HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-2002 Airport Commission Meeting MinutesMINUTES
IOWA CITY AERPORT COMMISSION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2002 — 5:45 P.M.
IOWA CITY AIRPORT TERMINAL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Rick Mascari, Michelle Robnett, Mark Anderson, Alan Ellis, Baron
Thrower
STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Ron O'Neil
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINiTI'ES:
The minutes of the September 12, 2002, Commission meeting were approved, with three
corrections. On page five, second paragraph, under Chairperson's Report, the subcommittee
should have been listed as Mascari and Ellis. On page two, the fourth paragraph, the fourth line,
the sixth word should be 'leased.' On page two, the seventh paragraph, the fourth line, the first
word should be `owes.'
AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES:
Mascari asked what the storm water management permit was for? O'Neil said that because all
airports are considered "industrial sites", a storm water management plan is required and a permit
from the DNR is required. Mascari made a motion to pay the bills. Robnett seconded the motion
and the motion passed 4 - 0, with Thrower being absent.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION — TI'EMS NOT ON AGENDA:
No items were presented.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Aviation Commerce Park
1. October report — Tracy Overton, from Iowa Realty, said his boss was out of town and
could not attend the meeting, as was requested at the last Commission meeting. Scott
Byers said he would be glad to meet at a special meeting or at the next Commission
meeting. Mascari said he wanted to meet with him either next week or next month.
Anderson said he would check his calendar to see when a special meeting could be
scheduled. He will contact O'Neil to schedule the meeting.
Overton said he is waiting for a response from the person that was interested in Lot # 17.
He said he is waiting for a written counter proposal. (Thrower arrived at the meeting.)
Overton said there was an inquiry to purchasing Lots # 16 & 17. Overton said he always
discusses leasing when approached by a potential tenant. He said most everyone wants to
buy as opposed to lease.
2. Other issues — Mascari said he thought the Council/Commission subcommittee was going
to meet to discuss selling or leasing the lots. O'Neil said he has discussed this with the
City Manager and he is waiting for a response from the Mayor.
O'Neil said he discussed the ACP with FAA officials in Ames on Wednesday and one
recommendation was to move the southern boundary of the ACP to the 35 foot building
restriction line. The Compliance Officer from the FAA indicated that she wanted to have
the Airport maintain control of the property south of the 35 foot building restriction line
and would not recommend an assurance release to sell the property south of the building
restriction line. The FAA also wanted a different meets and bounds description. The
street would have to be taken out of the legal description. O'Neil asked the FAA if they
thought there would be any more requirements before a release would be considered? An
airspace study would have to be conducted for the property. This would be done by the
individual developers. The FAA would also like to review the covenants and restrictions.
The FAA said they would need a few weeks for the review.
O'Neil said there were other changes to the plat. The easement on the north property line
is to be reduced from 50 feet to 30 feet. The potential buyer for Lot # 17 also wanted to
move the lot line between # 16 and # 17. Overton said he would recommend having a
firm offer before moving the lot line. O'Neil will work with MMS Consultants to update
the plat.
Anderson asked Dulek what was happening with the tenant on Lot 410? Dulek said she
sent a letter to Rob Nickols, giving him 10 days to get caught up with his rent or he
would be considered in default. Dulek said there was a problem with the address given in
the lease, so to be certain he received the notice, she also sent it to another address he had
given the Commission.
3. Council/Commission sale/lease agreement — O'Neil said he placed this on the agenda in
case the subcommittee had met and some action needed to be taken. He said the
agreement with the Council only covers leases and the agreement should also cover
details of what should happen if the property is sold. Mascari and Ellis are the ACP
subcommittee.
b. Environmental Assessment— Dick Blum, from H.R. Green, said the project is moving
forward. He said Green has been discussing Willow Creek with the Corps of Engineers. He
will need to get current water flow information to know how to size a culvert for Willow
Creek. It will need to flow through a culvert through the Obstacle Free Area. Blum said
they are coordinating their project with Stanley Engineering's Obstruction Removal project.
c. Obstruction removal project- Dean Beranek, from Stanley Engineering, provided the
Commission with information on where the obstructions are. He said there were two lists,
one with 160 obstructions and one with 140 obstructions. He said all the obstructions have
been platted on a 100 -scale map. He said that before the next meeting, a final list and
location of the obstructions would be developed. Photographs will be taken of all
obstructions.
