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Home My WebLink About04-12-2007 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes r_ 1 MINUTES FINAL Iowa City Airport Commission April 12,2007 Iowa City Airport Terminal—5:45 PM Members Present: Howard Horan, Chair;Randy Hartwig; John Staley; Janelle Rettig, Greg Farris Members Absent: Staff Present: Sue Dulek,Michael Tharp Others Present: Tom Schnell,Dave Larsen, Gary and Sharon Lust DETERMINE QUORUM: Chairperson Horan called the meeting to order at 5:47 P.M. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS: March 8, 2007 and March 28,2007: Hartwig noted that Karin Franklin had not been at the meeting on March 8t. Rettig recommended striking a sentence from Item B on the March 8 minutes. Dulek recommended to include the closing of the public hearings on the March 28 minutes. Staley moved to accept the minutes as amended of the March 8 and March 28,2007, meetings; seconded by Rettig. Carried 5-0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: None. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: A) Aviation Commerce Park—Horan noted that Harry Wolf wasn't in attendance, and gave a brief update. He noted a closing date for Lot 5 of April 17. Dulek commented that there was some minor title objections, and those would require some city staff to sign off on. B) JJR Davis—Drainage Easement—Tharp noted that Dave Larsen gave them some preliminary plats to review and gave a quick overview of where they are now. Tharp stated that they now have an offer for the easement. Hartwig stated that according to David Hughes and Earth Tech, there shouldn't be any problems with this easement and what has been proposed. Horan asked what the Commission needs to do at this point, and Tharp stated that they need to get the FAA's approval,which would encompass a fair market appraisal of the land, first. After this,the Commission could then discuss the offer. Rettig brought up some 1 Airport Commission April 12,2007 Page 2 of 5 concerns that she has on the proposed drainage easement. She stated that she would like to have more information on just how this drainage easement will affect things in the future. Dave Larsen then addressed some of Rettig's concerns regarding the drainage, and how things are currently being handled with run-off to the creek. He also reminded the Commission of David Hughes' comment at the last meeting,when he stated that this easement would actually improve the hydrology of this area. Larsen then gave the Members some history on this particular drainage easement and how they were waiting for specific things to get done by the Airport before they could proceed. Horan asked for more specifics on why this easement has become an issue at this time. The discussion continued,with Rettig stating her concerns again, and saying that they need something to show them that this will not create any problems in the future. Tharp addressed Members' questions about how they should proceed at this point in getting FAA approval. Dulek noted that Mr. Larsen would be responsible for the cost of engaging an engineer for this project, as well as obtaining an appraisal. Rettig stated that there are basically three major concerns: flash flooding, back-up flooding,and wildlife, which have to do directly with the capacity of the creek and how the run-off will affect the area. Horan stated that he feels they don't currently have everything they need in order to address this, at this point. Members agreed,with Rettig stating that once they have this information, she does not see a problem moving forward. (TAPE ENDS) The discussion continued,with Larsen asking Dulek for some clarification on costs incurred for this proposed sale. Horan restated for the Members the contingencies as he sees them: hydrology report(buyer pays);the appraisal (buyer pays); and the Willow Creek Study results. C) Dean Thornberry—Proposal for Hangar Construction—Tharp stated that the subcommittee has met to discuss Dean Thornberry's offer. Tharp also stated that the subcommittee understood the offer to be that Thornberry would loan the necessary funds to the airport, to be repaid over time. He gave the Members some details about what they have found so far, and that the option of extending an existing hangar was also researched. Hartwig stated that according to what they found out, it would be at least a 6-month delay before they could even begin building. This led to Members discussing the best options for them at this time. Rettig stated that they should survey all of their tenants, especially the larger ones, and do some creative thinking about what they would like to see in the future, and then put together a comprehensive plan of what they would like to see. She would prefer to do some planning before they spend$300,000 to $600,000 on a new hangar. Tharp spoke to the perception aspect of the Airport—that the airport currently has a debt load and they do not want to seek