HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-10-14 Minutes• AIRPORT BOARD MEETING
October 14, 2004
MEMBERS PRESENT: Charles Wallace, Otto Loewer, Bob Nickel, David Hollman,
Janice Stanesic, Dave Bowman
MEMBERS ABSENT: Frank Sperandeo
STAFF PRESENT: Ray Boudreaux, James Nicholson, Louise Powers
OTHERS PRESENT: Wayne Jones -McClelland Consulting Engineers, Nancy Smith -
City of Fayetteville, Frank Burggraf-Airport Board Historian and former Airport Board
Member, John P. Ross -Ross Executive Aviation, Inc., Rick McKinney -tenant, Mike
Kratchmer-Arkansas Aviation Technology Center, Robert Dean -Aviation Maintenance
Professionals, Terry Collier -tenant, Chris Cheadle -Fayetteville Government Channel
ITEM #1: Welcome.
Chairman Wallace welcomed those watching on the TV broadcast and expressed
appreciation for those in attendance. He expressed amazement at the number of people
that listen to the broadcast.
ITEM #2: Agenda Review.
A. Review by the Chairman. Commented the agenda was long and listed the agenda
items.
B. Comments from the Public. There were none.
ITEMS #3 and #4: Minutes of the August 12. 2004 meeting and Minutes of the
Member 9.2004 meeting.
Otto Loewer moved to accept both sets of minutes. Dave Bowman
gave second to the motion.
Chairman Wallace mentioned he had asked two items to be included with the September
minutes, the formula for fuel pricing and the hangar rent analysis. L. Powers said they
had been attached to the minutes.
The motion carried.
ITEM #5: Receiving of Reports.
A. Charles Wallace, Chairman. Stated he is working on a paper regarding the care and
management of public institutions, and had heard from mayors and others expressing
their appreciation of volunteers. He said he hoped the Airport Board feels appreciated.
Stated he was hearing more and more of the changing role of Boards. Broad members
are stake holders and they have accountability. Volunteers are a way to build ownership
. and a loyal constituency.
Chairman
Wallace
spoke of the Board's
work in the Airport Board's Strategic Planning
Meetings.
He told
that the revenue for
the Airport had increased from
$506,000 in year
• 2000 to $1,000,000 for the year 2003. Our number of based aircraft has increased from
52 to 93 in 2004. He explained that the travelers that come through this Airport come for
various reasons and estimated 2,000 are for business, 1,600 for sports and 400 for other
events. This also relates to an estimated 2,000 hotel/motel rooms and an average of 50
cars are rented every month. The Airport enhances the local economy. The Airport had
grown to where we may need to move on to the next plateau. We may need to look at
out -sourcing the FBO (Fixed Base Operator), the service that provides fuel service,
hangars, and things that keep airports in business. We need to do a careful assessment.
A company wants to come and talk to us about their services. The Airport will not look
at just one provider, it would go out as a Request for Proposals. No decision has been
made.
B. Ray Boudreaux, Director. Stated his report in the agenda was in the form of the
City's Quarterly Report, and he reviewed the report items. Phase II of the construction
for the Forest Service project will require the closing of the runway for two days. The
USPS held a pre -construction conference here this morning and the demolition will begin
soon. The Contractor will have 100 days. The U. of A. has received Beneficial
Occupancy for their hangar. He thanked those that had volunteered during the ballgame
weekends, Charles Wallace, Frank Sperandeo, people from the Military Museum and
some from the Aviation Tech Training facility. He announced a new employee, Chad
Wilson, had been hired for the FBO. Chad comes highly qualified; he is a graduate of
NWATC, and is an A & P mechanic. Director Boudreaux explained some work had
been coordinated with the Planning Commission so the Building Permit could be issued
• for T -Hangar "H". On the Large Scale Development Plan we were able to transfer the
proposed fire training tower off the plan for the new T -Hangar. Referring to his
Economic Development Report, said he had meetings with bonding agents regarding the
proposed railroad north of the Airport which would have access to the airport.
