HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-09-2003 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes I/
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MINUTES
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
TUESDAY,DECEMBER 9,2003—5:45 P.M.
IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Randy Hartwig,Baron Thrower,John Staley
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek,Ron O'Neil
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Thrower called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes of the November 13,2003,Commission meeting were approved as submitted.
REVIEW OF EXPENDITURES:
O'Neil reviewed the check requests for December with the Commission. O'Neil said the SPCC
Plan expenditure was the only bill not budgeted for in the FY 04 budget. O'Neil also said the
AAAE dues for the next year were budgeted at the corporate rate. He suggested continuing with
the individual rate. It would save the Commission about$400.00.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION—ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA:
No items were presented.
UNFINISHED ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
O'Neil said that in response to the remarks by Staley,he contacted ABS to request they check the
employment numbers they had attributed to the University of Iowa in their Airport Business Plan.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Aviation Commerce Park(ACP)—Tracy Overton, from Iowa Realty, presented his
monthly report to the Commission. Overton said he has sent information to a potential buyer
that is looking for 2 to 3 acres for a medically related use. He will follow up on that lead.
Overton said he is running a new ad. It will run every two weeks. He presented a copy of
the ad to the Commission. Overton gave the Commission a copy of a letter from the
president of Iowa Realty, confirming that he thought the pricing for the lots was reasonable.
O'Neil said the agreement with Iowa Realty expires in January. He included a copy of the
proposed extension amendment and a copy of the original agreement in the Commission's
info packet. Thrower suggested this be on the agenda again for the January meeting.
b. Runway 07 project—O'Neil said he and Dulek have been working with Earth Tech on an
agreement for the project. O'Neil said he had just received the revised draft today and he
distributed a copy of the agreement to the Commission. O'Neil said that unless the
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Commission wanted to discuss it sooner,this would be an agenda item for the January
meeting.
c. Environmental Assessment project—O'Neil said he received several copies of the Historic
Building Inventory and Evaluation report from H.R. Green. The report was also sent to the
FAA. Hartwig asked how this was related to the project that Earth Tech would be doing?
O'Neil said there is some crossover. Green was assigned to determine the historic and
enviromnental impact. Earth Tech would be doing the obstruction mitigation, in relation to
the Runway 07 project.
Thrower asked about the MOA that was referenced in the report. O'Neil said this involved
the technical agreement between the Commission and the other governmental bodies that
have jurisdiction and he thought that Joe Trnka, from H.R. Green, could better explain this to
the Commission at their next meeting.
Thrower asked O'Neil if it was being explained to whomever makes the final decision on the
United hangar that the Commission has concluded that unless additional funding is received,
the building will have to be demolished? O'Neil said he does not know how clear that is
spelled out in Green's report. He would defer to Tmka to explain that to the Commission at
the next meeting. The FAA is the federal agency that makes final decision. Their top
criterion is safety. The building is an obstruction. Thrower said it needs to be clarified what
the intentions are for mitigating the obstruction. Green and Stanley will have to work
together on this.
d. Obstruction mitigation project-O'Neil has asked Stanley Consultants to provide a
construction timeline for the obstruction mitigation. O'Neil said that Mike Donnelly,the
project principal,was out of the country on another project and could not attend the meeting.
Thrower said to remind Stanley that one of the reasons they were selected to do this project
was that they are local and said they could provide the service required to stay on schedule.
O'Neil said Stanley was going to send another engineer to the meeting but she would not
have been as familiar with the project as Donnelly. O'Neil said he wants to complete the
construction part of this project during the winter months when it should be less disruptive.
e. Strategic planning—Thrower said he wanted to get with everyone and see where they were
with their part of the document. He had drafted a template and O'Neil provided it in the info
packet. Thrower said he wanted to be able to provide something to the Council as soon as
possible. O'Neil said the next Council meeting is December 16 and the first meeting in
January is the 61h. Staley said he has discussed the FY 2005 budget with O'Neil and he did
not have any recommended changes at this time. Hartwig said he would like to work
together on the plan more as a group, either as the Commission as a whole or as a
subcommittee. Thrower said he would work with Hartwig as a subcommittee.
Thrower said that when the Commission first decided to put this plan together,they were
fully staffed at five members. This has changed in the last six months,yet the commitment
to the Council is still there to produce a planning document. He said the Commission should
decide as a group if they need more time or if the three remaining members can complete the
project.
O'Neil said he had discussed the Strategic Plan with the City Manager and explained that at
this time,the budget the Commission submitted in October for FY 2005 would not change.
Atkins concern was having a budget to work with to be able to present to the Council.
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O'Neil said the expenditure side of the budget was set and the Commission was working on
a way to improve the revenue side of the budget.
