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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. d47/1 ohn Ockenfels, Chairpe son