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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-11-2001 Airport Commission Meeting Minutes MINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY OCTOBER 11,2001—5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Mascari,Howard Horan, Mark Anderson, Alan Ellis, John Ruyle STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Mascari called the meeting to order at 5:52 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ellis moved to defer the minutes of the September 13,2001, Commission meeting. Horan seconded the motion and the minutes were deferred 5 -0. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Ellis made a motion to approve the bills. Horan seconded the motion and the bills were approved 5-0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION—ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: No items were presented. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Aviation Commerce Park 1. Iowa Realty October report- Tracy Overton reviewed his October report. He said the Commission needs to review the perspective lease. He said the new sign was installed today on the Riverside Drive entrance. He said he has another tenant and will hope to have a proposal in a week or so. Overton said he was at a state realtors meeting and he said there are several airport commissions around the state that are watching this project to see how it will develop and will follow Iowa City's lead. 2. Covenants,Codes and Restrictions-The Commission reviewed the draft of the CCRs. Overton said the Commission would need to decide if there are uses as listed in the CI1 Zoning that they will want to eliminate. Ellis said the Commission needs to decide what their vision is for the area. He said he was leaning toward restrictions that would make the area more like an office park development. Horan said he thought the Commission needs to make sure the area is attractive but his main concern was to generate income. Mascari agreed, saying the reason the Commission gave this property up for potential aviation use was to generate income for the Airport. Anderson said he would shy away from uses that may have the potential for outside storage. Overton said that he would suggest the Commission control outside storage by screening. Mascari suggested not restricting the list of uses in the Zoning Code and dealing with the uses on a case by case basis when potential tenants submit a proposal. The rest of the Commission agreed. Overton suggested generating a list of the types of businesses they would prefer before a potential tenant spends a lot of money on plans and specifications. Anderson said a potential tenant should have the Commission review their proposal before much money is invested. 3. Leases- Overton said the tenant that wanted Lot#11 would now like to switch to Lot #10. He does not think he could get all of his required parking on Lot#11 because of the easements on the lot. Overton said he calculated the rent on ground not encumbered with easements. He said that required parking could not be on property with easements, such as all of the lots on the north side of the development. Overton said the value of easement property would need to be tailored specifically to each tenant and their use of the property. Ruyle said it needs to be very clear in the lease how the rent was arrived at. Instead of an average price for the encumbered and the unencumbered land, a price should be assigned to each type of property. O'Neil said the formula should be included in the lease. The Commission directed O'Neil to work with Overton to complete a lease and set a public hearing. Overton will see if the tenant still has intentions of beginning work this fall and if timing is still critical. If timing is critical,the Commission will have a special meeting for the public hearing on the lease. The Commission discussed what type of language they wanted for subleases. If a tenant subleases for more than the Commission's original lease,the Commission would want a percentage of the increase. Dulek reminded the Commission that in the initial lease,they want to keep as much control as possible. 4. Other issues-Overton said he would like to have some more permanent markers to delineate the lots. He will work with O'Neil to have something designed and installed. Ellis asked about the design of the streetlights. O'Neil said that as far as he knew,they were standard city streetlights. Ellis said he saw an e-mail that said that zoning requires sidewalks on both sides and parking on one side of the street. Ellis said he thinks this should be a Commission decision because as the Council's representative,the Commission has the responsibility for Airport property. Dulek said the covenants, codes and restrictions will be on the Council agenda for their meetings on November 12 and November 13. b. Fuel site- The punch list has not been completed and the project is not ready to accept. There is a problem with the paint on the 100LL tank. Jim McCrabb,from IOW Aero,said there have been problems with the receipt printer. There had also been a problem with the two-speed pump. O'Neil will keep the Commission updated and this will be on the agenda in November. c. FBO services 1. IOW Aero lease-O'Neil said the term for the lease the Commission had was for three years,with an optional three-year term. There was a$ .06 a gallon fuel equipment fee and a$ .05 a gallon fuel flowage fee. The rest of the lease terms incorporated changes requested by IOW and suggestions from Dulek. He said he did not fill in the amount per month. There is not a termination clause in the lease. McCmbb said he would like to move forward on the verbal contract until the next meeting. Mascari said he would like to move forward as soon as possible and asked IOW if they had a monthly rent in mind. McCrabb said that if they were to rent buildings D,E,and F,he proposed a rent of$900 per month. If D was not included, IOW would offer$400 per month. McCrabb said IOW was firm on that number. They would agree to the $ .11 concerning the fuel system. O'Neil said he did not put a 90-day termination notice. O'Neil asked if IOW could pay more if the rent was on a graduated scale? They would pay less until they get established and the rent amount would be weighted more toward the end of the lease term. McCrabb said that would not make any difference. ONeil will try to schedule a public hearing on the lease as soon as possible. Ruyle said the Commission has a fiduciary obligation to the Airport and the City to maximize the income received from the tenants. Ruyle said IOW needs to get back with the Commission as soon possible. O'Neil said this could be an agenda item at the next special Commission meeting. He said that if the Commission does not accept the final offer from IOW,they would have to access their options,which may include advertising again for FBO services. IOW has agreed to provide services until an FBO is found, provided an agreement can not be reached with IOW. McCrabb said it was his understanding that IOW had a one-year verbal agreement to provide FBO services. He said IOW has entered into a lot of agreements based on the understanding that they would be at the Airport for at least a year. Mascari said it was his