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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-2000 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes • MINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY AUGUST 10,2000—5:45 KM. IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Ellis, Rick Mascari,Howard Horan, Mark Anderson STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek,Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Mascari called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the July 20,2000, Commission meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Anderson made a motion to approve the bills. Ellis seconded the motion and the bills were approved 4—0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION—ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: Dick Blum, from SERTOMA,reminded the Commission that the fly in breakfast was coming up on August 20's. Mascari asked about the construction site where the building collapsed. O'Neil said he contacted Selzer Werderitsch and told them the area would have to be fenced off in some way. They said they would barricade the area. PUBLIC HEARING-Gordon lease,Buntline H: Mascari opened the public hearing at 5:46 p.m. There were no comments from the public. Mascari closed the public hearing at 5:47 p.m. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Gordon lease- O'Neil said he has discussed the lease with Dennis Gordon. He said it is a five-year lease,with a five-year option. O'Neil said the lease is scheduled to start January 1, 2001,unless the Commission wanted to terminate the lease with HLM sooner than that. Mascari said he would like to continue the lease with HLM until it expires in December 2000. The rent for the new lease is$ 1792 per month. Because the tenant is responsible for interior maintenance,Gordon said he wanted a definition of exactly what is considered interior maintenance. O'Neil said that the Commission would pay the sewer and water charges and Gordon would pay the other utilities. This is consistent with other building leases at the Airport. Horan said perhaps the other leases should be looked at and the tenants pay all the utilities. After some discussion, it was decided the Commission would pay sewer and water on the building. This was consistent with other leases. O'Neil will work on a list that describes what interior maintenance is. This is something that can be used in any lease. O'Neil will have the list by the next meeting. O'Neil said there are still some issues to resolve concerning the fuel tank. The subcommittee of Horan and Mascari will meet with Gordon before the next meeting and resolve any outstanding issues. Gordon wanted to know how much the rent would be if he didn't want to include the fuel tank in the value of the hangar. The subcommittee will discuss this with him and be ready for the agenda in September. b. Terminal renovation project- O'Neil said there are some problems that have occurred with renovation. The Commission has stated that these were design problems. HLM,the firm that designed the project,was invited to the meeting to explain what they were doing to fix the items in question. The main problems are the railing on the exterior walkway and the building's air conditioning. Morrie Cohen and Jim Bradberry,from HLM,answered questions from the Commission. Cohen said he didn't think the railing was a design problem. He said he thought the railing was designed to meet building code and he had no reason to believe it would not pass code. He said there are several examples of this same type of railing around town. Mascari asked if the Building Department approved the design before it was built? Cohen said that since this was an add-on to the project, it did not go through the Building Department for review. Ellis and Horan expressed opinions that HLM was paid to design a project that met building codes and the Commission should not have to pay to have something redesigned to meet codes. Mascari asked Cohen about the problems they were having with the air conditioner. Cohen said they have made some modifications to control the humidity. One of those solutions was to run the boilers while the air conditioners are running so that the air conditioners would run longer and take more humidity out of the air. Mascari said it was his understanding that the units were sized too large and they don't run long enough to take the humidity out of the air. Bradberry said that according to the size of the building,the units were the right size. He said he has been in contact with the manufacturer and is working on a solution to the problem. The Commission agreed that this was the responsibility of HLM to correct the problem with the air conditioning. Running the heat and air conditioning at the same time was not an acceptable solution. Mascari asked Cohen if he could work with the contractor and the manufacturer and find an answer to the problem. Mascari said this was HLM's problem and the Commission would not pay any more to have the problem corrected. Cohen said he would find a workable solution. O'Neil said there is also a lot of ceiling tile to replace and there may be damage to the insulation because of the high humidity problem. c. Fuel site-Blum said that he needed to know when the Commission wanted to have the system operational so he could develop a bidding and construction schedule. Mascari said he thought the tanks should be installed in the fall of 2001. That way they would not sit unused for a long period of time if ICFS did not want to use them until their current lease expires in December 2001. O'Neil said he discussed this issue with ICFS and they would like the tanks operational and have time to remove their tanks by September 2001. Their insurance rims from September to August and they did not want to have to renew their clean-up insurance next September. This would require the new tanks to be operational by May 1,or June 1 at the latest. Blum suggested getting some written confirmation from ICFS