O'Neil said a copy of the final ABS report could be sent to the Council. Thrower said he had
reservations about sending the ABS report as a stand-alone document. Thrower said there were
useful parts of the document,but there were some weaknesses that may not adequately relay to
Council the intentions of the Commission.
O'Neil said the final document was received today and he had only had about 20 minutes to
review it. There were very few changes from the draft document the Commission received in
September. Thrower said he would like to have more time to review it before it is sent to the
Council. O'Neil said he had explained to Atkins that there was little change from the document
the Council received in September. Staley and Hartwig said they would also like more time to
review the final ABS report.
Thrower said that in whatever document is given to the Council, it should lay out the appropriate
direction for the facility, its governance,the capital structure,and its expense model. Thrower
said he and O'Neil did a survey to identify capital improvements needed at the Airport. O'Neil
will work with Public Works to try to identify costs for these improvements. The challenge is to
produce ideas for revenue to make the improvements. The FBO should be included in finding
revenue sources. Their business should benefit in the long run if the infrastructure is maintained
at a high level.
Staley asked what kinds of user fees are charged at airports? Hartwig said commercial service
airports usually have service fees in addition to what is collected at general aviation airports.
O'Neil said the fees charged at general aviation airports are usually the fuel flowage fees.
O'Neil said some of the improvements on the list might be grant eligible. Although aviation fees
contribute about$8.3 million annually to the State general fund,the State has decided to use the
majority of that money for non-aviation uses. The State's grant program the last two years has
all but disappeared. O'Neil said the Johnson County state representatives have supported
legislation for aviation funding in the past.
Thrower recognized Mark Anderson. Anderson said that in the airports he has been in,there have
been fees charged for tie-downs and overnight parking. He did not think enough would be
collected to pay for any capital projects.
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRPERSON/SECRETARY
Thrower said that because of the Commission resignations and his election to chairperson, a new
vice-chairperson would need to be elected. Staley nominated Hartwig. Thrower seconded the
nomination. There were no other nominations. The vote for Hartwig was 2—0,with Hartwig
abstaining.
CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT:
Thrower said he will be discussing airport improvements with Jet Air and see what their
involvement could be. O'Neil said the president of Jet Air said he would attend a meeting to
discuss this with the Commission. Thrower said to invite Mr.Timmons to the January meeting.
Thrower said he would try to contact Mr.Timmons before the meeting. Thrower said his survey
of the airport was informative and he said there are definite capital improvement needs to be
addressed.
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COMMISSION MEMBERS'REPORTS:
Hartwig said he thought it would be appropriate to mention that the 100th anniversary of the
Wright Brothers first successful flight will be celebrated on December 17th,2003.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT:
Dulek said there was a nice article in the Des Moines Register about the 100 years of flight. She
said the Wright Brothers lived in Cedar Rapids before moving to Ohio.
O'Neil said the FAA appropriations bill passed the Congress and has been sent to the President
for his signature. The first phase of the Runway 07 project,worth about$1.4 million,will be
funded through that federal legislation. It will probably be February before the grant is officially
offered.
The NDB was decommissioned on November 24,2003 at 9:00 a.m. It was costing too much to
maintain.
The Commission budget meeting with the Council will most likely be January 22"d or 27th.
There was a memo in the packet that Dulek prepared concerning the rules involved with the Iowa
open meeting legislation.
O'Neil said he is working with someone that would like to teach ground school classes. She has
discussed what she would like to do and how this could be coordinated with the FBO. She would
like to teach a private pilot class and an instrument class.
The Fire Department annual inspection said that all of the outlets on the north t-hangars needed to
be relocated to inside the hangar. O'Neil said the buildings were built to code and he will have a
discussion with the Fire Marshall. There would be a significant cost to rewire the three buildings.
In the FY 2004 budget,the Commission allocated money to install a telephone for the conference
room. This would be useful to groups that rent the room. The Commission said to go forward
with having the phone installed. There will be a block on the line so only prepaid or 800 long
distance calls could be made from the phone.
O'Neil said an updated emergency phone numbers list was included in the packet.
There was a memo in the packet on the latest developments on the LAAS system.
Council will appoint the two new Airport Commission members at their meeting on January 6,
2004.
O'Neil said he is on a State DOT aviation committee that is reviewing the Aviation Systems Plan
for Iowa. This is the State's Airport Master Plan. Iowa City is in the Enhanced category,which
is the top level of general aviation airports.
O'Neil said he has submitted a proclamation for the Council agenda for December 16 to declare
December 17 as Aviation Day, in honor of the 100 years of powered flight. The Mayor will make
the proclamation. Thrower said he will not be in town,but he encouraged other Commission
members to attend the Council meeting.
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SET NEXT MEETING:
The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for January 8,2004,at 5:45 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT:
The _ was adjourned at 6:37 p.m.
B.J•*Thrower,
An
hrperson
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