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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-14-2002 Airport Commission Meeting MinutesMINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION TRURSDAY FEBRUARY 14.2002 — 5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Mascari, Howard Horan, Mark Anderson, Alan Ellis STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Maseari called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the January 10, and January 17, 2002, Commission meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Anderson made a motion to pay the bills. Horan seconded the motion. Mascari asked about an electrical repair bill. ONeil said several lights were repaired or replaced in Building H. The motion passed 4 - 0, with Ruyle being absent. PUBLIC DISCUSSION — ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: No items were presented. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Aviation Commerce Park 1. February Report - Tracy Overton said the Aviation Commerce Park is listed on Iowa Realty's national site. He said that system ties into 2500 realtor offices. He has received several inquiries concerning the Park. Overton said that locally, there is still a struggle with the lease instead of buy concept. He said potential tenants are also concerned about building a building and having a 'junk yard' next to them. He said the covenants should take care of controlling unsightly uses and maintaining the scale of development envisioned by the Commission. Overton said he also read about the TIF districts for BDI. He said the Commission should look into having the ACP designated as a TIF district. Ellis said the Commission should go to the next Economic Development Committee meeting and request a TIF designation. ONeil suggested Mascari send a letter to the City Council requesting the ACP be designated as a TIF district. Mascari said he would send a letter. ONeil suggested a copy of the letter be sent to the Economic Development Committee. Overton gave the Commission signed copies of the lease for their first tenant. He said the tenant signed the lease just before he left his office to come to the meeting. The lease is for the indoor soccer facility on Lot #10. The lease is subject to the tenant having his financing approved. The tenant has until March to have his financing in place. Construction should begin in April or May. 2. Dulek drafted guidelines for restrictions for tenants in the ACP. Anderson made a motion for a resolution to accept the guidelines. Ellis seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 4 - 0, with Ruyle being absent. The restrictions will be incorporated into all lease documents. b. Fuel site - H.R. Green - Mascari said he had problems with the self -serve MOLL pump and he would recommend the Commission not accept the project until the problem is solved. Mascari said he called Double Check and asked them to call ONeil about the problem. O'Neil said he did not receive a callback from Double Check. Anderson said he agreed with Mascari that Double Check should not be paid and the project not accepted until the self- service pump is corrected. O'Neil asked the Commission who they thought should be responsible for the day to day operation of the pump? Jet Air sets the price at the pump and receives the profit from the fuel. The Commission pays for insurance and maintenance of the equipment. Ellis said once the system is considered operable, Jet Air should be responsible for troubleshooting problems. O'Neil asked about charging Double Check liquidated damages. He said H. R. Green Company has invested time beyond their contract to try to correct problems that Double Check should be addressing. Double Check is several months past their completion date. O'Neil said that charging damages until the system is error free should get the attention of Double Check. Blum, from H.R. Green, said there is also the performance bond that was required for the project. Blum said he is concerned that Double Check does not follow up on calls from himself or ONeil. Dulek will review the contract to see if the Commission can collect liquidated damages. Ellis said that if the Commission wants Jet Air to be responsible for the daily operation of the pump, it should be clarified in writing. Mascari said the Commission needs to make sure the system is operational before making an agreement with the FBO. c. Airport Zoning Code update - ALP changes - Blum said he had met with the County Zoning officials and County Attorney. He said it was a positive meeting and the County Attorney thought the new code should be passed. He said he would like to wait until after City adopts the code so the County could adopt it in the same form. ONeil said this is on the City Council agenda for February 27h. Blum said the ALP update will be done by the next Commission meeting in March. He is waiting for some data on the road alignment for the relocated Dane Road. d. IOW Aero 1. Commercial Aero Club - The IOW Aero Club's commercial flying club agreement expires on March 14, 2002. ONeil said he met with Ron Duffee and discussed the agreement. IOW would like to have the club agreement parallel the term of the lease for Building D. Mascari asked Duffee if IOW was using Building D? Duffee said the training operations would be moved to Building D. He said that at this time, there are Jet Air and IOW Aero planes in the hangar. Ellis asked if Jet Air and IOW have a written contractual agreement? He said the Commission should have a copy of any written agreement. Duffee said he thought training starts are growing. Ellis asked if Jet Air is expanding? Duffee said Buildings D and F are full of aircraft and they can not expand the number of aircraft. Duffee said he had no trouble with the language of the agreement, but he did not think additional fees should be paid. He thought the rent for Building D would be the fee for operating at the Airport. Dulek said the way the Minimum Standards are written, there is no mechanism to wave the fees. Mascari said the Commission should go to the part of the agenda that discussed the Minimum Standards. e. Minimum Standards for Commercial Aeronautical Activities -Anderson said the first line in Appendix II should be deleted. The Commission agreed. Anderson moved for a motion for a resolution to approve the Minimum Standards, as revised. Horan seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 4 - 0, with Ruyle being absent. d. IOW Aero - The Commission returned to item D, the agreement with IOW Aero Club, Inc. Mascari said the fees part of the agreement should state that the rent for Building D were the only fees to be paid by IOW. Ellis made a motion for a resolution to accept the agreement with IOW Aero as amended. Horan seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 4 - 0, with Ruyle being absent. 