HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-1993 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes h
MINUTES
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1993 - 5:30 P.M.
IOWA CITY TRANSIT FACILITY
MEMBERS PRESENT: John Ockenfels, Howard Horan, Pat Foster,
Richard Blum
STAFF PRESENT: Ron O'Neil
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Ockenfels called the meeting to order at 5: 37 p.m. A
quorum of the Commission was present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes of the August 17, 1993 , Commission meeting were
approved as submitted.
AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES:
Blum made a motion to pay the bills as presented. Horan seconded
the motion and it passed 4 - 0.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION - ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA:
No items were presented.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. AIP Project 3-19-0047-03/Master Plan - Ockenfels commented
that an agenda for the Commission meeting was sent to all of the
candidates that filed for the City Council election. He had hoped
to spend some time answering questions from the candidates
concerning the Feasibility Study. He was disappointed no
candidates were in attendance.
Blum stated that the draft information from the Planning
Department' s economic impact study indicated that one of the survey
questions concerned a landing fee. Blum stated that the fuel
flowage fee is used instead of a landing fee. Ockenfels said he
explained this to the Council at a meeting in August.
O'Neil stated that no general aviation airports in Iowa have a
landing fee. There is no one at the Airport 24 hours a day to
collect a fee. Jones, from ICFS, said that about 1 out of every 3
aircraft buy fuel and pay the flowage fee. This includes general
aviation commercial and non-commercial users.
O 'Neil said the next step in the Master Plan process is a decision
by the Commission on how to proceed with the Master Plan. Horan
stated that a decision should be made concerning a Master Plan to
allow the Commission to move forward and apply for a grant to
develop a Master Plan.
There was discussion concerning some misinformation about the
Airport printed in the local media. Ockenfels, Horan and O'Neil
met with the editorial board and publisher of a local newspaper
several weeks ago and explained some of the incorrect information
published. The newspaper editorial board said they could correct
the misinformation in the editorials but that the news staff was a
separate entity. The publisher stated that this was not
necessarily correct. People reading the newspaper associate
anything written in the paper as the view of the paper, without
regard to which department wrote the article. No corrections have
been printed yet.
Jones, from ICFS, suggested developing a Master Plan for the
current site and let the Master Plan decide if this is an
appropriate site. He stated that it has not been proven that this
is an unsafe site and that there has not been a fatality at this
site yet. Foster said the study just completed states the
potential safety hazards of the current site and he does not want
to wait for a fatality to prove a point.
O'Neil said the FAA strongly supports an airport in the Iowa City
area and will support a decision by the Commission to move or stay.
But the FAA will not pay for two Master Plan Studies. The decision
to move to an alternate site or stay at the current site must be
made before a Master Plan is applied for.
Ockenfels suggested that a Master Plan decision should be made in
the near future. The economic impact information requested by the
Council is to determine an airport' s economic impact to the
community, and will not address the Commission' s most important
concern, that being safety. An economic impact study will not
provide safety information or determine which is the best site for
an airport. The Feasibility Study information has indicated that
the safest alternative is to move to a different site. This would
also cost the least new local funding. There are other factors to
consider when a Master Plan decision is made.
Ockenfels and Horan will develop two resolutions to choose between
at the next meeting. One will be to apply for a Master Plan Study
grant at the current site and the other will be to apply for a
Master Plan Study grant at a different site. Ockenfels emphasized
he would like all the Commission members present for the meeting.
b. Capital improvement projects - O 'Neil said that a list of
capital improvement projects should be generated and prioritized.
This would include IDOT and FAA grant eligible projects and
noneligible projects. O'Neil cautioned against budgeting and
spending large amounts of money on capital improvements not
directly affecting safety until a Master Plan decision is made.
O'Neil will attempt to get cost estimates for the capital
improvement projects.
C. T-hangar Building - O'Neil is gathering information on the
need and feasibility of building more hangar space. He stated
there is increasing interest from aircraft owners for more hangar
space. Several aircraft owners have contacted him. Most of the
interest has been for T-hangars as opposed to multi-aircraft
hangars. Some of those interested indicated they would sign a
lease to show commitment to the project before it is built.
d. Equipment maintenance service - Ockenfels expressed concern
over the costs charged to the Airport by the Equipment Division.
The labor charges per hour are the same or more than going to a
private garage. He was particularly concerned about a $ 100. 00
charge for an oil change for the Airport pickup truck. Blum said
that the service should be looked at in conjunction with all the
.City services provided. Some can be provided more economically than
others and the Commission should be careful about choosing only
those that are less expensive than can be provided by the private
sector. Ockenfels will meet with the Equipment Division manager or
Assistant City Manager to discuss how the charges are assessed.
CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT:
Ockenfels sent a reply to the FAA concerning an airspace study
which showed that the proposed Menards building would be considered
an obstruction to the transition zone for Runway 06. He thought
Menards was going to revise their building plan to eliminate the
obstruction.
Ockenfels met with the pilots of the Stearman Speedmail bi-planes
that were in Iowa City on September 2 . He was impressed with the
1930 ' s vintage aircraft and had an opportunity to talk with the
pilots about the trip from Nevada and California. He will contact
the pilot from California when he is in San Diego next month.
COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORT:
Blum said that in spite of the terrible weather, there were still
several hundred people at the fly-in breakfast on August 29 . Most
of the events were canceled but the radio-controlled aircraft
owners were able to fly later in the morning. He said Sertoma
would like to reschedule the same show next year.
Horan attended the Aviation Day at Newton but many of the events
were rained out.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT:
O'Neil said he provided an information packet to the City Council
concerning the Airport Feasibility Study. It is the same
information that was given to the Commission last month.
O'Neil stated that the Menards issue seems to be resolved. The
building was redesigned to eliminate the FAA objections.
The Council Candidate workshop is scheduled for October 6, 1993 .
Several Commission members indicated they will attend.
O'Neil said the issue of a T-hangar policy and hangar lease has not
been resolved. Jones, from ICFS, will provide O'Neil with a copy
of the lease he would like to use before the next Commission
meeting.
The Central Region AIP Conference is scheduled for October 29,
1993. Blum, Foster, Ockenfels, O'Neil, and Horan indicated an
interest in going. O'Neil will make the necessary arrangements.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING:
The next regular meeting was set for October 14 , 1993 , at 5: 30 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT:
Foster moved to adjourn the meeting at 7 : 17 p.m. Blum seconded the
motion and the meeting was adjourned.
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ohn Ockenfels, Chairpe son