Ellis said this would help the Commission prioritize what obstructions to remove fust. Cost
and difficulty to remove will be discussed.
d. Airport Layout Plan — Blum said he has been plotting the obstructions that are in the
Runway Protection Zones. He said he has completed the RPZ for Runway 25. Blum said
there is not a problem with the 34:1 slope but there are a lot of obstructions that affect the
50:1 slope. Mascari asked if a 20:1 approach is needed for an ILS? Blum said a 50:1 slope,
which is a lot flatter approach, is needed for a precision approach. Blum said there would be
no problem going back to the 34:1 approach slope to get the ALP approved. Blum said he
would coordinate with Stanley to identify what obstructions are in the 50:1 slope.
e. Garnett lease —O'Neil said the tenant in hangar #34 would like to negotiate his lease now.
The current lease expires at the end of February 2003. He wanted a three-year lease. O'Neil
said Dulek advised additional default language be added to the lease in the packet. He
provided the Commission with a copy of the additional language.
Ellis asked why the same lease language used in the t -hangars could not be used for the
corporate hangar lease? Dulek said that because the corporate lease is for three years, there
should better default language.
Mascari said the insurance issue should be addressed. He said this is the same issue in the t -
hangars lease. Mascari said the City wants to be named additional insured. He said that
now the City wants the aircraft insurance to be the primary carrier. He said he feels the City
has shifted gears and is asking for something different than they originally wanted. He said
there is only one company that writes policies that make the aircraft insurance the primary
carrier.
Dulek said Mascari did not sign a lease that required his insurance carrier to be the primary
insurer of the premises. The requirements in the lease only require that the City be named as
an additional insured. John Ockenfels, a hangar tenant, said that he doesn't think the tenants
should have to insure the Airport's building. O'Neil said the Airport maintains hangar
keeper's liability.
Mascari said he would like to make a motion to accept the Garnett lease, with the stipulation
that the insurance language is acceptable. Ellis wanted to know why the snow removal was
changed from 5 feet to 2 feet? O'Neil said that the 5 -foot limit was one of the things the t -
hangar tenants objected to and he would recommend it be changed in next year's lease.
Because the Garnett lease is for three years, O'Neil said he thought the change should be
included in this lease.
Robnett asked if the Risk Manager could meet with the Commission to explain the
insurance? Ellis said his had been done before. Dulek said she would discuss the insurance
with Erin Herting. Ellis said he thought the tenants have complied with the lease language
and the Commission should accept the certificates that have been provided.
O'Neil said the Garnett lease is for three years and the rent is increased at 2% per year.
Robnett said she would like to postpone approving the lease until the insurance is resolved.
Anderson said the issue would be tabled until the next meeting. Thrower said it would have
to be resolved with the Risk Manager on what is acceptable insurance. If there is an
impasse, the Mayor should be contacted. Mascari said the Council should be kept informed.
He said his experience was that discussions with the Mayor do not always get passed down
to the Council. He said that if things can not be worked out with the Risk Manager, the City
Manager should be involved. O'Neil said he is meeting with the City Manager on Friday
and he will discuss the insurance issue.
E Jirsa lease — Jirsa Inc., doing business as Rock's Roadhouse, has a lease with the Airport
for property directly east of their restaurant. O'Neil reminded the Commission that this was
the Airport property that Jirsa paved without permission from the Airport. O'Neil said the
lease expires in December and O'Neil recommended not renewing the lease. Most of the
area leased will be needed for the intersection of Mormon Trek when it is extended south
next year. O'Neil said if the Commission wants to continue to lease to Rock's, it should be
on a month to month basis.
Robnett wanted to know if Rock's would be able to stay in business when Mormon Trek is
developed? O'Neil said he didn't know what they would do for parking. At least half of
their parking is on Airport property. Mascari said he thought they should be offered a one-
year lease. He didn't think the runway would be extended or Mormon Trek would be paved
for at least a year. O'Neil said it was his understanding that the Mormon Trek project was
scheduled to be bid in March of 2003, with construction to follow in the summer of 2003.
Mascari said he still thought the lease should be renewed.
Anderson said that Jirsa has not requested a new lease yet and he suggested this be put on
the agenda at a later date.
g. Contractor's Tool sign lease - O'Neil said Contractor's Tool would like to install a
business sign on a parcel of Airport property on South Gilbert Street. He said a copy of the
proposal was included in the Commission packet. If approved by the Commission,
Contractor's Tool would be required to do an airspace study before the Commission would
allow a sign to be constructed. City sign ordinances would have to be met.