an increase in the subsidies they receive. The discussion continued regarding how they could provide more hangars, while still covering their debt load. Horan asked if the Members were all in agreement that for now 2 Airport Commission April 12, 2007 Page 3 of 5 they do not want to proceed with the Thornberry proposal. This led to a brief discussion about the feasibility study being done. Members then discussed how a donation to the Airport would be handled. D) Tom Schnell—University of Iowa—Operator Performance Labs—Schnell addressed the Commission, stating that they have been looking for extra space due to the need to expand one of their labs. Horan commented that he and Tharp had talked with Schnell about his future needs regarding the use of the hangar. Schnell expressed his needs for more hangar space, as well as,more office space for the purposes of consolidating research groups,which are currently in 2 locations. Horan gave a summary of what had been discussed regarding the expansion. Horan also stated that part of this discussion covered how to fund the expansion plans,to which it had been optioned that the Airport would fund the expansion costs,which repayments made from an increase in rent. Schnell commented that he was happy to be at the airport, and that the current lease only has a few years left, so that there could be a renegotiation of a new lease to cover the additional costs for a longer term. Horan noted that part of the building is rented by Jet Air for the purposes of storing their fuel trucks for security and inclement weather. Members asked Schnell questions regarding space needs and what he sees for expansion. Members agreed to continue working with Schnell to get cost estimates for the possible expansion. E) Westside Automotive,LLC—Temporary Lease--Dulek gave Members the background on this lease, stating that while construction takes place on the Hagan Parcel,the buyers would like a temporary lease to keep the equipment on the piece of land that remains airport property. Dulek also mentioned that because the sale hasn't fully closed,the resolution would add that the lease would be contingent on closing. I) Consider a Resolution authorizing a Temporary Lease Agreement with Westside Automotive LLC for use of a vacant parcel of land by tenant during the construction of a building— Rettig moved to recommend Resolution#A07-08 as stated above; seconded by Hartwig. Carried 5-0. F) FAA/IDOT Projects—Earth Tech—David Hughes—Tharp noted that David Hughes was away and not able to attend. Tharp stated that the South Taxilanes,and Hangar A were in the bidding process. G) Airport"Operations": Strategic Plan-Implementation; Budget; and Airport Management—Rettig asked about an item in the budget. The item of `interest on investments' showed a negative. Tharp said he'd look into that. H) FBO Staff Report—Rettig asked some questions of Woolford regarding the number of flight instruction students Jet Air had. Woolford responded that he would get back to the commission with numbers. I) Subcommittees' Reports—Farris reported that he and Tharp had meet with Terry Robinson to talk about the Viewing Area. Farris said they are continuing to plan for the development of the area and were looking for 3 • • Airport Commission April 12,2007 Page 4 of 5 input for safety clearances on equipment and placement ideas. Rettig asked questions regarding the plans, stating that part of the justification of expenses was that the Airport would raise matching funds. Farris responded that they would have some layout plans at the next meeting. J) Commission Members' Reports—Horan and Rettig commented that they had attended the Iowa Aviation Conference and gave a report on what they viewed. K) Staff Report—Tharp commented that he also attended the Iowa Aviation Conference, and that he had been able to have some quick discussions with members of the FAA and the Iowa DOT. Tharp announced that the Iowa City Airport had been selected for one of the sites of the American Barnstormers Tour in the summer of 2008. Tharp commented that this is a group of flyers that operates several aircraft from the"Golden Age" of aviation and that their planes date back to the 1920's. Tharp introduced Gary Lust as a member of the group who was in attendance. Lust gave a description of the organization and what typically occurs at each event stop. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR MAY 10,2007,AT 5:45 P.M. ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 8:11 P.M. 71..it'ettej 6:-/J- o9 • P 'ERSON DATE 4 Airport Commission April 12, 2007 Page 5 of 5 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2007 (Meeting Date) TERM 1/11 2/8 3/8 3/28 4/12 NAME EXP. Randy Hartwig 3/1/09 X X X X X Greg Farris 3/1/13 0/E X X O/E X John Staley 3/1/10 X X X X X Howard Horan 3/1/08 X X X X X Janelle Rettig 3/1/12 X X X X X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent O/E= Absent/Excused NM= No meeting = Not a Member 5