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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-13 Airport Commission MinutesMINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING FINAL Members Present: Warren Bishop, Chris Lawrence, Scott Clair, Judy Pfohl (Zoom), Hellecktra Orozco (Zoom) Members Absent: None Staff Present: Michael Tharp, Jennifer Schwickerath Others Present: Matt Wolford, Carl Byers, Ryan Story RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council action : None. DETERMINE QUORUM Clair called the meeting to order at 6:OOpm APPROVAL OF MINUTES Bishop noted a couple of places where Commission names were incorrect for those speaking. Tharp noted he would correct them. Bishop moved to approve the minutes from December 9, 2021, seconded by Lawrence. Motion carried 4-0 (Pfohl Absent) PUBLIC DISCUSSION None ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION / ACTION a. Airport Signage/Wayfinding Tharp noted that he was working with FUEL to develop an agreement that was almost ready. Schwickerath said the design work on tiles is done and more work on signage can be contracted for separately. Commissioners agreed that this was fine. b. FAA/IDOT Projects: i. Obstruction Mitigation la. Phase 1 Tharp said that the contractor had submitted paperwork and the work is complete. The final resolution had given a quote of $455,000, and work came in at approximately $42,000 under the quote due in part to a neighbor's taking care of his own tree trimming. Bishop moved to approve a resolution accepting the project as complete (A22-01); Lawrence seconded, and the motion carried by roll call 5-0. It was clarified that members attending by Zoom do not count as part of the quorum but may vote. 1 b. Phase 2 Tharp pointed out that there was a minor cost overrun on this project due to the IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 2 of 7 • need to cut down extra trees, increasing the cost from $208,000 to $220,000. The job is complete and the paperwork has been submitted. Lawrence moved to approve the resolution to accept the project as complete (A22-02); Bishop seconded, and the motion passed by roll call 5-0. ii. Runway 7/25 Rehab East End Tharp said that the bidding process was just beginning. From runway end to intersection, they would be crack -sealing, doing joint and panel repair. Byers described how language had been strengthened to encourage contractor coordination and make the process as frictionless as possible. Byers said down time for the runway should be 5 days for the repairs, with reopening at night except during times when new paint or fresh concrete would be drying. In total, with light replacement and threshold relocation, he expected down time of about 20 days in total for the runway. Lawrence asked what the impact would be on Runway 30/12, and Byers estimated it would be about 6 hours. Wolford confirmed that he would be able to make use of 3-0 for charter flights during the closures if weather allowed. Tharp said that if the motion passed for a public hearing, bidding would open March 3rd. Bishop moved to approve a resolution setting a public hearing on February 10th, 2022 for the plans, specifications, and form of contract for the Runway 7/25 rehabilitation phase 1 project (A22-03), and Lawrence seconded; the motion passed by roll -call vote 5-0. iii. Runway 25 Threshold Relocation Tharp said bidding had opened the week before and that the bids were "phenomenal". The lowest responsive bid was from Neumiller Electric, with whom the Airport has worked before, with a bid of $440,811. This award will require FAA approval, so while awarding is possible now, contract signing will wait for that. Tharp's conversations with FAA indicate that FAA will participate in funding the LED lighting and marking of the entire runway. Byers and Tharp recommended that the Commission award all of the alternates for LED lighting without heating, allowing contractors to get performance and insurance bonds while awaiting contract signing. Lawrence moved to approve a resolution accepting bids and awarding contract (A22-04); Pfohl seconded, and the motion passed by roll -call vote 5-0. iv. South T -hangar infrastructure v. Hangar A Door Replacement (phase 1) Tharp noted that Bolton and Menk was continuing work to put the project plans together. He asked if Byers had anything to share and Byers responded. Byers said they were pushing ahead with two state -funded projects. One has been filed and the other is already bid, and that work on the hangar -door project would be next. Tharp expected more substantial news on the hangar project at the next meeting. vi. FAA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Grant programs Tharp noted that the BIL had passed with authorizations for airport funding and allocations to individual airports. His understanding of the Act is that it allocates to the Airport $295,000 per year for the next five years, with a 10% match, they would need to work with the city for matching funds since this is currently unplanned for dollars. FAA is currently crafting guidelines for use of the money, but Tharp's understanding is that in general the money is meant to fund runways, taxiways, and sustainability. Tharp attended a BIL webinar after announcement of the award amounts, and said that in general it would be IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 3 of 7 similar to the AIP program, which presented some difficulty because AIP required that revenue -generating expenditures like hangars also required attestation that air -side needs were taken care of, and preventing requesting funds for air -side needs for five years. However, Tharp saw the possibility of a big boost for the solar panel project, which was estimatedoriginally at $300,000, which would allow for immediate savings on energy costs. A power -purchase agreement from a solar company would not be necessary; the entire system could be bought outright. Tharp believed it would be their priority project, with other projects waiting on the guidelines for definition. Current possibilities include the aircraft parking area and hangars. Tharp encouraged discussion of other projects the Commission might want to consider. Clair asked when FAA guidance