Anderson asked O'Neil to contact a sign company to see what the value of the sign lease
would be. O'Neil will report at the next meeting.
h. Bulletin board policy — Flight planning room — O'Neil said he sent out e-mails to all
departments, asking for policies on public bulletin boards. Ellis said he thinks the Airport
should have a policy on what can be on the bulletin board. Thrower said he would make a
motion to adopt the policy that the Library has. Robnett said she didn't think that policy
would apply to the Airport. She didn't think time should be spent monitoring the bulletin
board. Thrower suggested voting on the motion. Ellis made a motion to adopt the Library's
policy, with modifications. Thrower seconded the motion. Mascari said he thought this was
an example of micro managing. He said he thought the Airport Manager should monitor the
bulletin board.
Anderson called for a vote of Ellis's motion. The motion failed, 1 — 4, with Ellis voting in
the affirmative. Ellis made a motion that the Airport Manager must approve anything posted
on the bulletin board. Thrower seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-2, with
Anderson and Mascari voting in the negative.
i. Building E, meeting room policy - Anderson said there was a proposed policy in the
packet. O'Neil said that the original policy for use of the room was similar to meeting
rooms in the Civic Center. There have been several requests to expand the use. O'Neil said
there is a question of securing the room for after hours use. There is also a question of the
cost for using the room.
Thrower said that if the use is expanded, the Commission must charge enough to cover the
expenses. O'Neil said that security is one of the main problems. Because the building is
shared with a private business, the Commission would be responsible to make sure the
building is locked up if a meeting lasts longer than the business hours of Jet Air. Ellis said
that the Commission would have to require a building security lock-up service.
Ron Duffe, from Jet Air, suggested installing security cameras. He said he has been in
airports that are open 24 hours a day, and some of the time, the building is unattended.
Mascari made a motion to open the room to the public, charging $ 50 for a four-hour block
of time. If the room is reserved for after 5:00 p.m., the fee from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. is
$75. Robnett seconded the motion. There would be no fee for City -related or aviation uses.
Robnett said to charge $25 per hour for anything less than a 4 -hour block.
There was a discussion concerning what should be charged for a cleaning deposit. Anderson
suggested Mascari and Robnett withdraw their motion and second and have O'Neil put
together a policy, based on the suggestions made by the Commission. Mascari and Robnett
withdrew their motions and this will be on the agenda for the November meeting.
J. FY 2004 preliminary budget — O'Neil presented the Commission with a preliminary
budget. Ellis asked about the capital improvement list. Ellis said he would include all of the
projects that were eliminated from the budget last year. Ellis said he would want to include
more for advertising. O'Neil said many of the budget numbers are generated from the FY
2002 actual numbers.
Ellis suggested budgeting $ 10,000 for a business consultant. He also wanted to add $
10,000 for strategic planning. Anderson suggested $2000 for engineering services. Ellis
wanted $ 650 added for corporate membership to AAAE. He said this would give all the
Commission members access to the services provided by the American Association of
Airport Executives.
Ellis asked what the line item was for Loss Reserve? O'Neil said that is for the deductible
that the insurance doesn't pay for. Ellis said he would like to add $ 30,000 for another
employee. Robnett said that the Commission would need to justify an additional employee
and that could be included in the business plan when it is completed.
Anderson asked about charges for local phone service? O'Neil said that was now included
in a different line item. Anderson asked about the transportation line item? O'Neil said that
is for transportation to conferences and for the Commission's annual meeting with the FAA.
Anderson asked about the large increase in the fire insurance? O'Neil said that is one of the
numbers generated by the Finance Department and they are anticipating a large increase in
premium costs. O'Neil said he fills out a survey for the Risk Manager every year and the
City goes out for bids on insurance.
Mascari asked about the budget number for permanent employees. He said he thought it
was high. O'Neil said that included both employees. Mascari also said he did not want to
participate in the vehicle replacement fund. Thrower asked O'Neil to explain the program.
O'Neil said that when a new piece of equipment is purchased, the Commission has to budget
for it. Once a piece of equipment is purchased, it is placed on a replacement schedule, with
money contributed every year for each piece of equipment. When the equipment is
replaced, money is available to purchase the new equipment.
O'Neil said that if the Commission did not want to participate, they should discuss this with
the City Manager or Council. If a piece of equipment needed to be replaced, it would have
to be budgeted for separately.
