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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-17-1997 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes MINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY APRIL 17, 1997 - 5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY TRANSIT FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Howard Horan, Richard Blum, John Penick Rick Mascari, Pat Foster MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Eleanor Dilkes, Ron O'Neil, Karin Franklin Pam Barnes CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Horan called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. A quorum was present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the March 13 , 1997, meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Penick made a motion to approve the bills. Blum seconded the motion. The motion was approved 5 - 0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: Penick noted that the State Aviation Bulletin had the wrong date for the fly-in breakfast in August. Blum said he contacted the IDOT and the date will be corrected in the next publication in June. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. ACSG project - Greg Bridger, from ACSG, gave the Commission an update of the land acquisition and avigation easement project. He said there are 29 parcels in the project. There are 26 mobile home units in the Fitzgarrald park and 31 units in the Iowa City Mobile Home Park. It is still not certain how many units will need to be relocated in the Iowa City Mobile Home Park. There was a public information meeting for the residents of the Fitzgarrald park. It was well attended and the residents had an opportunity to ask questions about the project. Dilkes said there is a resolution for an amendment to the ACSG contract. It clarifies the invoicing process. It deals with how the fixed payment is presented. Blum made a motion to adopt the resolution. Mascari seconded the motion and it was passed by roll call vote, 5 - 0. b. North commercial area - Horan said the Commission met with a development group on March 21. The group presented a proposal to develop the area north of Runway 17. The developers would provide secondary access for the parcel through their property. Franklin said she understood there are some basic issues that need to be resolved before development can take place. There is a question of when does a long term lease become the same as a sale and does the Commission need to open the process and solicit Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project ? Mascari said he did not think the Commission was interested in selling the property. He said the question at the last Commission meeting concerned the number of years a lease could be written for without it constituting a sale. Dilkes said to dispose of public property, by lease or sale, would require a public hearing. She said that although it may not be required to get RFPs, it may be the most prudent thing to do. It would help to identify what the Commission wants to happen in the area. O'Neil asked Franklin how long it would take to develop an RFP for the project ? Franklin said it would probably not be a complicated RFP and could be ready by July. There would then be a sixty day response period. Penick suggested the Commission advertise to see if there is interest in the property and hold a public meeting for everyone expressing interest in developing the property. O'Neil said a survey of the property has been completed. If the threshold for Runway 17 is relocated to allow for a 3000 foot runway, there will be approximately 47 acres available for development. If the RPZ is relocated south of the building restriction line, there would be approximately 53 acres to develop. This would leave about 2600 feet of runway. Horan directed O'Neil to have the relocation of the threshold for Runway 17 as an agenda item for the May meeting. Blum suggested scheduling a public meeting concerning the development property and sending a mailing to all local developers, inviting those interested, to participate. An ad could be placed, inviting any interested party to the public meeting. Franklin said that if that is the route the Commission wants to take, she would suggest placing a display ad in the paper. O'Neil should have information, describing the parcel and information the Commission wants known about developing the property, such as, "Does the Science Center have to be accommodated ?, Is a second access to the area required ?", etc. Blum and Mascari are the subcommittee for this project. They will develop a procedure and schedule for proceeding with the project. Franklin will send an RFP of a previous project to O'Neil to use as a guideline to develop an RFP for this area. Blum said he would want a lease that is very clear, saying that if the Airport needs the property for aviation uses, the property will be made available. He suggested a twenty-five year lease, with two twenty-five year options. O'Neil will have the property appraised and try to have the appraisal available as soon as possible. Jim Larew, representing the Science Center, wanted to know where the Center would fit into the plans. Blum said that one developer indicated his plan could include the Science Center. O'Neil said that the Commission could write an RFP to include the Science Center, but should not jeopardize maximizing income by insisting the Science Center be part of the development. The Airport does not have the income to subsidize the Science Center. Blum said getting fair market value does not necessarily mean taking the highest or best offer. The Science Center can not compete with other commercial businesses and can not be considered a profit center. The Commission agreed that every effort should be made to include the Science Center. The subcommittee will have a recommendation for the process to follow for development. This will be either a formal RFP or a public meeting to see if there is interest in the project. Franklin and Dilkes both recommended using the formal RFP process. c. Iowa City Rehab Building land lease - O'Neil said the lease expires on June 30, 1997 . The property leased is in the north development area. Pam Barnes, from the City Planning Department, explained what the property is used