was expected, and Tharp said likely March or April. Clair then asked that Tharp bring his project list to the Commission at that time for discussions about priorities, and Tharp suggested they talk only about items that FAA would not routinely approve for funding. Clair asked about the parallel taxiway for 3-0, which Tharp confirmed could be a possibility, but not a strong one. Pfohl asked about funding for the main light. Byers said that at the airport in Washington, where he was working with the planner and engineer, they had also approached the project funding strategically decided to use expected AIP funding for runway lighting and turning to BIL funding for lights and REILs, and that this was made possible by splitting the work into two reasonably distinct projects, one fundable by AIP and the other with BIL. His view was that BIL funds, given their size, should probably be approached strategically by aiming for discretionary projects that could be combined into a large project, but they are awaiting FAA guidance. He is hopeful that the fact that money has been appropriated means that the money will either be immediately available in lump sum or that it will be possible to borrow against it for larger projects. Clair asked what planning for the taxiway existed in the master plan, and Tharp said that the master plan did not include a full parallel taxiway. Clair and Lawrence suggested that since they will be extending 3-0, a taxiway at that end would be a good idea. Byers replied that an approach to getting the funding might include splitting up the job into non -BIL and BIL segments, so that the middle was BIL funded, and BIL was not being used for taxiway work projects fundable in other ways. Lawrence asked Tharp and Byers to come back to the Commission after FAA guidance is released with proposals for how to combine AIP and BIL funds to carry out prioritized projects. c. Airport Operations i. Management 1. Airport Frontage Area/Parking Lot Tharp said that Airport engineering was putting a plan and specs together for the parking lot and expected to have something to show in February; recently they have been focused on pulling together a report for the City Council's budget meetings. Several members noted that parking was cramped with charter flight success taking up existing parking spaces. ii. Budget Tharp said that the budget and CIP presentations to City Council had gone well and that he was not expecting pushback on current operations. a. Art Mural i. Fundraising Clair said he and Pfohl had talked with Marcia and Wendy and adjusted plans, and come up with a fundraising concept similar to what they had IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 4 of 7 used for the simulator. They do not expect that the City's contribution of $8,000 will be enough for anything beyond a very basic mural, and believe that they might need another $12,000 for a more complex mural showing the history of the Airport. His fundraising idea involves including paintings of donors' aircraft in the mural, so long as each aircraft has had at least one flight into Iowa City, with large donations qualifying for a foregrounded aircraft and smaller ones backgrounded. Assuming they are able to find the funding,, Wendy and Marcia suggested they use an RFP rather than an RFQ process, in March. Clair said that he had indicated to them that the Airport Commission was not in a hurry, in part because they did not know exactly when the new doors would be installed, and that their priority was quality. Marcia and Wendy assured them that project delay for a funds drive would not lead to loss of City funding, so they are now planning to do the project in summer 2023: Bishop asked whether the funding drive could be structured as a charitable drive, and Schwickerath said that the letters sent for contributions to the requisite City account did not suggest that the gift was tax-deductible. However, she said, contributions through the Community Foundation of Johnson County could be charitable and thus tax-deductible, but that going through the Foundation would involve a fee, and that she would check into that. Bishop believed people would be more inclined to give if there were a tax benefit and described strategies for doing so, Clair suggested that the Commission should go ahead with pursuing avenues for charitable contribution to the mural fund and, if this were a possibility, making sure that it was advertised in the fundraising campaign. Pfohl noted that the publicity for the project should also include the Commission's rights to control mural content and future changes to the mural. Bishop suggested that "Aviator" level donation start at $1,000, and Lawrence suggested "Navigator" could start at $2,000, and said he'd pointed out to Marcia that his Cessna 182 model had cost $500, so it was not unreasonable to think that aircraft owners might give at that level. Pfohl asked whether it would also be possible to have an exhibit of Airport historical items in the lobby. Wolford suggested they include getting more copies of a book of Iowa City's history. Tharp pointed out that the terminal is cramped, but said he would look to see what could be done. Clair suggested making a photograph -diagram of the mural indicating the aircraft and donors for the terminal. Clair said he would send an email around for more suggestions on details of the fundraising plan. Orozco asked how the fundraiser would be advertised; Clair said they had a list of current pilots, and could also compile lists of other airport users, put the information on the Airport website, and use City announcements. Wolford suggested selling inclusion of specific aircraft even if they were not donor -owned. Clair suggested limiting donor slots to limit mural elements, and Lawrence said that this would all have to be worked out with the artist. Potential donor - priority strategies were discussed to encourage donation before either an artist or a budget had been settled, with exact representation of the aircraft uncertain. Bishop asked what it would cost to paint the building a solid blue, just for a baseline, and Tharp said that an earlier solid -color paint job had cost $8,000. Bishop considered that the mural might cost considerably more than $20,000. ii. RFQ IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 5 of 7 Clair and Pfohl will talk again with Marcia and get RFP (not RFQ) language written soon in order to start getting details on whom the artist might be, what the budget might entail, and what might reasonably be offered to donors. Lawrence expected an RFP might close sometime in April. Pfohl pointed out that Marcia is retiring at the end of March and that it would be. good to move quickly. 