HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-2017 Airport Commission Meeting MinutesSeptember 21, 2017
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MINUTES FINAL
IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 — 6:00 P.M.
AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING
Members Present: Christopher Lawrence, Robert Libby, A. Jacob Odgaard, Chris Ogren
Members Absent: Minnetta Gardinier
Staff Present: Michael Tharp, Eric Goers
Others Present: Matt Wolford, David Hughes, Regenia Bailey, Jeff Davidson, Barb
Peterson
RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council
action):
None.
Chairperson Libby called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M., after declaring a quorum.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Libby began with a discussion of the minutes from the August 17, 2017, meeting. Odgaard
moved to accept the minutes of the August 17, 2017, meeting as presented. Ogren
seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0, Gardinier absent.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
None.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION:
a. Event Host Request for Alcohol — Tharp stated that the Shelter House is
working with Jet Air to host an event at the Airport on October 13, and that they
would like to be able to serve alcohol at this event. He noted that staff is
recommending approval of this request. The event will be held in Jet Air's new
hangar, hangar N. Members briefly discussed the need to look at their policy
concerning such requests, for both public and private events. The vote was
unanimous to allow the request for alcohol to go forward.
b. Strategic Plan — Bailey began the discussion with Members, stating that
tonight's goal is to confirm the goals, strategies, and success indicators that were
discussed at the previous meeting. She shared the draft document with
Members, noting that on the front it says '2019-2023.' She also made the
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suggestion of having a group photo with everyone, noting how the Council has
done this with their plan. Davidson then began walking the Commission through
the draft plan, beginning by reiterating how the Airport's plan is consistent with
the City Council's strategic plan goals. He stated that this is something the
Commission will want to highlight with the Council. Starting with the first goal —
continue strong communication with the City Council, City Administration; seek
opportunities to collaborate with other City departments — Davidson noted that
this goal is one that was stressed the most 10 years ago when the initial plan
was done, in order to improve relations with the City. He stated that everyone
has done a great job rectifying this situation, but that it is something they should
still continue. The City Council's goal of 'enhancing community engagement and
inter -governmental relations' is directly related to this goal. At this point
Davidson asked the Chair if he should continue going through each goal at this
point. The question was asked if there were any significant changes from the
last meeting, and Davidson stated that they were not, that they did not receive
any new information to add to the strategic plan.
Continuing, Davidson highlighted some specific areas for Members. On the third
bullet, it states that 'at least quarterly an Airport Commission Member or Airport
Operations Specialist will attend City Council meeting and give an update on
activities.' He asked if 'quarterly' is the timeframe the Commission would like to
keep here. Members briefly discussed this, with Tharp giving suggestions on
how they might want to handle this. After continued discussion, Members agreed
that 'at least twice per year' should cover regular updates, with more being added
if necessary. Davidson then spoke to the visibility of the Airport and ways to let
the public know about them. Moving on to the success indicators, Davidson
noted that this will give Members a more complete plan. Speaking to the annual
report presentation to the Council, Davidson noted that this would give them a
deadline of September 1st. He asked if this is okay or if Members want to make
changes here. Tharp spoke to this, noting that typically he does the annual
report in February and explained why it works out better for the Airport to do this.
After some discussion, Members agreed that it should remain 'within two months
of the end of the calendar year,' instead of the 'fiscal year.'
Moving to the second goal — develop and maintain adequate funding
mechanisms for Airport operations, facility improvements, and maintenance —
which is consistent with the Council's goal of 'maintain a solid financial
foundation.' Speaking to the amount of funding received from the City itself,
Davidson asked Members if they feel they need a percentage in here or not.
