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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-12-2002 Airport Commission Meeting MinutesMINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12.2002 — 5:45 P.M IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Mascari, Baron Thrower, Mark Anderson, Alan Ellis STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the August 6, August 8, and August 29, 2002, Commission meetings were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Mascari made a motion to pay the bills. Thrower seconded the motion and the motion passed 4 - 0, with Robnett being absent. (Mascari wanted it noted that the bill to PES should be deducted from the final payment to Double Check.) PUBLIC DISCUSSION — ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: No items were presented. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a. Bldg. H — Simulator project — O'Neil said this was on the agenda in case there was any decision by the Commission that needed to be made to move the project along. There were no new issues to discuss concerning the installation of the simulators. b. Aviation Commerce Park 1. Iowa Realty September report — Overton said that there was not a lot of new activity. He said there is a tenant that is still very interested in purchasing one or two lots. Overton said he thought the neat step was to get a waiver from the FAA. O'Neil said he needs a current ALP to send with the waiver request. Anderson said that the Council and City Manager should be kept informed on the progress of the ACP sale project. O'Neil said he and Dulek had met with Atkins twice to discuss the progress of the project. Thrower asked why the Commission wanted to sell the property? Anderson said the primary goal was to lease the property to provide income for the Airport. Because the leasing was going so slowly, the Commission met with the Council and requested that the property be sold. Ellis said that the Commission originally wanted to lease the property to provide a long- term income from the property. Because of the recent budget constraints, it was decided that Overton should also be given the option to sell some of the lots. Ellis said he would still prefer to take a little more time and try to lease the property before considering selling any of the lots. He asked Overton if he would have Scott Byers, Overton's boss, attend the next meeting to discuss leasing and marketing strategies. Mascari said there is the potential to sell off enough of the property to pay off the capital debt and then lease the rest. Ellis said that he thought once the approval was given to sell the property, the Commission would lose control of the property. He said he would like to slow the process down and try to do something different to encourage leasing. Overton said the lease rates could be dropped enough to make it as attractive as buying the property. He said the rate would have to be about $.15 a square foot and the Commission would only break even by the time the infrastructure was paid for. He said the market in Iowa City is geared toward purchasing. Thrower said the airport is an economic value to the community and that if any of the property is to be sold, it should be with the goal of strengthening the facility that is left. Mascari said that if the property is leased at $.15 a foot, there will not be any money left for improvements. He said that if the land is sold, the $1.6 million dollar infrastructure could be paid off, as well as the $700,000 for Building F, the money remaining on the three south t -hangars, $ 700,000 to $ 1,000,000 for an ILS, some other improvements to the airport, and still have money left over. Thrower said that whatever the money was spent for, it should stimulate the airport economy enough to provide for the future. Mascari said an ILS would bring in more aircraft. Thrower asked if an ILS would increase traffic enough to improve the budget by $ 1,000,000? Ellis said a precision approach is important, but he didn't know how much it would be increase the revenues. Mascari asked what has changed since Iowa Realty was hired? Mascari said all the real estate companies the Commission interviewed said they could lease the property. One company said everything could be leased in three years. Mascari said he thought Iowa Realty was looking at having most everything lease in five years. Overton said he underestimated the difficulty of leasing an entire subdivision. He said there are isolated cases of land leases in the area, but not entire subdivisions. He said the market dynamics have changed. Commercial loans are as cheap as they have ever been and tenants are willing to borrow to buy property. Mascari said he wanted to require Scott Byers attend the next meeting and the Commission needed to look at their contractual obligation with this realtor. He said there were two other firms that were interested in marketing the property. He said maybe the Commission should consider making a change in realtors. Thrower asked Overton what type of market research he did before submitting a proposal for the project? Overton explained what he normally did to identify potential tenants. He said they use local and national advertising. 