HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-20-2014 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes Airport Commission
February 20,2014
Page 1
MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 20, 2014—6:00 P.M.
AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING
Members Present: Jose Assouline, Minnetta Gardinier, Paul Hofmeyer, Howard Horan, Chris
Ogren
Staff Present: Sue Dulek, Michael Tharp
Others Present: Matt Wolford, Jeff Edberg, Ron Roetzel
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Horan called the meeting to order at 6:05 P.M. Two members, Gardinier and
Ogren, were not yet present but were expected to attend the meeting. At this point, Horan
moved that Items 6a, 6d, and 6f be moved to this point in the meeting so that the attending
parties can leave prior to the Commission adjourning into Executive Session. Horan made the
motion to move Items 6a, 6d, and 6f forward to this point in the meeting, seconded by
Hofmeyer. Motion carried 3-0; Gardinier and Ogren not yet present)
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Airport Commerce Park—Jeff Edberg addressed the Airport
Commission Members at this point. He stated that they did close on Lot#9
recently. He gave Members some background on the party that purchased this
lot. Edberg noted that this person may also buy Lot#8, but that he is awaiting
the closure of another piece of property that has to sell before considering this
other lot. (Gardinier and Ogren arrived at this point.) Edberg continued speaking
to Members, noting that they are now down to three lots for sale in the
Commerce Park. Hofmeyer asked if this is considering Lot#8, which may be
sold to the same party as Lot#9. Edberg responded that actually Lot#s 11, 12,
and 13 are open, as are Lots#s 7 and 8, for a total of five lots. Edberg then
spoke to what other types of lots are available in the Iowa City area and what
types of zoning they are under, compared to the lots available in the Airport
Commerce Park.
d. Airport Master Plan—Tharp introduced Ron Roetzel of Bolton & Menk
as one of the team members who will be working on the Airport's Master Plan.
Tharp noted that Members received a draft of the full task order in their meeting
packets, and that the idea tonight is to walk Members through what the Master
Plan will consist of. If Members have any questions, this will be the time to ask
them. Roetzel noted that this is a time for information gathering so that they
incorporate everything the Members want in their Master Plan. He noted that the
FAA does have some mandatory items, but that each Master Plan is tailored to
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February 20,2014
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the specific airport. Roetzel then spoke to the seven key points that the Master
Plan will cover. Briefly reviewing these key points, he noted that one of the first
ones is runway alternatives. This refers to such things as runway length,
approach surfaces, and runway ends. Hofmeyer asked questions of Roetzel
regarding such alternatives and how feasible some of these may be for the
Airport. Roetzel responded, further explaining how the processes and
evaluations would be handled in the Master Plan planning.
Roetzel continued, stating that another key point will be a comprehensive
obstruction evaluation. With the last Master Plan having been done in 1996, he
noted that there have undoubtedly been some changes in the area with building
and development, making this type of comprehensive analysis very important.
He continued, briefly reviewing the key points, as well as the processes and
evaluations used to address each one. Another major area is financial feasibility,
according to Roetzel. This analysis is not meant to be a marketing plan, per se,
but the FAA does want each airport to review what their existing revenue and
expenses are, and what plans they have to increase their revenue in order to
become more self-sufficient.
Public involvement will be crucial, according to Roetzel. He stated that they will
start with a Master Plan advisory group, consisting of representatives from a
multitude of groups in the community. Assouline questioned Roetzel on how
they use this public input in creating the Master Plan. Roetzel spoke to this and
also how they have outreach meetings where they go to the local businesses and
neighborhood groups to share and gather information, basically letting the public
know what is going on at the Airport. In addition to these meetings, there are
also public open houses where information gathering and sharing are again key
essentials for creating the Master Plan.
Roetzel then spoke to the GIS portion of the plan. He noted that it will be
completely compatible with the City's system, and will also meet the FAA's
criteria. Hofmeyer asked for some clarification of the GIS system, to which
Roetzel responded. Members then asked questions of Roetzel and Tharp as to
how they will be proceeding with the Master Plan process. The next step in this
process, according to Roetzel, is that the FAA receive a copy of the draft
document. He briefly explained this part of the process.
