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Commission moves to clarify airport notices, radios and maintenance for unstaffed airfields
Summary
Commissioners discussed marking Manila and Dutch John airports 'unattended' with 'no services' advisories, preparing a brief operational paragraph for pilots, assigning local contacts for closures and pursuing handheld radios and training for maintenance staff.
Daggett County commissioners spent a large portion of their June 3 meeting on safety and operations at the county's two small airports, agreeing to mark them as unattended, add a ‘no services’ advisory and to formalize a short operational notice for pilots.
Speaker 6 recommended explicitly labeling Manila and Dutch John airports as "unattended" and adding "no services" so visiting pilots are not misled. "I just say unattended. No services," Speaker 6 said, adding that a brief advisory recommending pilots "fly down the runway before landing" would improve safety for visitors unfamiliar with local conditions.
The commission discussed practical steps. Speaker 2 said the county will check inventory and follow up with Jesse to see if handheld radios are already available: "I'll check with Jesse to see what we have, what the county has." Commissioners and staff agreed to procure or reassign radios if needed and to write a short paragraph explaining how and when to call for an airport closure or to report hazards.
Speaker 4 confirmed adding two local maintenance/response contacts—Trevor Brooksby and Sean Hughes—to the airport notification list so crews and pilots have county contacts for closures and runway concerns. Trevor (Speaker 7), who plows the runway, agreed to be on the list and to use his rotating light while clearing the runway.
The commission also agreed both airports will be covered by a shared operations/maintenance manual prepared ahead of any interlocal agreement (ILA); Speaker 2 noted Manila is the one facility required to have maintenance under existing agreements, while the other field will be included in the operations manual as a county best practice.
Speakers emphasized that FAA guidance for uncontrolled airports is advisory and that radios and recommended procedures improve safety but are not regulatory requirements. Speaker 6 summarized: "You don't need any the FAA rules in uncontrolled airports are ridiculous. They're all recommended." The group concluded to prepare the advisory language, confirm radio availability, update the contact list and move forward on an operations manual.