2. Lot # 10 — O'Neil said that the tenant from lot # 10 has not paid any rent. The lease was signed in February, with payments to begin on July 1. O'Neil said he has billed the tenant for July, August, and September and has not received any response. Dulek said he owns about $ 5200. In order to terminate the lease, he would be given 10 days to pay up or the lease could be terminated 30 days after notification. Mascari suggested having an executive session at the next meeting. The Commission directed Dulek to give the 10- day notice to pay up or his lease would be terminated in 30 days. O'Neil said if the lease is terminated, the Commission should pursue recovering the past rent. 3. Other issues - No issues were presented. c. Obstruction removal project — Mike Donnelly, from Stanley Environmental, said that they had started to do an inventory of the obstructions and other data gathering. Once the obstructions are identified, Stanley will prioritize them and associate some cost for removal. At the next meeting, he will provide a list of the obstructions, their owners and costs for removal. Ellis asked about the 14 -story building that is proposed for downtown Iowa City? Donnelly said that an air space study would need to be conducted by the FAA. It is the contractor's responsibility to have this done. O'Neil said the Planning Department and Building Department are aware of the requirements. d. Iowa Environmental Assessment and Section 106 project — Blum, from H.R. Green, said the main contract has been approved, but the Task Order #1 has not been approved. There were two issues. One, is this a reimbursable item from the FAA. The answer from the FAA is that it is reimbursable. The second issue is whether the Finance Department is prepared to fund the project up front and then get reimbursed. There is a bit of a problem in that funding for the project must be included as part of a grant. A grant will not be issued for the first phase of the Runway 07 project until an environmental assessment is completed. Anderson directed O'Neil to document the verbal commitment he has received from the Finance Department. As soon as O'Neil receives a reply from the Finance Department, Green will be given a Notice to Proceed. O'Neil said documentation is important because the Council emphasized a need for better communication between the Commission and the Council. Blum said Green's environmental team is ready to go immediately. e. Airport Layout Plan — update — Blum said that at the last meeting, the Commission requested Blum to contact the FAA to see if the FAA's only objection to the ALP was the number of obstructions in the 50:1 approach for Runway 25. Blum said he contacted Jan Monroe, the FAA Planning Supervisor, and was told that there are criteria for the ALP and he would need to follow the list of criteria. The regulations state that each runway must be evaluated by it's own obstructions. The ALP obstruction table does not categorize the obstructions by runway. Blum said that Green can modify the ALP to meet the Appendix 16 criteria, but the contract for the ALP will need to be modified. Mascari made a motion to modify the ALP contract with H.R. Green. Ellis seconded the motion and it was passed 4 — 0, with Robnett being absent. The contract total, including the modifications, will be $ 2000.00. Blum said the modifications would have an affect on the proposed modifications of the Zoning code. f. Bulletin board policy — Flight Planning room — Ellis said he thinks the Commission should have a policy on what should be on the bulletin board. He said he thought only appropriate things, such as FAA information, should be on the board. He thought the Commission should approve all things on the board. Ellis said the Commission should supply a space in the vending room or pilots room for other things, such as planes for sale or fly in breakfast posters. Mascari said what goes on the board should be decided by the Airport Manager. Dulek said other City buildings have policies. The Commission should get policies from other departments if they want to set a policy on bulletin boards. Thrower asked where Jet Air would post their information if they didn't post it in the Planning Room? Ellis said that they could put it in space they rent. He did not think Jet Air should have free use of space on the bulletin board. Mascari said that he doesn't think the Commission needs a policy to decide what goes on the bulletin board. It should be taken care of by the Airport Manager. Ellis said there should be a policy to direct the Airport Manager what can be on the bulletin board. Mascari said he would support a policy to let this be part of the