2. Fuel Flowage Fees Clair had no updates on fuel flowage fees. iii. Events Tharp said that Iowa Aviation Conference event was in April. The Airport will also host the 2022 Iowa Aviation Conference, April 12-14. The designated hotel, the Graduate, seemed problematic because Iowa law requires that public conferences be held at venues that specifically support anti -human -trafficking measures and the Graduate is not listed as having an anti -trafficking program in place, but this is an error, so Tharp has received their certificate and the plans can proceed. The 12th will involve an axe -throwing activity. Most of the classroom sessions will be held on April 13th, and an Airport tour will be available on the 14th. Attendees are expected to be primarily Iowa airport operators and some commission members. Tharp welcomed Commissioners' attendance. There is a registration fee, and Tharp is looking for sponsorships. d. FBO / Flight Training Reports Clair said he had asked Wolford for a usual Jet Air update but also for a strategic plan. Wolford said the current maintenance report was just that they'd plowed snow. i. Jet Air Wolford gave a presentation of Jet Air's operations and history. He said that on a daily basis, Jet Air had about 30 employees on site, not counting pilots. At its inception in 2001, there had been 4-5 employees. Jet Air has two hangars in Iowa City, and also has an operation in Burlington, founded in 2000. The original operation in Galesburg, IL was founded in 1969, and still has many longtime employees. Jet Air has an aircraft leasing operation in Wisconsin (two Skyhawks) and another in St. Croix, USVI, with two Citations leased to medical operations. Aircraft have been imported or exported from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Italy, Germany, Britain, Austria, South Korea, China, New Zealand (a Stearman), and many other locales. Much of the business in Iowa City is charter flights, but this operation also performs air medical (including for Mayo), aircraft maintenance and trains workers. Overall, the corporation has two maintenance shops, 3 FBOs, 8 charter jets, 10+ trainers, 80+ employees, and is involved in 45+ aircraft sales annually. The charter fleet is a Cessna fleet, and the training fleet is mainly Cessna 172s but includes a '42 Boeing Stearman and a taildragger 2017 American Legend AL3. Future growth constraints at this point include facility constraints (including runway length, which Wolford expects current runway work will help to alleviate, and office space), aircraft inventory, supply chain, pilot shortages, and fuel costs. Current advantages include goodwill from a strong reputation, limited competition in the market, a streamlined fleet, and strong demand in every segment. Wolford credited the operation's success in part to his and other owners' being active pilots and personally invested in the aviation life of the customers, regardless of the sort of interests or aircraft the customers might have. Careful management of the charter fleet has also helped; although the charter fleet size was once 50% larger, last year they flew 50% more flights than ever before. Aircraft prices are also up strongly and the IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 6 of 7 unusual market conditions mean that Jet Air has to be prepared to move fast and take advantage of unexpected opportunities rather than committing to a particular plan. Currently the guidelines are to remain flexible and calm, and to remember that the industry is cyclical and fast -changing. 1. Jet Air Outlook Plan The current general plan is "do more business": boost current revenue streams in all areas: through increasing the charter fleet, aircraft sales and leasing (especially for air medical and flight school operations), move into new market segments with different types of aircraft including antiques, build the pilot pipeline from maintenance to charter pilot, and keep looking for new opportunities and partnerships. In ensuing conversation about how the Iowa City operation had been very successful and a good relationship, several commissioners returned more seriously to the idea of looking at expanding the offices and terminals with BIL money, and suggested that it could at Least be used for preliminary studies. e. Commission Members' Reports Orozco reported that she and Clair had attended a recent City Council meeting to introduce themselves and give the Airport's annual report in brief. f. Staff Report Tharp said that he and Wolford had walked through the Airport's budget process and familiarized Wolford with its constraints. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING FOR: Clair set the next meeting for February 10th, 2022. All Commissioners expected to be present. ADJOURN Clair called for a motion to adjourn; Pfohl moved and Orozco seconded, and the motion passed by a 5-0 voice vote. eeting was adjourned at 7:25 pm. �-2yarz. CHAIRPERSON DATE IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION January 13, 2022 — 6:00 P.M. Page 7 of 7 Airport Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD 2021-2022 NAME TERM EXP. o 3 -1 4 IN 3 0 N 3 ` N 3 0 w 3 ` N 3 0 d, 0 CO N - 0 Ln 0 ()) i N a 0 (n 3 W 13 3 0 0) 3 0 El 3 0 0 000 N .� 07/15/21 08/12/21 0 0 0 (0 N 3 3 0 N - N 3 -i -a 3 CO N -a 3 - N 0 (0 N 3 3 :ted IV N Warren Bishop 06/30/22 X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X X X Scott Clair 06/30/23 X X X X O/E X X X X X X X O/E X X Christopher Lawrence 06/30/25 X X X X X X O/E X X X X X O/E X X Hellecktra Orozco 06/30/24 X X X X/E O/E X X O/E O/E X X X X X X JudyPfohl 06/30/22 X X X/E X X X X X X X X X X X X Key: X = Present X/E = Present for Part of Meeting O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = Not a Member at this time