| (a) Purpose. The Adopt-an-Airport Program (Program) allows private citizens an opportunity to support the department's beautification programs by adopting an airport for the purposes of beautifying and creating a better image and enhancing public awareness for the airport. This section sets forth policies and procedures to be used in administering the Program. (b) Participation. (1) Airport. (A) Only publicly-owned airports included in the Texas Airport System Plan (TASP) are eligible to participate in the Adopt-an-Airport Program. (B) Eligible airports shall execute an agreement with the department to define their respective responsibilities before the airport may be adopted. (2) Groups. (A) The following groups are eligible to participate in the Program: (i) members or employees of civic and nonprofit organizations; (ii) employees of private businesses and governmental entities; and (iii) families. (B) To be eligible a group must be located or reside in the city or county in which the adopted airport is located. (c) Application. (1) The authorized representative of a group that desires to participate, or to continue to participate, in the program shall submit an application to the district engineer of the district in which the airport to be adopted is located. (2) The application shall be in a form prescribed by the department and shall at a minimum include: (A) the date of application; (B) the name and complete mailing address, including street address, of the group; (C) the name, telephone number, and complete mailing address of the group's authorized representative; (D) the name of the airport the group is interested in adopting; and (E) what activities the applicant proposes for maintenance or beautification. (3) If the group meets the criteria of this section, the district engineer will approve the adoption unless he or she determines that to do so would endanger the traveling public, or otherwise not be in the best interest of the airport. (d) Agreement. (1) If the district engineer approves the application submitted by the group under subsection (c) of this section, the authorized representative of that group shall execute a written agreement with the sponsor and the department providing for the group's participation in the Program. (2) The agreement shall be in the form prescribed by the department and shall include: (A) an acknowledgment by the group of the possible hazardous nature of the work involved in participating in the Program; (B) an acknowledgment that the members of the group agree jointly and severally to be bound by and comply with the terms of the agreement; and (C) a statement of the respective responsibilities of the group and the department as contained in subsection (e) of this section. (e) Responsibilities of group and department. (1) Groups must: (A) appoint or select an authorized representative to serve as spokesperson for the group; (B) obey and abide by all laws and regulations relating to safety and such other terms and conditions as may be required by the sponsor and the department for special conditions on a particular adopted airport; (C) furnish adequate supervision by one or more adults for participants of a group who are 15 years of age or younger; (D) conduct at least one safety meeting per year and ensure participants of the group attend a safety meeting before participating in the beautification of the adopted airport; (E) adopt an airport for a minimum period of two years; (F) pick up litter a minimum of four times a year and at such additional times as required by the sponsor or the department, if the group's responsibility is controlling and reducing litter; (G) obtain required supplies and materials from the sponsor or the department during regular business hours; (H) wear department furnished safety vests during the tasks being performed; (I) place litter in trash bags furnished by the department and place filled trash bags at locations as determined by the sponsor or the department, if the group's responsibility is controlling and reducing litter; (J) return all unused materials and supplies to the sponsor or the department within one week following cleanup unless the materials and supplies are necessary for continued beautification; (K) neither possess nor consume alcoholic beverages while on the adopted airport; and (L) maintain a first-aid kit and adequate drinking water while on the adopted airport. (2) The department will: (A) work with the group and the sponsor to determine the specific tasks to be performed; (B) erect a sign on the closest highway right of way, normally near the airport pointer sign, with the group's name or acronym displayed; (C) provide safety vests, trashbags, and safety literature; (D) remove the filled trashbags after the pickup; and (E) remove litter from the adopted section only under unusual circumstances, such as removal of large, heavy, or hazardous items. (f) General limiting conditions. The Program is subject to the following conditions. (1) The department may consider such factors as airport size and activity, geometrics, congestion, and visability restrictions in determining which airports shall be eligible for adoption. (2) If any actions are determined to be contrary to any legislative restrictions on the use of appropriated funds for political activities, the department, at its sole discretion may take any and all necessary remedial actions, including, but not limited to, the removal of signs displaying the group's name or acronym. (3) Adopt-an-Airport signs shall be four feet by four feet and shall be the least expensive and most effective for each situation. A sign will not state the full name or official title of an elected official. (4) A group may not subcontract or assign its responsibilities to any other group, organization, or enterprise without the express written authorization of the department. (5) The department shall not have the right to control the group in performing the agreed upon tasks and/or of picking up litter from the airport adopted by the group; and, in picking up litter, the group shall act as an independent contractor. (g) Modification/renewal/termination of the agreement. The agreement may be modified in any manner at the discretion of the department. The group will have the option of renewing the agreement subject to the approval of the department and the sponsor, and the continuation of the Program. The department may terminate the agreement and remove the signs upon 30-day notice, if in its sole judgment it finds and determines that the group is not meeting the terms and conditions of the agreement. |