R. McKinney referencing a comment R. Boudreaux made at the first of his report, that
the airport would be closed for two days due to the Phase II construction work/Forest
Service project, McKinney asked if the runway threshold could be displaced during the
airfield construction. R. Boudreaux said they would look at that possibility, there are
several things to consider, equipment on the runway and height considerations. The
closing is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, our slowest days, so they could get the
work done with no interruptions. The Airport will be NOTAMed out, but the tower will
be open. P. Ross asked if the could be done at night and close the runway at night? C.
Wallace said they would discuss the closing in Wayne Jones' Construction Report.
Director Boudreaux said
his trip report
from the
AAOA Conference (Arkansas Airport
Operator's Association) is included with
his report
in the agenda.
C. Rick McKinney, President, Arkansas Air Museum. C. Wallace stated Rick
McKinney has been working on the accreditation of the Air Museum. R. McKinney
explained he had missed the last Airport Board Meeting as the conservators had been at
the museum that day. Their report was twenty-six pages. He said the Museum was a
• credit to the City and they were excited to look at the building. They were pleased with
the building considering the age, but they did object to the vinyl siding and said the wood
siding would have to be restored, and he said there are some cracks in the foundation. R.
McKinney said he hoped the museum could find some funding. He also said the City and
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• the Airport have been good benefactors. He told of presenting a request for funding from
the City at the last City Council Meeting, which would keep the funding request out of
the Airport's fund.
Chairman Wallace, speaking on behalf of the Board, expressed pride that the Arkansas
Air Museum was nearing accreditation.
Added Report: Chairman Wallace announced Otto Loewer had an idea he would like to
present to the Board with the possibility of having University architectural students
working with the airport. O. Loewer explained about a program/class at the University,
"Students Engaged in Economic Development" that could be of interest to the Airport.
As a class project they would look at the terminal building, take a look at what could
come out of it, would have meetings with the class, talk to the class in their classroom,
they would design the possibilities, and then have a public presentation. As it would be a
class project they would not be restricted to reality. Two professors will come out in
November and take a look at the building to see if there is a possibility of a project for
next semester. There would be some cost involved with the displaying of their work for
public presentation. It would also help the students feel a part of the community to be
involved in this kind of project. Director Boudreaux stated it was a good idea, especially
as one of our goals is to partner with educational institutions.
D. James Nicholson, Financial Report. J. Nicholson first reviewed the FBO Report
. and its related charts from the agenda packet. In September we sold 10,000 gallons more
than our average month. In comparison, we are 7.1% ahead of the sales volume for 2003.
October of last year was a record month, but expected the end of October this year to be
about the same as the previous months have been. He noted there had been a big jump in
the price of JetA over last month. There have been no downward trends in the last month
and a half. He called attention to the chart showing the September fuel sales broken out.
He noted the 35,000 gallons of JetA sales. AvGas sales remain about the same. We sold
more JetA fuel this last month to transient customers because of the University ballgames
in Fayetteville.
Next, J. Nicholson reviewed the Financial Report from the agenda packet. He said he had
good news and bad news. The good news is there has been a reduction in the expense
side of the 2005 Draft Budget by $93,000.00. This is the amount of reduction we won't
have to pay for the tower. There were a couple of adjustments to the projected year end
amount due to the cost of fuel and the price of the fuel we sell. The wholesale cost of jet
fuel has increased 24 'h cents. While we are trying to match the marketplace and remain
competitive, we have only raised the price an average of 11 %z cents. That is a 13 %2 cent
spread we don't collect on.
Chairman Wallace commended staff for doing what the Board had asked, saying that
meant that if need be, to make the price reduction to fuel to keep planes coming in here.
Director Boudreaux stated we may not be able to keep the price down that much in the
• future because it is hurting us. As the price of fuel goes up, we are keeping the price
down and that is what we use to put towards our budget. Chairman Wallace questioned
the previous year end projection amount. Director Boudreaux said it was $265,885.00
and now it is projected at $278,000.00, a difference of about $12,000.00.