Mascari said four or five years ago, the Commission traded in a pick up truck. The only
problem with it was a little rust. He said they got nothing for it and spent $25,000 on a new
truck. Anderson asked O'Neil to explain what happened. O'Neil said that the truck traded
in was 10 years old, the radiator was falling out of it, the Commission received several
hundred dollars credit for the old truck and favorable bids allowed them to buy a $25,000
truck for under $15,000. Robnett suggested leasing equipment. Mascari said the City would
not let them lease equipment. He said he thought they had to trade at the end of the
amortization schedule.
O'Neil said equipment it not always traded in at the end of the amortization schedule if it is
still functional. He has had equipment that he has not traded or replaced, or has extended
the schedule. The Commission does not pay in to the fund after the time the vehicle is
originally scheduled to be replaced. Mascari said the Commission should not pay any more
into the replacement fund. The majority of the Commission said they should continue with
the replacement fund and review it when they are developing their business plan.
Thrower said he thought money should be budgeted to install a phone in the conference
room if they are going to rent the space to public groups. Robnett said a separate data line
would also be a good idea. Thrower said a fire extinguisher, in a case, should also be
installed. Thrower suggested installing some type of window coverings on the west
windows of the second floor. O'Neil said that blinds were not installed when the building
was renovated because they did not meet the historic design of the building. Mascari said it
will cost about $10,000 to install blinds.
Mascari said he wanted to drop the funding for the computer replacement fund. The rest of
the Commission agreed.
Mascari made a motion to present the budget as discussed. Ellis seconded the motion and it
passed 5 — 0.
Ir. Strategic planning — schedule — Ellis said the Commission should meet to discuss the plan.
He said the fust step would be to defire the vision and mission statements. He said the
timeline should be established for the plan. The next step would be to meet with the
members of the community that the Commission would like to invite to assist with the plan
development. The next meeting could be with airport users. Information should be
solicited from all the groups the Commission invited to attend. He said maybe the City
Manager and Council members should be invited to the first meeting.
Anderson said the Commission would need to go to the Council to request funding for a
consultant. O'Neil said the Commission might want to ask the City Manager's opinion on
what to do about funding for a consultant. Robnett said she would ask at the University if
there were someone that is willing to consult with the Commission on a strategic plan. Ellis
said the Commission's self-imposed deadline is February 1, 2003. Ellis will contact a
private company that does this sort of planning. He will get some dates and approximate
costs. Thrower suggested the City Manager might have an idea for a facilitator for the
project. Thrower and Robnett are the subcommittee and will coordinate the project.
CHAERPERSON'S REPORT:
Anderson has asked Jet Air if they would add to their sign -in list to include who is using the
Airport. He said that might be information the Commission could report to Council. The
Commission discussed how they could share advertising the Airport services with Jet Air.
Anderson sent a letter to the Mayor, explaining that the budget problems at the Airport are
probably not going to go away until the property in the Aviation Commerce Park is leased or
sold. It could take several years.
COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS:
Mascari said he has a transmitter at his office that broadcasts weather information. If a plane has
a specific type of receiver, it can receive the information. He is sharing the costs with the
manufacturer of the equipment.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT:
O'Neil said the CIP data sheets are due to the FAA by November 29, 2002. This is the
information the FAA uses to program projects at individual airports. O'Neil said he has reminded
H.R. Green Consultants that he will need the cost data for the relocation of Dane Road. If a grant
is received, that money will be coordinated with the Mormon Trek project. Ron Duffe, from Jet
Air, said he would like to have REIL on Runway 25.
O'Neil said he sent a memo to the City Manager, updating him on the status of some Airport
projects. A copy of the memo was in the Commission packet.
O'Neil said he would begin the selection process for the engineering firm for the Vertical
Infrastructure Program project.
There was a memo in the packet to Double Check, discussing their final payment. Mascari asked
if someone from Double Check could be at the next meeting? O'Neil said he would ask.
The Airport Zoning Ordinance will be discussed by the City Council on October 21 and October
22. Robnett and Thrower will be at the October 22 meeting.
O'Neil provided the Commission with a copy of the DOT proposed spending bill. O'Neil said
there would not be any grants offered until Congress passes the Department of Transportation
spending authorization.
O'Neil said that there are five t -hangar tenants that have not replied to the lease letter. He will
send follow-up letters.
O'Neil said he received a letter from the DNR, stating that "no further action" is required for the
old fuel tank site. This means the site is closed.
Thrower suggested the Commission have a single spokesperson for dealing with the media and
have information available for the spokesperson to be able to give accurate, concise answers.
Mascari will work with Thrower on working on responses to the media. The Airport Manager is
the spokesperson.
SET NEXT MEETING:
The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for November 14, 2002,at 5:45 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Matfyf�rson, Chairperson