Tharp spoke briefly to cost estimates, further explaining how this will be handled
for the plan. Roetzel added that an independent cost estimate will be required by
the FAA in order to compare the two cost estimates.
Horan moved that the meeting minutes portion of the meeting be moved up
before they adjourn to the Executive Session; seconded by Hofmeyer.
Motion carried 5-0.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES:
Minutes of the January 14, 2014, meeting were reviewed first. Ogren noted that at the end,
"Members continued to discuss,"the 'ed' needs to be removed. Ogren moved to approve the
January 14, 2014, meeting minutes as amended; seconded by Horan. Motion carried 5-0.
•
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February 20,2014
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Minutes of the January 16, 2014 meeting were reviewed next. Ogren moved to approve the
January 16, 2014, meeting minutes as presented, seconded by Gardinier. Motion carried
5-0. Lastly, minutes of the February 4, 2014, meeting were reviewed. Ogren noted that at the
very end it says "day off requirements," and most likely should be "day of...". She also noted
four paragraphs up, "Commission meeting and possibly suggest start," should probably have
..."suggest how to start...". Ogren then showed some grammatical errors on the first page.
Gardinier moved to approve the February 4, 2014, meeting minutes as amended,
seconded by Hofmeyer. Motion carried 5-0.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION (cont):
f. FBO/Flight Training Reports
i. Jet Air—Matt Wolford of Jet Air spoke to the Members regarding the last
month's maintenance and upkeep. In January there was a lot of snow removal,
according to Wolford, and February is looking about the same. It was noted that
snow removal is a different contract than the maintenance one. Ogren asked
how this contract is handled, and Tharp noted that the last contract was for a 3-
year period. This contract covers both snow and mowing, and is more of a
grounds maintenance-type contract. Wolford noted that they have fixed the
motor on the self-serve pump, but that people are still dragging the nozzles on
the ground. Gardinier stated that it's been in the last six months or so that this
nozzle has been leaking. Prior to this, it did not appear to be a problem. Wolford
added that they did put up a sign, asking people to not drag the nozzle, but there
still appears to be a problem. Members continued to discuss this issue with
Wolford. Snow removal was also discussed at some length with Members, due
to the excessive amounts this season. Wolford then spoke about Jet Air and
how things are going for them. He stated that it's really just a bad time of the
year for the aviation industry with all of the snowstorms. This has led to a lot of
overtime for staff. With less aircraft coming through, fuel sales have dropped.
He added that with warmer weather they're sure to see things picking up again.
Members then spoke briefly with Wolford and Tharp about snow removal and
ways to make this easier on the runways.
ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Horan moved to adjourn to Executive Session at 7:09 P.M. under Iowa Code Section
21.5(1)(c)to discuss strategy with Counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or
where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or
disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation; seconded by
Ogren. Also under consider for an Executive Session is the need to evaluate the
professional competency of individuals whose appointment, hiring, performance, or
discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable
injury to that individuals' reputations and those individuals requested a closed session
(evaluation of the Airport Operations Specialist). Motion carried 5-0.
Horan made the motion to adjourn the Executive Session at 7:34 P.M., seconded by
Ogren. Motion carried 5-0.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
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None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION (cont.):
b. Fly Iowa—Tharp stated that the subcommittee met a few weeks ago and talked
about the Children's Museum and their participation in this event. They also talked
about fundraising. Tharp added that they have received a few checks, but nothing
substantial yet. They have around $700 in donations so far. Ogren asked what their
next step is, and Tharp stated that they need to begin contacting people personally. He
will send out a revised roster and they can divide up the names/numbers and start
contacting people that way. Hofmeyer noted that there had been some mention of
having the next Fly Iowa meeting at the Children's Museum. Tharp noted that he would
need to speak with Dulek about this, as it would be a public meeting. Dulek asked if it
would be easily accessible by the public, and it was confirmed that the public could
easily attend a meeting there. Members agreed that having the meeting at the Museum
would be a good idea.
e. Airport Operations—Tharp noted that the State Aviation Conference is April 22-
23 this year. He will be there for both days and stated that if anyone else would like to
attend to please let him know. Hofmeyer asked which day would be the better one to
attend, if he can only attend one day. Tharp stated that he would have to look at the
agenda, but one day is typically more active with lectures and sessions, and the other
day is more networking and that type of thing.
