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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-04-04 MinutesMINUTES OF THE AIRPORT BOARD MEETING April 4, 2002 MEMBERS ATTENDING: Charles Wallace, Rick McKinney, Frank Burggraf, Otto Loewer MEMBERS ABSENT: Frank Sperandeo, Mike Andrews, Dave Bowman STAFF ATTENDING: Ray Boudreaux, James Nicholson, Louise Powers ITEM #1: Welcome Chairman Wallace welcomed those in attendance and those watching on TV. ITEM #2: Approval of the March 14, 2002 meeting Motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes. The motion carried. ITEM #3: Reports A. Strategic Planning Meeting March 27, 2002 by Charles Wallace. Chairman Wallace reviewed the third Strategic Planning Meeting (see attachment -notes from meeting). He stated that the next meeting will be a comprehensive marketing program planning meeting. He suggested a 1-10 tenant survey in the monthly bill. He quoted Mayor Coody as saying activity is more important than increasing revenues and would like the person who buys a quart of oil to feel as important as other customers. Commented that if a tenant on the East Side (T -hangar complex) doesn't feel important then let the us know, we want to make you feel important. B. Director=s Report by Ray Boudreaux. He stated the Director=s Report was included in the Agenda Package. Staff is working on name badges for the Airport Board so the Board Members can be identified when attending other City meetings. Commented he had a good meeting with the Chamber of Commerce personnel, working on ways to cooperate in the development of the Airport. He had met with Bill Corley who has a marketing/advertismg background and Mr. Corley has volunteered to help develop and plan projects to let people know about the Airport. He is a commercial pilot and one of our tenants. C. Financial Coordinators Report by James Nicholson. A third graph was included that tracks wholesale fuel trends. March has not been a good month because of the high winds and ice. Chairman Wallace said the Board had been promised a report of Airport Revenues and Expenditures for some time and he and James are committed to sit down with the City=s accountmg people to develop the report and receive it on a monthly basis. The Board needs to know the things they can control and the things they can=t control, to know what money is going out and what money is coming in. In settmg rates there is some control and with expenses there is some control. 1 • • ITEM #4: Old Business A. Update: Construction Projects. W. Jones reported the construction on the Taxiway Rehabilitation Project is to resume on April 15`" and a pre -construction meeting with staff, tower personnel, and contractors is scheduled for next week. One of the things to be discussed will be how the construction will impact the tenants on the east side. There is about two months construction time left in the project. Details on closing the Airport will be worked out at the construction meeting. T -Hangar Drainage Project Seeding and grading work needs to be done north of the ramp and a drain pipe is going to be installed under the ramp from the airfield generator/electrical vault room to discharge in one of the airfield drains. McClelland Engineers has prepared information on Taxiway Alpha for the Forest Service An updated Large Scale Development Plan for developing the executive hangar areas, areas in the Conceptual Land Use Plan, and the future ramp for the Forest Service is going Large Scale Development for approval and is due to the City on Monday. The time frame that aircraft may have to be towed on the taxiway during the construction will be about three to four weeks. They will have the contractor to do a good brooming around the T -Hangar drainage project area Director Boudreaux assured the tenants they will do everything they can do to keep the airport open. B. Contract Tower Program. Director Boudreaux said the Airport had received the official letter from the FAA and the Operating Agreement mentioned in the letter has already been signed by previous management. C. Corporate/Executive Ramp Project. Director Boudreaux said he is working on two ground leases and hopes to have them signed next week. They will be renting at five cents per square foot and will build their own hangar facilities. D. Five -Year Plan Capital Program. Director Boudreaux reported that Don Harris of the FAA said he needed our list this month to get our plan in the FAA=s National Plan Integrated Systems (NPIS). The NPIS is revised every twenty-four months. He reported that he and James had worked with Wayne Jones on the plan, which can be changed from time -to -time. Our plan needs to be included in that system to receive FAA funding. Stating he thought buildmg an FBO hangar before adding another T -Hangar would be a benefit to the airport. It could hold 15 to 16 smaller aircraft. One of our T -Hangar tenants is considering placing one of his planes m the Air Museum so that will leave a vacancy. Hangar occupancy varies from day-to-day. A motion was made and a seconded to make the five year plan more ambitious by modifying the plan to include $330,000 for a t -hangar in the year 2003. The motion carried. E. Ozark Military Museum / Arkansas Air Museum Project. Answering R. McKinney's question on whether he could vote as he is a member of the Air Museum Board, Director Boudreaux stated that was only a question if R. McKinney would benefit from the vote. Bill Smith, Chairman of the Air Museum Board, announced Mr. John Kalagias, the current director, would be retiring at the end of March A surprise event for John will take place on his birthday, May 1°. The new Director will be Ms. Judy Hammond, and she will