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• J. Nicholson stated we had sold about 4,500 to 5,000 gallons of self -serve AVGas. We
have held the price at $2.38 and we haven't increased the price. That cuts the margin
down a lot.
J. Nicholson, speaking of the Capital projects, said the figures in the Draft 2005 column
may not be correct. Some projects are proposed and we don't know if we are going to do
those projects, and what grants would be available for those projects.
Director Boudreaux said the projected year end figure is very close to one million dollars.
J. Nicholson, referring to the
last page
of the report,
said it shows the list of grants and
the money coming in from the
different
agencies.
J. Nicholson, answering R. McKinney's question of what impact would a contract FBO
have on the airport, said a professional FBO probably won't look at us until we sell
100,000 gallons of fuel per month. R. McKinney said we would probably look at making
more income because the contract FBO would pay rent. J. Nicholson responded if they
did come, in they would probably expect us to make some concessions for them.
Director Boudreaux said a thorough investigation would have to be conducted prior to
making any decision. J. Ross said in a way you are making money with more planes
coming in and you are saving on the cost of the tower. B. Nickle said there is an off -set
• there with the fuel cost and the pricing, and that was considered when we set the formula
for pricing the fuel.
E. Louise Powers, T -Hangar Report. Reported all T -Hangars and their storage units
are rented. There are 14 names on the twin size unit's waiting list, there are five on the
single engine unit's list and twelve on the hangar storage waiting lists. In the FBO
hangar there were nine monthly tenants and there were six ovemights. Director
Boudreaux responding to Chairman Wallace, said with that many names on the waiting
list we could probably build another hangar.
F. Construction Report. W. Jones announced the City's Building Inspection Dept. had
signed off on the U. of A. Hangar, and answering R. Boudreaux, said he would check on
the Certificate of Occupancy being issued. R. Boudreaux said they would need to
discuss a date for the Ribbon Cutting -Open House.
W. Jones reported there were no cracks in the new taxiways. The electrical contractor is
working on the lights along the taxiways and the seeding needs to be done along the
taxiways.
Speaking of the taxiway construction, he said they had scheduled to close the airport
Sunday night and reopen Tuesday night. He said with the ballgame weekend coming up
next weekend, and no rain predicted during that time, that seemed the best time for the
construction. Answering Pat Ross' question, he said they had looked at closing just at
• night, but after looking at all scenarios and how to move forward, closing on Monday and
Tuesday seemed best. They will be doing concrete paving 11" thick in strips with drop-
offs 11" deep. It would be very detrimental to aircraft if they had to exit the runway. We
hope to do several strips on Monday and then coming back on Tuesday doing the fill-in
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strips, then follow up with the contractor pushing material up to the concrete. There is a
safety issue to be considered. There will be times when equipment will need to be on the
runway.
W. Jones explained they have done one night of excavating work. He said they were
always concerned about the safety and welfare of the users, if they weren't then everyone
would be in trouble. R. Boudreaux said we will consider opening the end of the runway
for general aviation.
Chairman Wallace posed two questions: Did anyone speak to the people being affected
before deciding when to close, and was there some way to let people know, rather than
finding out the day it is closed? He explained if he was going out on that particular day,
he would normally prepare his flight brief about 30 minutes before leaving, and would
then find out the airport was closed. He asked if a note could be included with the airport
bills. Chairman Wallace asked if there was some way to take our tenants into
consideration before arbitrarily making a decision.
Director Boudreaux thanked Chairman Wallace for the questions, saying he had asked
Wayne today if Monday and Tuesday was still planned. Once we have a date then we
would let the tenants know. We can put notices on the hangar doors. He said he had
talked to some of the tenants, and it had been mentioned at the last Board Meeting.
Chairman Wallace said some of the tenants don't go to the airport everyday to find
notices on their hangar doors, but they do get their bill every month. He said there is the
view that some of the decisions get made without regards to the people living here.
