Dear Editor,
Once again I find myself writing you to dispel what I consider misinformation published on your [The Alpine Avalanche, October 17] front page. The details in your article on drones factually back just the opposite conclusion that there will be “No ‘drones’ for Alpine.”
In our potential partnership with Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi their proposal was always meant to be based out of Corpus Christi with only those activities actually related to the testing of drones to be based out of Alpine. They at present have significant experience flying drones out their airspace near the coast and out over the gulf but this particular project requires the drones to fly over land. That is why they approached Alpine.
So the fact that they continue to receive growing support from Austin only makes it more possible that they will want to fly out of Alpine, not the opposite as you reported. It is important for the public on both sides of the issue to know the facts so they can plan accordingly.
I will be putting before the Council during our 11/5/13 regular council meeting an agenda item to schedule a public hearing on this issue that the city council had agreed to host before the end of October.
I look forward to great participation on the part of our community on this important issue.
Regards,
Michael Castelli
Alpine City Council
Ward Five
Publishers note: This press release was issued by Texas A&M University Corpus Christi on October 14 with slight modification including, “Alpine may be out of the running in a competition for a federal unmanned aerial vehicle test site.” run as an article on October 17 in the Alpine Avalanche.
Texas Municipal League Backs University Bid for Designated FAA Drone Test Site
October 14, 2013
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—The Texas Municipal League (TML) has adopted a resolution supporting the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be named one of six federal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) test sites. The vote was made Friday, Oct. 11, at the groups 2013 Annual Conference in Austin.“With the backing of Governor Rick Perry, we are the only site in Texas being considered,” said Dr. Luis Cifuentes, Vice President of Research, Commercialization and Outreach. “The resolution from the TML demonstrates the financial impact the FAA designation will have on every community in the state.”Corpus Christi Mayor Nelda Martinez, who is TML President-elect, said the TML endorsement should make federal officials take notice.
“The strong show of support from Texas cities should be a tremendous boost to the State’s application,” Mayor Martinez said. “Texas has unmatched airspace, a strong business climate, cutting-edge research partnerships, and broad public support from state and local governments, higher education institutions, and the private sector.”
The University’s Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Initiative, and its 6,000 square miles of available airspace, is in competition with 24 other locations around the country for the federal designation. The Association of Unmanned Vehicles International published an economic impact study in March projecting, once airspace is opened to UAV’s, the economic impact on the state of Texas alone would be around $6.5 billion over the next 10 years.
“With the center of that economic being the Coastal Bend area, the economic impact here would be absolutely significant,” said Joe Henry, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Account Manager for Camber Corporation.
The Camber Corporation is collaborating with the University and several other entities to secure the FAA test site. Camber is a leader in UAV technology and was approached by several states to help in developing test sites, but chose Texas because of what the University has to offer.
“The intellectual energy and intellectual capital this university brought to the table, along with the leadership and the vision of both University President Dr. Flavius Killebrew and Dr. Luis Cifuentes, makes us very excited about our partnership with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,” said Henry. “We have no doubt that this site will be chosen.”
The University opened its UAV command and control center on Oct. 1 in preparation for the designation, which is expected to be announced in December. After the FAA announces its decision, the six test sites will have six months to become fully functional. Cifuentes says this command center will be necessary even if Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi isn’t chosen as one of the sites.
“We still have airspace that everyone else is going to want, and we will partner with anybody who wants to use it,” said Cifuentes. “I see this type of innovative research as the ‘new age’ for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.”
The Texas Municipal League was founded in 1913 with a mission to serve the needs and advocate the interests of cities and city officials. The TML is made up of over 1,100 Texas cities and towns with over 16,000 mayors, councilmembers, city managers, city attorneys, and city department heads as member officials.
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