) prime considerations when looking for a location for a helistop. First, aviation concerns as dictated by the FAA. Second, clinical access. Third, structural issues. Mr. Lee Ambers, in his report, made a recommendation that Memorial Hospital consider the Centennial Medical Square Building and they pursued that investigation and were informed of significant structural issues requiring the closing of the building as well as clinical access for the patients because they need to traverse a bridge six floors high between the two (2) buildings. It has also been reported that the hospital has plans to add a hanger on top of the Lafayette parking garage and that is not true. Hangers will be maintained at the airport on a twenty -four (24) hour a day basis along with the flight crew. The helistop is only for dropping off patients and taking off again. He noted that questions have also been raised about the safety and age of the aircraft. The FAA requires strict maintenance records and the hospital will be employing full time maintenance workers. He noted that aircraft is actually rebuilt on a very regular basis based upon the number of hours of flight. The hospital took into consideration all safety aspects when they looked at three (3) different air ambulance services which were Air Angels, West Michigan Air Care, and PHI a provider of helicopters. Based on the proposals submitted by those three (3), Air Angels was selected because of their excellent safety record. Mr. Neufelder noted that concerns about parking have also been raised and one of the pluses of this proposal is that it will add one hundred fifty (150) parking spaces on the hospital campus which will help with the parking problems in the neighborhoods. He noted that residents cited experiences with hospitals in Chicago and he wanted to point out that some hospitals are considered sending hospitals not receiving hospitals of scene responses. Northwestern Memorial is an excellent hospital but it does not receive scene response trauma. In regards to what is a safety zone, Mr. Neufelder stated that a safety zone is a plane that goes out from the level of the helipad itself and in this zone there can be nothing built above that plane. In closing, Mr. Neufelder stated that there are numerous studies all with significant reductions in mortality rates as a result of air transport services and asked for the Council's favorable consideration. Councilmember Kelly stated that this is a difficult question and he has personal reasons to favor this proposal. He explained a recent out of town accident involving his son -in -law in which a helicopter was used to transport him to the hospital. He noted that his son -in -law is recovering nicely at this time and this is due to the quick service he received in terms of being transported to the hospital and the trauma center. Councilmember Kelly stated that in regards to noise, no one wants to see a