Members discussed this issue, with Lawrence noting that he believes they should
leave this in the goal, that there is a general perception in the public that airports
consume a lot more local funds than they actually do. Members agreed that they
would like to have the 10% here, with the wording of 'Airport's operating budget'
added. Ogren questioned the use of 'adequate funding' in this goal, and also the
strategy of 'increase revenue.' She stated that they have done this and she
questioned what the expectation is in terms of this. Continuing, she noted that
while increasing revenue is a good thing, she questioned how much of that is
what they are working towards versus providing a good service. Bailey
suggested the wording: 'maintain adequate revenue generated by Airport
operations by regularly reviewing and revising.'
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The third goal — increase use of the Airport for aviation and other community
uses— is related to the Council's goal of 'enhancing community engagement and
inter -government relations.' Davidson stated that in reading through the
strategies, he believes the Commission may want to consider bringing in
someone who has expertise in marketing strategies. Speaking to the success
indicators, Davidson noted that to accurately measure some of these goals, data
will need to be collected. Speaking to the final bullet point, at least two new
economic development ventures at the Airport within the next five years, he
asked if this is realistic or not. Bailey stated that this would most likely involve
some specific type recruitment, where perhaps a brainstorming type of meeting
with the City's economic development coordinator could take place. Ogren
questioned this goal, stating that it may be more work than they think. Bailey
then suggested the wording of 'pursue' these economic development ventures.
Members briefly discussed this idea and agreed to these changes.
The fourth goal — maintain the safety and aesthetic appeal of the Airport and
Airport infrastructure — Davidson noted that this is the non -aviation side of
operations. This includes such things as sidewalks, painting of hangars,
landscaping, as well as the parkland greenspace they have discussed. Ogren
suggested they specify which hangars would be painted, as it would be the north
hangars. She also questioned the idea of 'regular painting' of the hangars being
realistic. Discussion then took place among Members regarding this issue. They
agreed that if they were to make this a budget priority, it would then get done
regularly, which has not been the case in the past. The Commission also agreed
that aesthetics are what will help bring additional business.
Moving to the final goal — Airport master plan — Davidson stated that this is fairly
straightforward. He asked if Members had any questions or comments at this
point. Odgaard noted that the Airport's 100 -year anniversary is coming up next
year and that he did not see this anywhere in the goals. It was noted that the
strategic plan is for 2019, and the celebration/anniversary is in 2018. Bailey
pointed out that in the 'marketing plan,' it does mention that a celebration will be
taking place. Continuing, Bailey stated that they will make the changes that the
Commission discussed today and will then get the updated version to Members.
The target is to adopt the strategic plan at the October meeting, unless there are
additional changes needed.
C. FAA/IDOT Projects: AECOM / David Hughes
L Obstruction Mitigation
1. Environmental Assessment - Hughes first gave Members some
background on the environmental assessment (EA) and how they got to
this point. He noted that this was proposed in July of 2017, with the EA
process slated to be completed in May of 2018. Hughes stated that the
process got off to a late start, as the grant did not come in until mid-July.
At this point the initial submittal has been made to the FAA. He spoke
further to this, noting how the recently completed master plan addresses
the obstruction mitigation issues. Speaking to the first phase of the
environmental process, Hughes noted that there is an architectural and
historic component. He shared information from this report, noting the
history of the Airport itself. Continuing, Hughes stated that the FAA has
done their initial assessment of the documents and that they are ready to
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forward them on to the State Historic Preservation Office. The EA is
expected to be ready for public input by the end of the year. Tharp then
spoke to the November/December timeframe, noting that there will be
public hearings and neighborhood meetings held at that time. He expects
to have more information regarding these meetings by next month's
Commission meeting. The discussion continued, mainly along the lines
of funding that is expected to be available at both the state and federal
level.
ii. North T -hangar restroom — Hughes stated that they plan to bring this up
again at the November meeting so they can begin the bidding process.