O. Loewer noting he was one with the least aviation knowledge, but as a passenger he
goes to his computer to check if his plane is going to be on time. He asked if these types
of notices could be placed on our website, then the tenants would have one source to go
to and it can be updated frequently. He also said the web page and e-mail would give
two ways to communicate. He further explained a web site that was managed properly
would give two-way communication. If a tenant had a problem with a closing on a
certain date, then they could let us know. You can keep people posted in a timely
manner. Director Boudreaux explained we have just bought a website domain and we are
just building the information for "Fly FYV". He said if Monday and Tuesday is too soon
we can move it to Thursday and Friday. W. Jones noted Monday and Tuesday were the
best dates after looking at the weather.
J. Nicholson said we have a list of about 2 % dozen email addresses and we have been
including a note on the airport invoices asking tenants to give us their e-mail address. He
encouraged the tenants to send in their email addresses. B. Nickle said developing the
web site may take a while, but developing the e-mail list for notification of airport
projects might be faster. Chairman Wallace asked that the minutes reflect that Frank
Sperandeo had volunteered to collect the email addresses for the tenants on the east side.
Chairman Wallace asked if we could put a note in the next billing, saying that from time -
to -time we need to send out information, and if they would provide their email it would
make notification easier.
R. McKinney, expressing his thoughts, said if no pilots were included in the meeting to
decide to close the airport for construction, then it was a mistake. Chairman Wallace said
5
. he thought having the pilots involved in deciding, and on the transfer of information,
would make them become advocates.
W. Jones said we will look at relocating the threshold for Runway 16.
W. Jones, continuing with his report, stated the contractor would be installing barricades
around the T -Hangar construction area. The building is scheduled to arrive around
Thanksgiving. J. Nicholson questioned if the completion date would need to be
extended. W. Jones said that would be something that if it is needed, the contractor
would have to request the extension. Director Boudreaux explained there had been a
delay problem with the Large Scale Development and that was corrected
administratively, but preparation work had continued, and there had been some delay in
the delivery of steel. W. Jones said they had surveyed the ramp and they have a positive
slope and have raised the asphalt as much as three inches. Director Boudreaux said the
Board approved the changes for the lights for the new hangar. Answering T. Collier, the
Compass Rose will be relocated and we will work with Wings and Bob and Mike on the
location.
G. Maintenance Report. Chairman Boudreaux reported staff had been replacing lights
in the parking lots and on the ramp. The light poles have been painted. They have been
working in the USPS area to salvage doors and ceiling tiles. A contractor will be
working on AMP'S (Aviation Maintenance Professionals) roof on the first day of good
weather. The contractor is from Texarkana and his bid was better than the local bids.
There are three separate repair jobs.
ITEM #6: Old Business.
A. Economic Impact Study. Director Boudreaux explained the Airport had received a
Preliminary Proposal from the U. of A. for $4, 987.00. That proposal included more of
what we wanted.
Bob Nickle moved to direct staff to consummate a contract and
forward the contract to the City Staff Contract Review Committee
and forward to the Mayor for signature. David Hollman gave second
to the motion. The motion carried.
B. Amendment to Arkansas Aeronautics Grant #208-05, to construct T -Hangar
"H". R. Boudreaux explained he had applied for the grant increase of $50,000.00 when
it was found the cost of the hangar was going to be more.
Janice Stanesic moved to accept the amendment to the T -Hangar "H"
State Grant and forward to the City Council for approval. Dave
Bowman gave second to the motion. The motion carried.
D. Bowman complimented staff for going after the amendment to the Grant.
ITEM #7: New Business,
A. Proposed contracting guideline for Airport Board and Airport Staff. Chairman
Wallace stated the reason and purpose of the item is to keep everyone informed of the
process. Director Boudreaux, answering B. Nickle, said it is no problem, as it is pretty
6
. much what we already do now. It is a good idea. Chairman Wallace asked that a copy of
the guideline be included as part of the minutes (see attached).