understanding that the Commission and IOW had up to a year's time to negotiate a lease. It was understood that a permanent lease would be negotiated as soon as possible. If a lease can't be negotiated,the Commission would be back to square one. McCrabb asked what would happen if they gave the Commission their best offer next week and it was not accepted. Mascari said it was his impression that the Commission would have to start at the beginning again to find an FBO. 2. Jet Air,Inc.lease-Mascari said there was nothing to report on a lease with Jet Air. d. Building D-IOW Aero lease-Mascari said this would be included with the negotiations for the FBO lease. e. T-hangar rents- O'Neil said this was on the agenda because the Commission wanted to discuss whether or not the hangar rents were fair market value. O'Neil said the rates charged at Iowa City are comparable to other Airports. Mascari said the rates have not been increased for a while,although expenses have increased. O'Neil suggested that if the Commission is going to raise the rents,the tenants should be notified before the increase and have the opportunity to address the Commission. The Commission directed O'Neil to send a notice to the tenants that this will be on the agenda for the November 8 Commission meeting. f. Obstruction removal project-O'Neil asked the Commission when they wanted to interview firms for this project? Because it is an IDOT grant,a formal advertising was not necessary to select firms to interview. He suggested that the Commission interview at least three firms. O'Neil asked the Commission if they wanted to incorporate the interviews in a regular meeting or if they wanted a separate meeting? He said a consultant should be selected and the removal plans and specifications be developed during the winter months so the project could begin in the spring. O'Neil reminded the Commission that the biggest part of the project would be the removal of the United Hangar. The Commission directed O'Neil to schedule a special meeting sometime in November or December to interview consultants. g. Land acquisition-Runway 12 RPZ O'Neil said the Airport had made an offer to purchase the property in the RPZ for Runway 12,on contract. The Commission's offer was rejected and the owners accepted a different offer. Because the other offer has now been withdrawn, the attorney for the owners wanted to know if the Commission would be interested in resubmitting their offer. O'Neil said he still recommends trying to purchase the property to protect the safety area for Runway 12. He said he also realizes that the City and the Commission does not have the funds to purchase the property right now and wait for reimbursement from the FAA. If the Commission wants to negotiate for this property, it would probably delay the Dane Road relocation project associated with the Runway 7 project. The Commission would need to discuss the issue with the Council if they want to reopen negotiations. The Commission said they thought, at this time,they would wait on reopening negotiations on the Ruppert property. h. FY 2003 budget-The proposed budget for FY 2003 was reviewed. Mascari said he prioritized the capital improvement projects O'Neil outlined for them. He said he thought replacing the asphalt around the north t-hangars was important. He said money would need to be budgeted for landscaping for the Aviation Commerce Park. Mascari said the Commission needs to consider installation of a self-service pump for the Jet A fuel. O'Neil said the reason for installing a self-service Jet A pump would be to insure 24 hour-a- day availability for fuel. This would be an advantage for after hours flights, especially the medical helicopters and donor organ flights. Ellis said he thought it was important to have a general advertisement for the Airport on a monthly or quarterly basis. He said you could also use some of the advertisement money for aviation education materials. The Commission voted 5 -0 to submit the budget as proposed, with the addition of the capital improvements discussed. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Mascari said he had no additional items to discuss. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Horan said there seemed to be a lot of junk in hangar#31. He said he had a couple of pilots interested in using the wash rack. O'Neil said it has been shut down and winterized. Ellis said he wants to see Airport sponsored aviation materials circulated in the Iowa City schools. He said he would like to see if an aviation summer camp could be developed. Ellis wants to see if a sidewalk could be installed that comes all the way out to the Airport. Anderson said there might be complications because Riverside Drive is not a City street. It is still a State road. Ellis would like to see a turning lane going into the Airport. Ruyle said he thinks there is a lot more to discuss about the FBO lease. O'Neil said he would discuss this with Ruyle. Anderson said Harry Hinckley wanted no parking signs installed outside his hangar. He said he was having problems getting his plane out because of the vehicles parking outside his hangar. Anderson said Hinckley was complaining about the low spots at the entrance to the Aviation Commerce Park. He would like the Conunission to level the property between his building and the street. O'Neil said there are a couple of spots that retain water. Those will be filled in and the area will be landscaped. Anderson asked if the tenant in hangar#61 is actually building an airplane? O'Neil said it might not matter. The tenant is behind in his rent and O'Neil has sent him his termination notice. Anderson asked O'Neil if he had received a bill from Transit for the Fly Iowa 2001 shuttle buses? O'Neil said he had not yet received a bill,but he had been contacted by Transit and they would be sending an invoice to Fly Iowa. Mascari said the Mayor said the City would provide the shuttle bus service,he thought at no cost. Mascari said he would talk to the Mayor about it. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Dulek said she would be on vacation for two weeks. Other attorneys in her office would cover issues for the Airport. O'Neil said IOW Aero was interested in the cleaning contract for the Terminal Building. Van Winkle Jacob Engineering has been contracted to complete a Tier 1 report for the old underground fuel tank site. O'Neil said he and Steve Atkins discussed the possibility of a TW or Urban Renewal District for the Aviation Commerce Park. Atkins said he would have someone come to the Commission meeting in November if the Conunission was interested. The Commission directed O'Neil to invite City staff to the November meeting to discuss TIF or URD. O'Neil is working with Lisa Mollenhauer, administrative assistant to the City Manager,and Iowa City Landscaping,to develop a landscaping plan for the Riverside Drive entrance to the ACP. O'Neil said he met with several IDOT and FAA officials at the Iowa Aviation Conference. O'Neil said he talked with engineers from Earth Tech,the consultant doing the Mormon Trek extension. They will include the Airport in the planning and scheduling. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for November 8,2001,at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Rick Mascari,Chairperson