that they will be using the tanks when they are installed. O'Neil will write a letter to ICFS confirming the schedule. Mascari and Ellis are the subcommittee working on this project. d. SEATS- Lisa Dewey was present to explain the letter she sent to the Commission asking for certain improvements to the office space they lease. She went through the list of repairs she wanted done. She said her concern in asking for the repairs was for the health and safety of her employees. She said the Airport Manager has always responded when she contacted him to repair things. Because they have a year and a half left on the lease, Dewey said she wanted the repairs done because of safety concerns. Mascari asked if the ventilation problems were new. Dewey said she had been here for about 20 months and she was not sure if the ventilation was the same as when they rented the building. O'Neil said that part of the problem with the parking is that it is a chip seal surface and the snow removal contractor hired by SEATS removed a lot of the gravel when he cleaned the parking lot. Dewey said there are a couple of lights that buzz and it bothers her employees. She said they have put in new bulbs but it doesn't seem to help. Mascari asked if the concerns Dewey mentioned existed last November when SEATS asked for an extension of their lease? Dewey said the roof leaked occasionally and the ventilation problems existed at that time. Mascari said he realizes there are some problems with the building and there are some things that may require repairs.He said he knows it is an old facility and has a limited life,but the original rent was adjusted to compensate for it being an older building. Horan said information he had from the media indicated that SEATS was interested in moving and he finds it unusual that the Commission would be getting a long list of repairs at the same time that SEATS wanted to get out of their lease. Dewey said that it was determined that if they were going to have to stay,the repairs needed to be done. If they were going to be out in a few months,the repairs wouldn't have to take place. Horan said he would consider some negotiated figure on the remaining lease amount. Dewey said the would be willing to discuss this. She said she thought there were several options. She said the County is not willing to buy out the full amount remaining on the lease. Mascari said repairs would be made. e. 2002 FRO lease- O'Neil said he gave ICFS a lease several weeks ago. After they had time to review the lease, O'Neil met with Richard Lancia!and Kenny Sandy to discuss terms. ICFS would like to see a term of 20 years. O'Neil told ICFS that a 20-year lease was probably not an option. He said it would be more realistic to ask for a ten-year lease,with two five-year options. Fees would have to be adjusted at least every five years. Mascari said this is something to be discussed by a subcommittee. O'Neil said the use of the fuel farm would need to be negotiated. This can be part of their lease or could be a separate agreement. ICFS said they need the entire capacity of the tanks. They do not want to share the tanks with other lessees. O'Neil said that whatever is decided, there should only be one site on the Airport for fuel. O'Neil said he did not include the three north hangar buildings as part of the leasehold. With the current lease,ICFS leases the buildings for about half of what the income is from the hangars. O'Neil said the Commission owns the buildings,pays the electrical bill and does the maintenance and ICFS receives about half of the income. He said that there is some room for compromise, if ICFS wants to rent the hangars at a reduced rate. Mascari said this is also something for the subcommittee to discuss. O'Neil said much of the remaining language in the proposed lease is language that is required by the City or by the FAA. It includes protection for grant assurances,nondiscrimination language and insurance requirements. Anderson asked if the Commission should advertise for an FBO instead of negotiating with ICFS? O'Neil said he has told ICFS that if a lease is not negotiated by January,the Commission has said they would advertise regionally or maybe nationally for someone to provide for F130 services. Mascari said he thought the Commission should put together an RFQ and advertise. The rest of the Commission agreed. The Commission directed O'Neil to develop a Request for Qualifications. f. North Commercial area 1. Council/Commission agreement- O'Neil said the Council would hold a public hearing for the plans and specifications for the infrastructure for the NCA on August 29. Bids will be due on September 19,2000. City Manager Atkins is waiting for the appraisal update from Cook Appraisals before he can finish drafting the agreement with the Council for repaying the loan for the infrastructure. 2. Science Center agreement- O'Neil said he and Attorney Dulek had conversations with Jim Larew from the Science Center. Larew said he remembers the Commission voting on a five-year lease,with rent being$1.00 per year. O'Neil said he researched the Commission minutes and the only time rent was discussed was during public discussion time at a meeting on February 11, 1999. At that time,the Commission said that if the Council wanted to help subsidize the Science Center,a reduced rent might be possible. This was not an agenda item at that particular meeting and the Commission could not have voted on the issue. O'Neil said he would work with Dulek and generate a generic lease for property in the NCA. When that is developed,a lease can be written for the Science Center. O'Neil said in his discussion with Larew,Larew wanted to know when the Commission would be ready to turn the United Hangar over to the Science Center. He said he would like to begin rehab on the building. Mascari said there are still several months left on the SEATS lease. Horan said the Science Center could approach SEATS about subleasing the building if they wanted to get in there sooner. O'Neil reminded the Commission that although they have always been supportive of the Science Center,they do not have any budget to subsidize the Science Center by leasing them property at less than market value. Dulek said that she has researched the fair market value issue and the Science Center does not meet the exception test. Airport property can be leased at less than fair market value if the property leased is not capable of producing substantial income. Larew said that rehab of the hangar would be of some value. O'Neil said that the value would be to the Science Center and perhaps the community,but not necessarily to the Airport. Mascari will send a letter to Larew and the Science Center and explain the Commission's position. He will explain that he has to pay fair market value. The United hangar will be available for Science Center use after the SEATS lease expires. 