discression of the Airport Manager. Anderson asked O'Neil to locate other City bulletin board policies. This can be on the agenda next month. g. Building E, meeting room policy — O'Neil included a copy of the current policy in the Commission's packet. He included a revised policy. O'Neil said there have been several groups that have asked to use the room. Ellis said he was concerned about increased liability. The Commission will review the old policy and this will be on the agenda at the next meeting. h. Strategic planning — schedule- Anderson said the Commission should discuss whether or not to have a facilitator. He said he thought Robnett had someone who would facilitate a planning session. O'Neil said the Commission should set a deadline and work back from that to set a timeline. Thrower said the planning he has been involved with usually takes about 5 to 8 hours a day for a week. He said there is a lot of preplanning that goes on before the actual planning session begins. Ellis asked if the planning was different for a non-profit group? Thrower said it is only an accounting difference. He said the Airport is not for profit, but is also not for loss. Ellis said he had a copy of the Fire Department's plan. He said it was a 10 -year plan, with unsupported ideas. He wondered if this was typical and if it should be followed up with a business plan? Thrower said a ten-year plan developed a strategy, which should be followed up by tactical solutions. Ellis wanted to know if it could he done on a weekend or done in one long day. Anderson said it could be done on two weekends. O'Neil said the Commission might have a difficult time getting citizen participation on weekends. Thrower said he thought each Commission member should bring a list of things to the next meeting that they felt should be discussed at a planning session. The Commission could narrow the list and tailor it toward the type of facilitator the Commission should look for. Mascari said the Commission members should get their list to O'Neil in the next two weeks. Anderson said he would like to see the plan finished by February 1, 2003. This would help with the next year's budgeting. Robnett and Thrower will be the subcommittee for this project and help determine who should be on the planning committee. Anderson said there was an aircraft emergency landing a couple of miles from the airport. No one was injured and there was no damage to the aircraft. Anderson asked O'Neil if he sent information to Councilperson Vanderhoef concerning the Army Reserve lease? O'Neil said he sent information to the City Manager. Anderson said he would like to review the Airport Manager's job description because it had changed so much over the years. Thrower and Ellis are the subcommittee for this issue. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Mascari wanted to know if there was something broken on the runway lights? O'Neil said the radio control switch is burned out and it is difficult to get parts because of the age of the equipment. O'Neil said it is a micro -switch that needs to be replaced. Mascari said he wanted to welcome Baron Thrower to the Commission. He said that it would be helpful to have a full five member Commission. Mascari said he thinks the Commission should carefully review the contract with the realtor. Mascari said that Overton said he can't lease the property and Mascari said that makes his contract null and void. Mascari said the Council has given the Commission one year to "get their house in order". He said that means working on a constant basis with the City Manager to assure the Council knows about the operations of the Airport. Thrower asked if there were any other documents he would need that pertain to the Airport? He said O'Neil gave him the bylaws, the City code and the Minimum Standards. Dulck said much of that information was on the City website. Anderson suggested Thrower look at the Master Plan and the FBO contract. Ellis asked if the Commission was going to send a memo to the Council, outlining what the Commission thought the Council expects from them in the next year. He said that it should emphasize that there will be no change in the financial side of the Airport. He said he thought the Council was going to give them a year to see what changes there are on how the Commission works. He said that the financial problems that started all this were probably not going to change in the next year. Mascari said that there were four items mentioned that needed to be addressed. None of the four issues involved finances. Ellis said that in a year, the strategic plan would be done, and maybe the business plan. He said the Airport Manager's job description will be defined. The Airport Manager should keep in contact with the City Manager. Ellis said it is important to send the Council something in writing. Anderson said it was discussed at the Council/Commission meeting. Ellis said it needs to be in writing. Ellis said he thought the Airport Manager should write a manual on how the SERTOMA fly in is organized. He said that would create continuity. Ellis said the Airport Manager should also write an airport operations manual. It is not required at a non-commercial airport, but it is recommended by AAAE. Mascari said that the Commission talked about having the Commission or the Airport Manager attend Council meetings on at least a monthly basis. He said that hasn't happened yet. Mascari and Ellis said they would attend the next Council meeting. Ellis said that he thought it should be a Commission member or members that attend the meetings. Ellis said if they spent three to five minutes to inform the Council on what is going on. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Dulek said there was an e-mail that was sent to the Council, thanking O'Neil for his help in getting Dulek's neighbor's son the hospital to spend some time with his mother before she died. The son was going to school out of state and had a friend fly him to Iowa City. His mother was in the hospital, dying of cancer. As soon as he arrived, O'Neil took him to the hospital and the son was able to spend some time with his mother before she died. Dulek said she would get a copy of the e-mail for the Commission. O'Neil said that the tenant in hangar #34 would like to begin negotiating another lease. His lease expires in February of 2003. This will be on the agenda for October. The new t -hangar leases will require a certificate of insurance. The leases and insurance are due October 1. If they are not received by October 10, notices to vacate will be sent. O'Neil suggested a meeting be scheduled in Kansas City with FAA officials to discuss the Iowa City Airport and what might be expected as far as future funding is concerned. O'Neil said there was a problem with the Dreusicke lease. The property Toyota would like to lease is in Johnson County and is zoned residential. Toyota can not use the property for vehicle storage if it is zoned residential. O'Neil said the Commission could request to annex the property and rezone it commercial. The Commission asked O'Neil to see how much it would cost to annex that area. O'Neil said he thought the Commission should have a meeting with SERTOMA at one of their meetings in the next few months to discuss responsibilities for the annual fly in. O'Neil said a he included a copy of the memo in the packet he sent with the new hangar leases. The State Aviation Conference is October 8 and 9 in Ames. O'Neil said that if any of the Commission members are interested in going, they should contact him by next week. He said it is not a split tuition, so if a Commission member wants to go, they should go both days. O'Neil encouraged participation. The Zoning Code revisions will cost about $ 9,000 - $ 10,000. The Zoning Commission does not have a budget because they rarely ever meet, except every few years to update the code. O'Neil said he has discussed this with the Finance Director. The Commission had discussed including a set fee for electricity in the new hangar leases. O'Neil said there was nothing in the lease for charging an electrical fee. O'Neil said he has been appointed a member of the national AAAE subcommittee for general aviation airports. A lot of information is exchanged by phone and e-mail and meetings at national conferences. Thank you letters were sent to some of those that contributed to the fly in breakfast. Copies of two memos to the City Manager were included in the Commission packet. One was about the USAR lease and one was about the Hagen property. The 2004 budget information is due on October 2. O'Neil asked the Commission members to send him their comments by September 30 so he can include them in the next packet of information. A special meeting could be scheduled before the October 2 deadline. Anderson will schedule a special meeting if it is necessary. Ellis asked what happened to the Council's request that the Commission model their accounting to be like the Library's? O'Neil said he discussed this with the Finance Director and the Airport already does business similar to the Library. As soon as the new leases are completed, Accounting will do the monthly t -hangar billing. SET NEXT MEETING The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2002,at 5:45 p.m. The meetigg was adjoin at 8:55 p.m. Chairperson v (�AQ.K \`�cr.� ` ``�cN�LL� c fA Jg2ft - IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING 1801 S. RIVERSIDE DRIVE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 -12:00 P.M. \a'. k5 I. Determine Quorum II. Public Discussion — Items Not on Agenda III. Items for Discussion/Action a. Lot # 17, Aviation Commerce Park IV. Chairperson report V. Adjournment a-� 0 -(kA 4-0 Co�en�fl�TS/ \ Cope [z�S �Q�C`Ttn,.ls CO�t�c�L C Co+�w�lSSl01� i• SgL2 oQ �v}S� �, 24RLTrv� I'ti4 .�.R G4C - ce ^^��SSiorA- cO4�Jc,1_ S C- k1 -t S - 6 co �— % r�-rG R..�Po� oN eos�S o� �r��SLftS���czkSLZ 16STe