begin in May. The new Curator will be Mr Sonny 2 • • McKenzie. J. Kalagias reported the Air Museum Board had voted on Monday night to work together on merging the Ozark Military Museum and the Arkansas Air Museum at Fayetteville Municipal Airport. It McKinney said the Ozark Military Museum has a nice endowment. They plan to occupy the old FBO building, install a fence from that building to the Air Museum, enclosing a staging area for equipment. A motion was made and seconded to accept this merger between the Ozark Military Museum and the Arkansas Air Museum, to move forward with a document, and present it to the City Council if that is needed. The motion carried. F. Deferred Item. Airport Business and Operations Center Policy. Chairman Wallace stated this item had been deferred until the next Board Meeting as it ties in with the next Strategic Planning Meeting. ITEM #I5: New Business. Chairman Wallace proposed one new item before moving on with the agenda. He commented that Board has had several Strategic Planning Sessions and said one thing that had become clear was the need to move forward in a deliberate way and incorporate all the things together in a strategy and marketing plan. He stated he would like to propose the following policy in the form of a motion: The Board recommend the following: a comprehensive marketing strategy be developed to guide our marketing efforts, and that we accept the offer from Bill Corely to lead us in the development of the marketing strategy, and that the Board meet in a planning session as quickly as a date can be set, and that hangar and fuel prices be considered as a part of an overall marketing strategy, and that until the marketing strategy can be completed hangar prices be frozen at the January 1, 2002 rate, and that fuel prices be maintained at not more than eight cents above cost, and that every effort be made to complete the marketing plan no later than the June Meeting of the Airport Board. The motion was seconded. F. Burggraf said he thought it was appropriate to move in that direction. He suggested having the staff prepare a report which would give the cost per hangar unit, operational costs, possibly amortizations, so the Board could say with some authority what should the costs should be if we were trying to reduce the period of amortization or if we had to increase that to reduce the costs. O. Loewer said he didn't think the marketing plan could be fragmented. The whole package needs to be put together so that it compliments each of the components. The motion carried. A. Request from Ms. Kay Swanner for a Craft Show in June. J. Kalagias said the Air Museum had asked that she have the craft show at the same time as the Air Fest. K. Swanner reported the first • • show went well and she was well pleased with all the help from the airport staff. There were twenty- five venders and all requested to come back and had requests from other venders to participate in the next show which will be June 15th and 16th. Director Boudreaux said he had talked with the Fire Chief and they plan a Pancake Breakfast and possibly a Fire Muster, a fire department competition, which isn't really a spectator sport, but is fun to watch. The motion to approve the craft show, including the muster, was made and seconded. The motion carried. B. Aircraft parking lease with Maximum Aircraft Services. D. Frederick explamed many of the airlines have had to ground a lot of their aircraft and are looking for airports where they may park them temporarily He said he was working for Maximum Aviation Services and the owner, Max Seefluth, had worked over twenty years with American Airlines. Director Boudreaux said this would be done as a License, rather than a Lease. After reviewing documents from other airports a Draft License bas been prepared. We plan to charge $200 and aircraft. We could park 20 to 22 between the old FBO and our ramp. That ramp is not currently being used. M Seefluth said they are working with several airports and this airport is better suited for regional aircraft. Some of the aircraft are coming out of service in the next couple of weeks, some may need some mechanical work and need to be grounded for a while, and others may be scheduled to be sold. M. Seefluth responding to Board comments said the aircraft would not look neglected as prospective buyers would be coming to look at the planes. • Board consensus was to move forward, but to look at the License when the contract comes through. 5. OTHER BUSINESS: A. Items from the Airport Board. Chairman Wallace suggested April 19th at 9:00 a.m at Genesis for the Board's Marketing Meeting with Bill Corely. He also suggested April 20th for the spring cook -out and suggested it be held on the east side near the Pilots Bnefing Room He also stated F. Sperandeo had said he would organize the cook -out. Discussion followed regarding the date as that is also the date for the Race for the Cure at the Mall. The Board asked that a special mailing be sent to the tenants announcing the cook -out. R. McKinney announced that June 8th is the National Day for experimental aircraft clubs. The local club, EA Chapter 732, will be using the airport lobby, and will be giving free introductory rides and certificates to students ages 8 through 18. B. Items from the Public. K. Schossow from Wings Avionics announced that his employee, Teny Brady, had won the state contest for the Arkansas Avionics Technician, the Southwest Region Technician and had also won the national FAA contest. A motion was made and seconded for the City to officially recognize • • • • • Terry Brady with a letter from Mayor Coody. The motion carried. The Meeting was adjourned. Frank Burggraf, Secretary 0 r - Date