3. Marketing- In a letter of reply to Bender's resignation letter,Mayor Lehman stated that he would not be able to support Coldwell Banker as the firm to market the NCA. O'Neil said the Commission would need to put together a Request for Proposals and advertise. Mascari said he thought Coldwell Banker should not be excluded if they want to compete for the project. O'Neil said he had started developing an RFP in 1997. It was based on the idea that a private company would develop the entire parcel. Some of the same issues from the 1997 RFP would apply to the new RFP but it would have to be modified to reflect that the Commission wanted a company only for marketing the property. The Commission directed O'Neil to develop an RFP for marketing the NCA. O'Neil said there might not be enough time to advertise and have firms develop a proposal before the next meeting. Mascari said there could be a special meeting to listen to the proposals. 4. Other issues—Dulek said the final plat for the NCA would go to the Council in September. O'Neil and Dulek will check on the schedule for final approval. g. Building K project-Selzer said the building would be delivered the week of August 28 and the building completion date is November 17,2000. O'Neil said he contacted Selzer and said the site would need to be cleaned up and secured before the fly-in breakfast on August 20. O'Neil said SWA is in the process of replacing the anchor bolts. A letter was sent to SWA questioning the removal of the salvage material. An adjustment will be made on the next billing. O'Neil will begin to get the leases signed for the nine hangars. h Beacon tower painting bids-Three bids were received. The apparent low bid was from Thomas Industrial Coating in the amount of$ 19,015.00. O'Neil said he called two references and received very favorable recommendations. Anderson made a motion for a resolution to accept the bid from Thomas Industrial Coating. Horan seconded the motion and it passed 4—0. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Mascari said the Commission should send a letter to Tom Bender,thanking him for his work on the Commission,especially for the work on the NCA. Mascari said he met Burt Rutan at Oshkosh and gave him a ride to his aircraft in northern Wisconsin. COMMISSION MEMBERS'REPORTS: Anderson wanted to know if it would be beneficial to have an independent mechanical engineer look at the air conditioning problem they are having in the Terminal Building. O'Neil said he has talked to four different air conditioning contractors or technicians and they all said the same thing,and that is,the units are oversized. Mascari said he thought the Commission should wait and see what type of solution FILM can provide. Anderson said there is a Fly Iowa 2001 meeting next Tuesday and since there would be three Airport Commission members in attendance, it would need to be posted as a Commission meeting. Anderson asked why there was still a hangar being used to store medical supply material. O'Neil said that hangar is under the control of ICFS. He will see if there is any violation of minimum standards. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Dulek provide the Commission with information concerning communication towers. There has been a renewed interest to install additional communication towers in and around Iowa City. These could create additional obstructions,affecting approaches and the ability to installing a precision approach. There are no building permit applications on file at this time for any towers. The completion date for the beacon tower painting project is October 6,2000. O'Neil said he would be interested in attending the Community Leadership Program. The deadline has passed for this year but he would like to attend next year. Horan said he went through the program and learned a lot about the community. A meeting is scheduled with the FAA in Kansas City for August 22,2000,at 10:00 a.m. Mascari will see if there are any Council members who are interested in attending. The Iowa Aviation Conference is September 20 and 21. O'Neil will send the Commission members the registration information as soon as he receives it. There is a group of citizens that would like the Council to appoint a committee or commission to review all departments' building plans to see if they comply with disabilities requirements. The Commission indicated that they thought this was handled adequately by the Building Department and another review board was not necessary. O'Neil said there is a copy of a letter in the packet from Chairperson Mascari inviting the Council members to attend the fly in breakfast. O'Neil said there a letter in the packet from ICFS concerning a second rental and training plane. O'Neil said Toyota has contacted him about leasing some property near Dane Road to put up a new sign. He will meet with them tomorrow. O'Neil suggested the Commission get a price for developing plans and specifications for Building D. The Commission has a$50,000 grant to rehab the building. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for September 14,2000,at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:07 p.m. 1(0i Rick Mascari,Chairperson