Airport Operations
L Budget — Tharp stated that the FY19 budget season is rapidly
approaching. He suggested the subcommittee meet, especially in light of
the master plan and strategic plan goals that have recently been
completed. He noted that they should probably look at some of these
goals and see how they can fit them into the budget. Obtaining pricing
estimates and other such data will be necessary in order to prioritize
these goals. Tharp stated that they may need to have a special work
session in order to approve what the Airport would be submitting to City
Hall for their FY19 budget. After further discussion, Members set a
budget work session for Thursday, October 5 at 6:00 P.M.
ii. Management -
1. Front (Riverside Drive) Greenspace — Tharp then spoke to this
issue, noting that the Commission had shown an interest in making some
changes to the area that fronts Riverside Drive. He noted that to the
south there is some overgrown shrubbery that isn't too bad, but as you go
north the area is very closed in with growth. Odgaard suggested they add
another Airport sign, like the current one. Tharp stated that he will try to
get some pricing together prior to the budget meeting. Members
continued to share their ideas on how they might improve the aesthetics
around the front entrance and grounds of the Airport.
iii. Events — Tharp stated that other than Shelter House's event in October,
nothing else is planned for the rest of the year at this point. He spoke
briefly to the pancake breakfast, noting that it was a success again this
year.
e. FBO / Flight Training Reports
i. Jet Air — Matt Wolford with Jet Air began with the monthly maintenance
reports for August and September. He highlighted some items for
Members — extra trimming and getting ready for the pancake breakfast;
picking up trash; filling in of holes and ruts; cleaned the floors in hangar
N/M; and replaced hangar 20's door knob. Moving to September, one big
item was painting of the men's restroom in the terminal building.
Speaking to Jet Air, Wolford noted the upcoming Shelter House event in
October. He shared that Jet Air will have a booth, through their fuel
supplier, at the upcoming aviation conference. Wolford noted that this
conference is the largest in the world. This year the event is being held in
Las Vegas, October 10 —12. He also spoke to some upcoming ground
school programs they are planning. Continuing, Wolford stated that they
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are keeping busy with all aspects of their business. He added that they
have hired two more pilots, one based out of Illinois and the other lives in
West Branch.
f. Commission Members' Reports — None.
g. Staff Report — Tharp spoke about the upcoming Council orientation meeting. He
believes the time is 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. at the Eastside Recycling Center. It is
basically a candidate orientation meeting where the City department heads will
speak about their departments and what they do in relation to the city.
h. 100 -year Anniversary Committee — Ogren stated that the fuel survey was sent
off earlier this week. Tharp stated that in the next few weeks he would like to
have another meeting so they can put a vision to this event and start to move
forward.
SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR:
The next regular meeting of the Airport Commission will be held on Thursday, October 19,
2017, at 6:00 P.M. in the Airport Terminal Building. The special budget work session will be
Thursday. October 5, 2017, at 6:00 P.M.
ADJOURN:
Ogren moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 P.M. Odgaard seconded the motion. The
motion carried 4-0, Gardinier absent.
CHAIRPERSON
DATE
September 21, 2017
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Airport Commission
ATTENDANCE RECORD
2016-2017
Key;
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
TERM
+
+
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
NAME
EXP.
+
+
++
W0
'm
N
N
N
N
N
N
O!
V
V
-4 V
V
V
V
V
V
V
Minnetta
07/01/19
O
Gardinier
O/
O/
/
X
X
X
X
X
E
E
X
X
X
E
Chris Ogren
07/01/18
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
A.Jacob
07/01118
O/
X
Odgaard
X
X
X
X
E
X
X
X
X
X
Julie
07/01/17
O/
0/
N
N
N
Bockenstedt
X
X
X
X
X
E
X
E
M
M
M
Robert Libby
07/01120
O/
X
O
0/E
X
X
X
X
X
E
X
X
Christopher
07/01/21
N
N
N
N
N
X
Lawrence
M
NM
NM
NM
M
M
M
M
X
X
Key;
X = Present
X/E = Present for Part of Meeting
O = Absent
O/E = Absent/Excused
September 21, 2017
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NM = Not a Member at this time