David Holtman moved to approve the contracting guidelines. Dave
Bowman gave second to the motion. The motion carried.
B. Re -wiring for T -Hangars A -D. R. Boudreaux stated the specifications for new light
fixtures were in the agenda packet. The Board had agreed to review the plans, which
shows the wiring for each hangar. The primary reason to change is the power to the
hangars goes off when the breaker is overloaded. O. Loewer said he thought if
something is going to be done to the electricity, if some tenants want more electric,
separate meters should be installed. R. Boudreaux stated he did not feel that meters were
needed because the electric consumption is very low. Chairman Wallace said the tenants
are getting a good deal on the rent, and we should ask them to be more aware of electric
usage, to not leave lights on twenty-four hours a day, and not leave heaters on. B. Nickle
suggested using the email communications to inform the tenants that we are trying to
work out problems.
Dave Bowman moved to accept the project scope and to put the
project out for bids. Bob Nickle gave second to the motion. The
motion carried.
• C. Lease with Harrison Mosley for restaurant in the terminal. Director Boudreaux
explained the provisions of the lease are the same as for the previous restaurant tenant.
They have come highly recommended and they have bought new equipment. They are
also in the cleaning business so they understand that also.
Janice Stanesic
moved for approval to
forward the lease to the City
Staff Contract
Review Committee and
for signature
by the Mayor.
David Holtman
gave second to the motion. The motion
carried.
D. Lease Amendment with Aviation Maintenance Professionals. C. Wallace
announced that Bob Dean, principal of AMP, was in attendance today. R. Boudreaux
explained the amendment to the lease will allow AMP to rent the other half of the hangar,
the area just vacated by the University. He explained staff is arranging for new roofing
for the whole hangar because of the leaks. Their business capabilities will benefit from
having the expanded work area. He complimented AMP on their service, saying they get
called out at night and they always respond with a smile. C. Wallace explained there will
be a reduction in their rent for the first period, because they are taking in more rental area
at their slow time. B. Nickle thanked them for being here on the field.
David Holtman moved for approval of the Lease Amendment to
forward to the City Staff Contract Review Committee and signature
by the Mayor. Dave Bowman gave second to the motion. The motion
carried.
E. FAA Letter announcing the new Benefit Cost for the Tower. Director Boudreaux
told of receiving the notice from the FAA explaining our tower cost. We were given time
to respond with information that might change what we would have to pay. They have
7
. now contacted us telling us that with the additional information provided, the cost of the
tower had been reduced to 9%, which is approximately $26,000 annually. He stated he
had sent the FAA a Letter of Intent to accept, but the item will require a City Council
Resolution. C. Wallace said this puts us one step closer to a break even budget. Director
Boudreaux said the FAA reviews this every two years, by then we may have grown even
more, and that might take the cost down to nothing. T. Collier expressed his thanks to
Ray and James for providing the extra information. O. Loewer said it was a significant
step and thanked Ray for staying on top of it. J. Nicholson said Otto deserves some
credit for his recommendations on the charts that showed our growth.
Otto Loewer moved for acceptance of the new Benefit Cost Sharing
for FYV tower and forward to City Staff Contract Review Committee
and for City Council approval. David Hollman gave second to the
motion. The motion carried.
F. New Fuel Provider Contract.
Director Boudreaux
explained that City's
Selection
Committee had picked Exxon, but
Exxon was unable to
provide proof to the
numbers
they had given us. We feel it was an honest mistake, but it made their bid inaccurate.
We are now negotiating with the company that was rated second by the Selection
Committee, which is AVFueI. Listing some of their benefits, the fuel trucks would be
free, they will upgrade the fuel farm, and provide the FBO Manager Software. The pilots
like the AVTrip benefits. R. Boudreaux said we now have a contract for fuel truck
• repairs with AMP. We once had a truck to fail in front of a plane on a quick tum and
AMP quickly took care of the problem.
