25 years in the Airport Authority

Laura Sturza

When the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority was formed 25

years ago, Glendale commissioner Carl Meseck took a seat at the table

that he still occupies today.

“We always had a very positive attitude about making it a very

well-run and efficiently run airport,” Meseck said.

The Joint Powers Agreement was signed in June 1977, empowering the

Airport Authority to govern the facility. The Airport Authority,

which includes three commissioners from each of the three cities,

owns and operates the airport.

Meseck, a 42-year Glendale resident, has seen numerous

improvements during his tenure. Among them was Burbank becoming the

first airport in the country to move to all Stage 3 commercial jets,

the quietest available.

In addition, the airport was the first in Southern California to

move forward on a sound insulation program for homes and schools

affected by noise, Meseck said.

About 15 years ago, Meseck mentioned to his fellow commissioners

that his ideal airport parking experience would be to pull up in

front and have a valet take the car away.

“We became the first airport in the country with valet parking,”

Meseck said.

Former Glendale commissioner Robert Garcin served on the board

until 1997, when the Glendale City Council declined to reappoint him.

“In the past, Meseck, [former Glendale commissioner Carl] Raggio

and Garcin were the ones who wanted unbridled expansion at the

airport -- they wanted 27 gates,” Burbank Mayor David Laurell said.

“I think Mr. Meseck understands that the only way resolution can come

about is if the concerns and demands of the citizens of Burbank are

given credence.”

Since his term runs for another two years, the former Glendale

mayor has goals for the airport -- most immediately, adding planned

security enhancements, then looking again at a new terminal with “a

curfew that will be acceptable to the residents,” Meseck said.

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THE MESECK FILE

WHO: Carl Meseck, who has spent 25 years as Glendale Airport

Authority commissioner.

FAMILY: Wife, Sandy, six children.

WORK: “I’m supposed to be retired,” Meseck said of his career as

YMCA director. He also owns a Christmas tree business.

ON THE AIRPORT’S HISTORICAL STATUS: “Up until 1945, the Burbank

Airport was the LAX of Southern California.”