2. Building D - interior renovation - Ron Duffee requested that this be deferred until the next meeting. Anderson made a motion to defer this item until the March 14th meeting. Horan seconded the motion and it passed 4 - 0. e. Obstruction removal project, Environmental assessment and Section 106 Review - ONeil circulated several Statements of Qualifications from firms interested in the obstruction removal project and the Environmental Assessment project for the Airport. The list was generated from notices published in the Des Moines Register and the Cedar Rapids Gazette. O'Neil said the Commission would need to develop a Scope of Services and send it to the companies that have expressed interest. From the proposals received, the Commission would need to select firms to interview. Horan said the Environmental Assessment and Section 106 Review project and the obstruction removal project should be considered two separate projects. O'Neil said the Commission should move ahead quickly on this. The runway extension funding for Runway 07 will be held up until the EA and Section 106 Review are completed. He suggested the Commission interview at least two or three companies. Anderson said he thought the firms to interview should be selected from the Statement of Qualifications and the company or companies selected for the two projects could assist the Commission with the Scope of Services. Anderson and Mascari will review the Statements and make recommendations to the Commission. O'Neil said the EA could take up to a year. Mascari and Anderson will narrow the list for both projects. This may require a special meeting to interview firms. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Mascari said he presented information to the City Council at the budget meeting on January 291. The Council said they wanted to have a meeting with the Commission at a later date to discuss several issues. There will be an article in the Gazette on Sunday. The reporter Mascari talked to said something about the Mayor wanting to disband the Airport Commission. Mascari said he contacted the Mayor and Mayor Lehman said he did not say anything like that to the Gazette. The reporter said the article would be a neutral, informative article. Mascari said he received a call from Casey Cook, to discuss a trail around the Kennedy sandpit. Mascari explained to Cook that most of the pond was in the RPZ for Runway 25. The Commission might be interested in leasing the area outside the RPZ for a trail. Mascari reviewed a memo from ONeil about several pending projects. He reviewed subcommittee assignments for each project. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Horan said he was at the Airport on Sunday and everything looked fine Ellis said the bad press about the Airport is the Commission's fault. He said the Commission needs to be more proactive in promoting the Airport. He said City officials should not make negative remarks to the press concerning the Airport. Mascari said the Airport budget problems resulted from ICFS breaking their lease. Ellis said the Commission should go to the Council on a monthly basis and provide them an update on the Airport. He said when agreements are made with the Council, they should be in writing. Ellis said the proposed student residential development on South Gilbert Street is directly off the end of Runway 30. ONeil said an airspace study would be required if there is a height or use problem. Ellis suggested writing a letter to Planning and Zoning opposing the development. Ellis suggested some legal action against Selzer Werderitsch to recover the $ 50,000 deductible that had to be paid when Building K collapsed during construction. ONeil said he has discussed this with Erin Herting from the Finance Department and Andy Matthews from the City Attorney's Office. Matthews wanted to wait until after the building was accepted before proceeding. Dulek said it is a Commission decision on whether or not to proceed to try to recover the money from SWA. Matthews could just advise them on their chances of prevailing on the issue. Ellis wanted to know if the NDB could be shut off to save money? ONeil said it is locally owned and would be a Commission decision on whether or not to keep it going. There is a quarterly inspection fee and electricity costs are $ 15 to $ 17 per month. Ellis said that would not be enough of a saving to remove the NDB as a navigational aid. ONeil said it is still used for point to point navigation. Ellis asked about Runway End Identifier Lights? ONeil said the cost to repair the lights on Runway 36 would not be worth the cost because of the age of the equipment. ONeil suggested the Commission apply to the IDOT for new REIL. It will cost a total of about $ 7000, the local share being $ 2100. Ellis wanted to know if the runway lights photo cell could be set to a more sensitive setting so the lights would come earlier or during the day when there were marginal weather conditions. This may help a pilot locate the airport. Ellis said he told Jet Air to write a letter, requesting the airport try to adjust the lights. Ellis said he would like the Fire Department to do additional training as it applies to aviation accidents and incidents. He would like to see Jet Air walk the Fire Department through an airplane to show them where things are that are important, such as fuel shutoffs. Ellis said a letter should be sent to Jet Air concerning flight training. He said that it should be made clear what the working relationship is between Jet Air and IOW Aero. Dulek suggested it should be on the agenda if the Commission wants to discuss it in -detail. Ellis said he would like to charge for long-term parking. ONeil said the Commission does not have a policy on charging for long-term parking. Mascari requested this be on the agenda for March. Ellis wanted to know if the United hangar could be moved instead of tom down. ONeil said it is an obstruction and the IDOT grant will more than likely pay the lower of the cost between moving the building or tearing the building down, if the decision is made to move the building. Ellis said a letter should be sent to the IDOT and/or the FAA about putting Iowa City at the top of the list for a precision approach when satellite based approaches are assigned. Blum said Iowa City is on file for requesting a precision approach. Anderson said he thinks a letter should be sent to Selzer Werderitsch about fixing the leak in his hangar. ONeil said he has called a couple of times and has not gotten any action. O'Neil said he would send SWA a letter. Dulek distributed a memo concerning correspondence between Commission members through e- mail. Dulek explained a current court case in Texas and advised the Commission that they should not send e-mails to all Commission members at the same time. It may be considered a violation of the Open Meetings law. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: The Vertical Infrastructure Program grant application is due April 5, 2002. This will be on the March agenda. O'Neil will meet with Earth Tech, an engineering firm, on February 19th to discuss the Dane Road relocation project. Dick Blum, from H.R. Green, will be on the Council agenda on February 27"' to discuss the update of the Airport Zoning Code. Information was included in the packet concerning a proposal to construct a trail system around the Kennedy Pond, (AKA Sand Lake.) ONeil said most of the property is in the RPZ and should be kept as clear of development as possible. The property outside the RPZ could be leased to the group that would like to install the trail. The Council will make the appointment to fill Horan's expired term. There are two applicants The Iowa Airports Day will be at the Capital Building in Des Moines on March 5. SET NEXT MEETING: The neat regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for March 14, 2002,at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. is Mascari, Chairperson