Bob Nickle moved to approve a contract with AVFueI, to forward the
contract to the City Staff Contract Review Committee and to the City
Council for approval. David Hollman gave second to the motion. The
motion carried.
Chairman Wallace asked the minutes reflect the Airport Board's Consensus that when a
committee as important as a Contract Selection Committee is going to be formed, that the
Airport Board will be notified, and at best, a member(s) of the Airport Board be a part of
that committee.
G. Fixed Base Operator (FBO) Solicitation. Chairman Wallace explained the Board _
and Airport Staff are to meet with one proposer, Million Air, to understand what
components go into a proposal for their services. Director Boudreaux said he was excited
that someone was interested, that means there might be more that are interested, and an
RFP is our marketing piece. Chairman Wallace said Million Air had said they would
provide us, for our review, copies of two or three RFP's that they had responded to. O.
Loewer asked if it would be inappropriate to direct staff to prepare a draft RFP following
the visit from the provider? J. Stanesic said it would put us ahead by a couple of months
to go ahead. R. Boudreaux said we would want to have something the Board had seen
and approved before putting it on the street. Chairman Wallace responding to O. Loewer,
• said that would tum it over to staff to do the RFP, and he wanted the Board to be
involved in the initial conversation. Director Boudreaux stated he had put this item on
the agenda, at what he had thought had been at the Board's request. Chairman Wallace
said, in the hopes of being friendly, but clear, he wanted the Board involved, and didn't
8
9
•
is
want staff to present it and say it is already decided. O. Loewer suggested having the
provider attend an Airport Board Strategic Planning Meeting.
Bob Nickle moved that the staff be directed to explore the preparation
of a draft RFP for contract FBO to take over the tine service and
provide aircraft fueling, fotiowing the visit with the potential FBO
operator at the next Airport Board Strategic Planning Meeting.
David Holman gave second to the motion. The motion carried.
H. Revised Airport Capital Plan. Director Boudreaux explained there were some
additional items that needed to be included in the City's CIP system and referred to the
documents in the agenda. The FAA has already approved these items for the airport in
their NPIAS (National Integrated Airports Systems) plan and we need to add them to our
CIP.
David Hollman moved that to approve the revised Five Year Capital
Plan for City's Budget purposes. Dave Bowman gave second to the
motion.
O. Loewer said he liked the way it was laid out. Director Boudreaux told of being invited
by the FAA to attend their CIP Conference in Fort Worth, and be on one of the panels
next week, The FAA issued the invitation because they said our CIP is one of the best
programs they had seen.
The motion carried.
ITEM #8: Other Business.
A. Items from the Public. No items from the public.
B. Items from the Airport Board. Chairman Wallace said he had penciled in next
Thursday (October 14`h) for the next Strategic Planning Meeting.
Meeting Adjourned at 4:02 p.m.
Secretary
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Page 1 of 1
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***PROCESS FOR REVIEW OF CONTRACTS***
Fayetteville Municipal Airport Board
When items other than the routine "boiler plate" lease agreements (e.g., for T -hangar rental)
are to be sent to the city council (or city staff) by the airport board the following is
prescribed:
1) The Airport Director and his staff will negotiate with the prospective lessee/contractor
and prepare a draft lease/contract for the board to consider.
2) A summary of the draft lease(s)/contract(s) will be sent to the airport board at least one
week before the regularly scheduled meeting of the board.
3) If, due to an understandable urgency, action is needed before the regularly scheduled
board meeting, the airport director may request the chair of the board to call for a special
meeting.
4) The prospective lease/contract will be placed on the agenda under New Business and _
considered by the board.
5) Once approved, the board will request staff to prepare a final draft to send it to the council
• (or city staff) reporting that the airport board has reviewed and approved the lease.
6) Should the board disapprove a proposed lease and it remain the opinion of airport staff
that the lease should be approved, then the chair of the board shall be directed to accompany
the airport director to an agenda session of the city council to explain why the board did not
approve the lease.
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file://C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\lpowers\Local%20Settings\Temp\To%20Board°i..: 10/14/2004