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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-13-2003 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes w a MINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 13,2003—5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Michelle Robnett,Mark Anderson,Alan Ellis,Baron Thrower,Rick Mascari STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek,Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the January 6 and January 9,2003,Commission meetings were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Mascari made a motion to pay the bills. Ellis seconded the motion.The motion passed 5—0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION—ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: Larry Blake,from Hills Bank,and Ron Duffe,from Jet Air,presented information. Hills Bank would like to have a customer appreciation day at the Airport. The day would have an aviation theme. He said they have the basic idea and would have to decide what specific events to have if the Commission approved use of the facilities. O'Neil told Blake that the Commission had an application form for use of airport property. O'Neil said he would send them an application. O'Neil suggested a Young Eagles event could be scheduled in conjunction with the event. Dick Blum,from H.R.Green,said there is a power point presentation on the history of the Airport. O'Neil introduced Dave Hughes,from Earth Tech. O'Neil said Earth Tech is the engineering firm working on the Mormon Trek project. He said Hughes was in town and decided to attend the Commission meeting in case there were any questions about the road project. Mascari asked how long Runway 36 would have to be closed while the earthwork is being done on the road? Hughes said it would probably take about a week and would most likely be in the early Fall. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Environmental Assessment project—Blum said that the project is moving forward. Most of the technical information had been compiled and the noise study is being completed. Blum said that work is being completed on the issue of the Airport being a historic district. He said Green's investigation has convinced them that there may be historic buildings but not a historic district. Mark Schenkelberg,the FAA Environmental Planner,will be visiting Iowa City to discuss the issues. Blum said H.R. Green is on schedule to meet the timeline that was discussed at the meeting with the FAA in Kansas City in December. All of the information is to be in Kansas City by April in order to make the deadline for FY 2003 grant funding. Blum said there was a noise 1 study done about 16 years ago. Sensors were set in neighborhoods around the Airport and a noise concern was identified. The noise study indicated that the City buses produced more noise in the neighborhoods than any aircraft. b. Aviation Commerce Park(ACP) February report—Tracy Overton,from Iowa Realty,presented information to the Commission. He said the restrictive covenants were passed by the City Council and now it was time to lease and sell the property. Mascari asked about the building restrictions for a potential ILS? O'Neil said that the required air space study application must note that any structure must be reviewed as to its effect on navigational aids. An air space study must be completed before a building permit is issued. Overton said he is in active negotiations with one potential tenant and there have been several serious inquiries. Overton said that with the fill dirt activity,people are making more inquiries. He said the prices range from$3.00 per square foot to$4.50 per square foot, depending on the size of the lot. c. Obstruction mitigation project- Anderson said this issue would be deferred. He could not meet with the project manager from Stanley. Mike Donnelly was out of the U.S.for a while on another project. d. Hagen property- Bob Downer was introduced. He represents Ann Hargrave,owner of Hargrave-McEleney,Inc. Ann Hargrave was also present. Downer said Hargrave-McEleney was interested in a parcel of property that the Airport purchased as part of their land acquisition project a couple of years ago. The preference would be for Hargrave to buy the property,as opposed to leasing it. Downer said there might be interest also in the property west of the Hagen property. Hargrave asked about restrictions on the property. O'Neil said that the total parcel was purchased even though not all of it was needed for the Runway Protection Zone. The owner wanted to sell the entire parcel and the FAA agreed to participate in the purchase. If the Commission wanted to sell the parcel,a release would need to be obtained from the FAA. O'Neil said that if the back portion of the lot was sold or leased,an easement for an access drive could be given across the front portion of the property. If the front part of the lot inside the RPZ is outside the Obstacle Free Area extended,it may be possible to lease it for parking. O'Neil said the easiest way to get an idea of whether or not a project is feasible is to send in an airspace study application. Anderson asked what length of lease would be wanted if the property is leased? Hargrave said she had not considered that yet. Ellis asked if the property would have to be sold through a realty?? O'Neil said the property could be sold in-house. An appraisal would be done and the price negotiated. The first decision would have to be if the Commission wanted to recommend to the Council to sell the property. A grant assurance waiver like that received for the Aviation Commerce Park would have to be applied for. The final decision to sell the property would be made by the Council. If the property is leased,that would be a Commission decision. Robnett said she wanted to make sure the property is not needed for the safety area if an ILS is installed on Runway 25. Robnett said if the property was not needed for the safety area,she would be inclined to lease it as opposed to selling it. Mascari agreed with Robnett. Anderson 2 and Ellis said they would probably recommend selling the property. Thrower said he would like more time to study the issue. d. Strategic planning—subcommittee— Robnett said she did not have anything new to report. She said AIP funding could be applied for to pay for the strategic plan. O'Neil said funding for planning grants could be reimbursed. Construction projects can not. O'Neil said that funding requests for FY 2003 ATP money were due several months ago. He said that of the projects that the Commission is asking funding for,the planning project would be a low priority. O'Neil said he thought the Commission should defmitely ask for funding,but based on past experience,he did not think a grant would be offered. Anderson suggested O'Neil and Dulek review the contract as soon as it is received from Airport Business Solutions. O'Neil said he would circulate the contract to the Commission when he receives it from ABS and the Commission should send him their comments as soon as they have time to review it. When the contract is approved,the Notice to Proceed can be issued. Robnett said the Commission needs to discuss the selection of a facilitator. She said the University of Iowa Institute of Public Affairs might have a facilitator. Ellis said there should be at least two public meetings to receive input. Robnett said she was concerned about the costs over the$15,000 base cost. Ellis said that the cost for travel and other expenses would be up to 20%or up to$3000. Ellis said he has discussed this with ABS and they will try to keep costs down as much as possible. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Anderson asked O'Neil if any repairs had been done to the DTN weather computer? O'Neil said a new data box was installed. Anderson asked about the Mayor's request to inquire about moving the manager's office to the Terminal Building? O'Neil said he was working on a plan to provide office space for the Civil Air Patrol and for making the airport manager's office more visible and assessable. The manager's office and airport operations would be moved to Building D and the CAP would move to the manager's office in Building G. Baron suggested writing a letter to Jet Air,asking if they would be willing to release some of the office space in the Terminal. O'Neil will send a letter to Jet Air. Thrower said there might be some money through FEMA to pay for some office space in relation to Homeland Security.Mascari and Thrower will be a subcommittee to investigate what might be needed for community service groups involved with Homeland Security. Anderson said it has been an interesting six years and although he did not reapply for the Commission,he planned to stay active in Airport issues. COMMISSION MEMBERS'REPORTS:. Mascari said he wants written confirmation from the FAA that the City can put a road along the south property line of the Airport. Ellis said he has that same concern and wanted to know if the City would compensate the Airport for use of that property? O'Neil will send a letter or e-mail and ask the FAA for written confirmation of Mascari's concern. The road is displayed on the ALP,which is approved by the FAA. 3 Mascari said the Commission should limit the number of lots to be sold in the ACP. He said the Commission should sell enough to be in the black and then lease the rest. He said the Commission needs to know how much the Council thinks the Commission needs to pay back. Mascari said the numbers given by the City Manager were not what the Commission thought was owed. O'Neil will ask the City Manager for a budget report. Robnett said those numbers are important for the strategic plan. Mascari said the Commission should strongly consider selling enough property to pay off the debt and enough to purchase an ILS. He said he was in a meeting with the FAA when they said they would not object to Iowa City purchasing their own ILS. Blum said the issue is not purchasing the ILS,but the ongoing cost of maintenance. The ILS that the Commission researched would not be maintained by the FAA. Ellis said that should be reviewed with the strategic planning. Ellis presented Anderson with a plaque for his six years of service and thanked him for his service and dedication to the Airport. Mascari asked about advertising the Airport,somewhat like the Library advertises. Robnett said that is an issue that will be discussed with the business plan. Mascari asked what IOW Aero is doing with Building D? O'Neil said it is being used to store aircraft. Mascari wanted to know if there was any lease violations? O'Neil said IOW is in compliance with their lease. Mascari wanted to know if there was anything that could be used in front of his t-hanger for ice control. He said it is difficult to move aircraft by hand when there is ice on the ramp. O'Neil said he does not use salt because it is too corrosive to aircraft and he does not use sand because pilots complain that it damages the propellers. Robnett said the Commission would need to compile a list of all the things they would like to include in the strategic/business plan. Thrower asked about the self-service pump that was not approved in the FY 2004 budget. O'Neil said the request was for a self-service jet fuel pump. The idea was to have both aviation gas and jet fuel available 24 hours a day. O'Neil suggested the Commission ask for the project again in the next year's budget. Ellis said the Council and Commission need to come to terms on what the Council expects the Commission to repay. Ellis said the FAA should be asked what kind of back charges the Council could charge. Thrower said he thought that sounded like a question for the local jurisdiction to decide,not a FAA question. Ellis asked O'Neil if the State MP funding would be reinstated this year? O'Neil said he discussed this with the local representatives in Des Moines on February 11. They said it would be discussed but they did not have much hope that it would make it out of committee. O'Neil said the Vertical Infrastructure fund may pass but the AU'money would probably not be reinstated. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: O'Neil said there was a letter in the packet concerning use of the parcel on South Gilbert Street. 4 l O'Neil said the leases for hangars#31 and#33 expire at the end of February. New leases were sent to the tenants in December. A memo was sent to the City Manager concerning the jet on display at the Airport. The new annual agreement with the Air Force mentions some security requirements. If the City wants to continue to have the jet on loan,it is the Mayor or City Manager's responsibility to sign for the aircraft.O'Neil said it is not actually part of the Veteran's memorial,although there are some that confuse it with the memorial stone and plaque that are near the jet. O'Neil said he would like to see the jet moved to the other end of the Airport frontage,near the Reserve Center. The security requirements could be better met because the jet could be inside a fenced area and would still clearly be visible. O'Neil said someone who has a glider wanted to know if the Commission would lease some property to put up their own hangar. O'Neil said he is on a State committee to select a consultant and monitor the update of the Iowa Department of Transportation's Aviation System Plan. It is the State's Master Plan for the 114 public airports in Iowa. Dulek said the Council would appoint the new Commission member at their meeting on February 18. Ellis said he thought at least one of the Commission members should go to the meeting. O'Neil said the FAA AlP Conference is scheduled in Kansas City for June 3 and 4. Commission members that plan to attend should let him know. O'Neil said he wanted to mention a concern he has for whomever the Commission has conduct the strategy/business plan. He said the Scope of Services should be very clear so the company knows what is expected of them. It should be a turnkey operation. The Commission and the City staff should not be doing all the research work for them. O'Neil said he needs to know from the Commission how much they expect him and Dulek to do and how much they are expecting the consultant to do. Robnett said she agreed with O'Neil and would like the subcommittee to meet sometime next week to give some direction to him. The committee will meet on February 17 at 12:30 p.m. O'Neil said that since there are three Commissioners that are going to be at the meeting,he would post it as a public meeting. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for March 13,2003,at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The me ' g was adjourned at 7:48 p.m. 4-21 Mark Anderson,Chairperson 5