for. Access is from an easement through the School Board property to the east of the Airport. Blum said the biggest problem is that the storage building is in the north development area. He said he thinks the building will have to be moved, although there is not a great urgency in moving it until the land is ready to develop. Blum said he would make a motion to continue the lease for another five years, with some adjustment for cost of living. O'Neil suggested that since the area is being appraised, the Commission should use the appraisal and set the rent at fair market value. Barnes said the lease has a ninety day termination clause. They designed the building knowing that it may have to be moved some day. Blum said that he would retract his previous motion and make a motion to set a public hearing for the lease for the next meeting. Mascari seconded the motion and it passed 5 - 0. Penick said the Commission and the developer would work with the Barnes to give her as much notice as possible to move the building, but suggested a search for a new building location should start soon. 0 d. Minimum standards - Blum and Mascari are the subcommittee. They said they are not ready to make a final recommendation. Blum said he talked with an airport manager from Nebraska who said that he just went through the process of developing minimum standards. He suggested making sure the aviation groups that use the airport are involved in the process. Blum and Mascari will meet and report at the next Commission meeting. e. Bird control - O'Neil said Mascari requested information on how to control migrating birds around the Airport. He said a lot of the devices to scare birds away deal with creating noise to frighten the birds. Blum said the only thing he has read that works is to drive up and down the runways 24 hours a day to chase the birds off the runways. Larger airports have the personnel to do this. O'Neil will try to find more information for Mascari. f. Airport entrance sign - Mascari said that he and Blum still recommend having a contest to design the entrance sign. O'Neil said he thought offering $ 1000 prize was too much. He said after a concept was chosen, it will cost additional money to actually design the sign. Add that to the manufacturing and installation of the sign, and the project would be considerably over budget. Mascari said he thought it would give the Airport good publicity to offer a large prize. He thought it would draw positive attention to the Airport and attract design professionals. The Commission discussed who would be eligible and what the prize would be. The Commission decided to have a contest and offer a cash prize. All entries will be the property of the Commission. Mascari made a motion to have a contest to design the Airport entrance sign, offering a prize of $ 500. 00. Blum seconded the motion and it was passed 5 - 0. g. Aviation Management agreement - O'Neil said this agreement ends on May 31, 1997 . He said renewal is dependent on whether or not AMI decides to build a hangar. AMI has indicated that they are interested in building an 80 ' by 80 ' hangar. Horan suggested putting this on the agenda for the May meeting. He thought the business agreement and hangar lease could be resolved at that time. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Horan said he had nothing further to report. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Mascari said he was approached by Jones from ICFS about building a new 100 ' by 100 ' hangar. Horan said he will contact Jones. Blum said Jones indicated to him that if he built a hangar, his FBO lease would be extended to run the length of time it took to pay for the hangar. Blum told Jones this would not be the case. Blum said he observed that Iowa City Landscaping is still not locking the gate during the day when no one is around. O'Neil will send a letter explaining that for them to continue renting the Airport property, they will have to observe the safety rules. Mascari said someone asked if they could rent Airport property to have a wedding. O'Neil said there is an application to fill out, requesting use of Airport property. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Dilkes said she was contacted by the Planning Department, reminding her that if the Commission is going to be involved in a project that receives federal funds, a Phase I archeological study must be completed. This may not effect developing the north area but it would be a good idea to see if it is needed. O'Neil said he has fourteen people interested in leasing T-hangars. The 1995 building has been full since it was built and the 30 hangars leased to ICFS are full. O'Neil gave the Commission a tentative schedule for constructing a building. He suggested having a written commitment from ten tenants before requesting funding from the Council. This will be an agenda item at the May meeting. O'Neil said the DTN contract is due in July. If there are no objections, it will automatically be renewed. The extension to the 360 Degree tower 2 miles west of the Airport has been determined to be a hazard and the FAA has recommended against allowing the extension to be built. A copy of the Airport Aircraft Emergency Plan was included in the Commission information packet. O'Neil said he needs review by the Commission to complete the plan. Blum and Penick will work on the plan. The Central Region AIP Conference is April 30 and May 1. Mascari, Blum, Foster, and Penick will be attending on May 1. The Willow Creek Sewer is being designed to go on Airport property, following Willow Creek on the east side. O'Neil will talk to Public Works and get more information for the Commission. The sewer follows a part of Dane Road that is to be relocated and will go through the Obstacle Free Area for Runway 06 . ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Blum nominated Foster to serve as chairperson for the next year and Horan nominated Blum to serve as vice-chairperson/secretary. Penick seconded both nominations and they were approved 3 - 0, with Foster and Blum abstaining. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 8, 1997 , at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: Penick moved to adjourn the meeting. Mascari seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Pat Foster, Chairperson