TagOris Dunham(17)

This document collection includes correspondence from 1981–1983 related to noise policy around Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport. A February 1981 letter from PAC Chairman Oris Dunham to King County's Director of Planning urges the county to adopt and enforce building code sound insulation requirements — as called for in the Sea-Tac/Communities Plan adopted in 1976 — to protect nearby residents from aircraft noise. A January 1983 letter to the PAC Subcommittee on Organization outlines plans to develop a series of organizational alternatives for review at the March 23 Policy Advisory Committee meeting.

In a January 29, 1982 letter to the Port of Seattle's Director of Planning and Research, Riverton Heights community representative William C. Holstine outlined several concerns about Sea-Tac Airport noise management, including calls for annual calibration of noise-measuring equipment, independent auditing of the Perry Company's noise study, and additional community-level noise measurements beyond the existing fixed monitoring stations. Holstine argued that existing remedies such as property acquisition and purchase guarantees should not be delayed while new solutions were being studied, and stressed that a five-to-ten-year timeline for resolving aircraft noise impacts—after already waiting ten years—was unacceptable to his community. He urged the Port to expedite and expand its noise remedy programs, drawing a comparison to the Port's willingness to fund other major projects like the Shilshole Marina expansion and the West Seattle Bridge.

A November 1981 letter from Sea-Tac International Airport Chairman Oris W. Dunham Jr. notifies Policy Advisory Committee members of an upcoming meeting scheduled for January 13, 1982, at 2:00 p.m. in Sea-Tac's auditorium. The primary agenda item is a Noise Exposure Update. Committee members wishing to add agenda items or ask questions were directed to contact Beverly Boster at 433-5388.

A 1981 Port of Seattle internal memorandum from the Director of Aviation recommends replacing two aging Crash Fire Rescue vehicles (Red 193 and Red 196) at Sea-Tac Airport, which had been out of service roughly 20% of the time since their 1977 purchase and would each require $170,000 in repairs. The memo also recommends acquiring a new Rapid Intervention Vehicle, as suggested by FAA inspectors. Funding of $1 million was already included in the Airport's 1982 Capital Budget, to be supplemented by proceeds from selling the two problem vehicles.

In this November 4, 1980 letter, Port of Seattle PAC Chairman Oris W. Dunham, Jr. invites PAC members to a community meeting requested by Riverton Heights residents to air their grievances about Sea-Tac International Airport. The meeting was scheduled for November 13, 1980, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverton Heights Elementary School library in Seattle. Dunham clarified the gathering would not be an official PAC meeting, but that he and his staff would attend.

This is a Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting agenda memo from May 28, 1980, chaired by Oris W. Dunham Jr. and addressed to PAC members and interested citizens. The meeting, held at the Sea-Tac Airport Mezzanine, covered topics including aircraft noise, commuter and general aviation patterns, AOU zoning, and a beautification program along the airport buffer zone. Handwritten notes on the document suggest motions and discussions took place regarding PAC member voting privileges and flight path measurements.