i. Strategic Plan —Implementation—
ii. Budget—Tharp stated that he met a couple of weeks ago with the City
Forester and he shared a letter that he received with the Members. The City
Forester is setting up a plan to deal with the Emerald Ash Borer, if and when it
hits Iowa City. For the Airport, this means that a fairly substantial number of
trees will be affected. The City is in the process of coming up with a plan to deal
with this threat and has asked if they could possibly use land to the south to
house their tree removal operation. They would store the removed trees at this
location, chip them up, and then ship the chippings out. Tharp asked Members
for their input, and several asked questions of such an operation and how they
would keep it from becoming a problem. Dulek added that the State legislature is
also looking into such costs and how these operations will affect cities. Members
stated that they wouldn't have a problem with this to a degree, but would want
some answers about the wood chipping itself and the impact of that on the
Airport grounds. Members also agreed that they would like to have the City
Forester come to their next meeting so they can get their questions answered.
iii. Management—Tharp noted that he and Horan were at the Council
meeting recently and gave the Annual Report presentation to the Council. He
stated that they did note that Horan would be ending his stint as a Commissioner.
Horan stated that he mentioned that in 1992 the money from the General Fund
was $180,000 and how since then they have been heading in the right direction.
Dulek added that there were some claps of appreciation for Horan's service.
Tharp noted that Ogren has been reappointed to the Commission, and that they
will be taking applications for Horan's position. Members then spoke to who
would become the Chair as this is Horan's last meeting. Tharp suggested they
talk amongst themselves and decide what they would like to do. They will
actually elect a Chair at next month's meeting then. Gardinier asked if the
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February 20, 2014
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Chair's duties could be split amongst the Members. Tharp noted that typically it
is the Chair due to the signing requirements. He added that he will gladly meet
with any of them, but that the Chair typically takes on these duties due to the
signature requirements. Members continued to discuss how they might want to
handle these duties in the future.
g. Subcommittee Reports —
i. February — Budget— (see above comment under "Management")
ii. March — Community Liaison —(Ogren and Assouline)
h. Commission Members' Reports — Gardinier stated she hopes for better
weather by this weekend when she will be flying. Ogren shared that she
successfully flew through Atlanta last week, before the storm came. Hofmeyer
stated that this past weekend he drove up to Clinton and stopped at their airport.
They are getting a new terminal building and doing quite a bit of work. He added
that they also stopped by the Davenport Airport, as well. Assouline stated that
he has not been much of anywhere this month. Horan stated that he spends a
lot of time on Flight Aware online, and also spends time on Facebook. Gardinier
stated that the Air Race Classic needs a head timer, with orientation seminars
soon if anyone is interested. Members asked about this position and what it
would entail. The Air Race Classic is June 16 -- 19, with most planes here
Wednesday and Thursday, according to Gardinier. Gardinier and other Members
thanked Horan for his years of service, asking that he still help with the Fly Iowa
event, which he gladly agreed to do.
i. Staff Members' Reports — None.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next Fly Iowa subcommittee meeting is March 4, 2014, at 5:30 P.M. After some discussion,
Members noted that the March 20 meeting date will not work for several of them. The next
regular meeting will be Monday, March 17, 2014, at 6:00 P.M. at the Airport Terminal building.
ADJOURN:
Hofmeyer made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 P.M.; seconded by Ogren.
Motion carried 5-0.
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CHAIRPERSON DATE
Airport Commission
February 20,2014
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Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2013-2014
TERM -a. 0 0 0 0 0
A crit W V oCo co to 8p 0 . II;
Q s N
-i N
NAME EXP, COI Fri o N co - m - zit A
W W W W W W W W W W W W 11.
03/01/14
Howard X X X X XX X X X X X X X XXX X
Horan
Minnetta 03/01/15 O/E X O/E X XX O/E X X X X X X XXX X
Gardinier
Jose 03/01/16 X X X O/E X X X X O/E X O/E X O/E O/E X X X
Assouline
Chris 03/01/14 X X X X XX X X X X X X X XXX X
Ogren
Paul 03/01/17 X X X X XX O/E X X X O/E X X XXX X
Hofmeyer
Key:
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E =Absent/Excused
NM = Not a Member at this time