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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-10-02 Minutes Final New Hanover County Airport Authority October 2, 2013 Page 1 NEW HANOVER COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING October 2, 2013 CALL TO ORDER The New Hanover County Airport Authority met on Wednesday, October 2, 2013, at Wilmington International Airport, 1740 Airport Boulevard, Wilmington, North Carolina. Chairman Barber called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. Airport Authority members present were Tom Barber, Chairman; John Perritt, Vice-Chairman; Jonathan Crane, Secretary; and Al Roseman. Also present were Jon Rosborough, Airport Director; Julie Wilsey, Deputy Airport Director; Jim Morton, Finance Director; Gary Broughton, Operations Director; Whitney Prease, Facilities Director; Rose Davis, Executive Assistant; Wanda Copley, New Hanover County Attorney; and Amy McLane, Talbert&Bright, Inc. Guests present including Gerry Tremblay, Aero Service; and Tom Williamson, Engineer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Authority has reviewed the minutes of the Regular Public Meeting on September 4, 2013. Dr. Crane MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. Roseman, to approve the minutes of the Sept 4, 2013 Regular Public Meeting as submitted. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Lambeth was not present. PUBLIC COMMENTS None scheduled. SPECIAL EVENTS Mr. Broughton reported that the Cape Fear Fair& Expo is scheduled for November 1 — 10. Mr. Perritt shared with the Board his experience at the Winston-Salem Airshow. Mr. Lambeth and Mr. Bright arrived at 5:06 pm. FINANCE REPORT Mr. Morton reviewed ILM's August financials, cash report and summary of accounts. Mr. Morton informed the Board that the property at 2012 Gardner Drive has been purchased and an agreement has been reached as to the value of the 1425 Kerr Avenue parcel. Mr. Morton reported that the draft of the financial audit is complete with no findings to report and will be finalized soon. Mr. Morton asked the Board to approve leasing the Signatech Hangar to the Cape Fear Volleyball Association (CFVA)month to month for up to one year at $5,000 per month. Discussion followed to clarify the terms of the agreement. Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Perritt to approve the Finance action item discussed above provided that the CFVA notifies ILM in 90 days of their intention to lease the hangar for one year. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. New Hanover County Airport Authority October 2, 2013 Page 2 FACILITIES Mr. Prease recommended that the Board approve a work authorization (AIP 47)for Talbert& Bright for the constriction, administration, inspection, testing and 18b survey for the Overlay of RWY 1735 and the new NAVAID installation. Cost is a lump sum fee of$197,900 to Talbert& Bright, plus a not to exceed budget of$169,800 for the testing by sub-consultants and a resident project representative on-site for a not to exceed total of$367,700. After some discussion, Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. Roseman to approve the Facilities action item discussed above. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Regarding the RWY 17 easements, Mr. Prease stated that Mrs. Wilsey had received four signed offers and there are two more offers outstanding. Mr. Prease reported that he and Mr. Broughton had spoken to FAA Tech Ops and the flight check for the TACAN was scheduled for 2 pm, October 2"d In response to Chairman Barber's question on the status of the badging computer and Aero Service roof repairs, Mr. Prease reported that the computer should be repaired by today and that the contractors should be badged and able to begin work on October 3rd In response to Dr. Crane's inquiry about a missing panel on the Piedmont Hangar, it was agreed that staff will inspect the hangar. GOVERNMENT Mrs. Wilsey reported that the TSA has temporarily discontinued the Behavior Detection Officer (BDO) program in smaller airports due to budget cuts. ILM had six BDOs employed by TSA. These cuts will have no impact on the security and safety of ILM passengers and guests. Mrs. Wilsey informed the Board regarding the TSA exit lane staffing, that as of January 1, 2014, all airports, to include ILM, will be required to staff the exit lane in order to save the TSA about $88M. Mr. Broughton had a teleconference today with AAAE regarding the appeal process and a potential lawsuit. ILM may have to hire the manpower for the exit lane or look at new equipment. All options are being explored. Mr. Broughton reported that the proposed amendment will be hand delivered October 3, 2013 to Mr. Rosborough by the FSD's designee, Gary Harrison. ILM has 15 days from date of delivery to appeal the decision to go forth and then the TSA will have 30 days to respond to our appeal. The focus will be on specific airport issues. Mr. Broughton stated that the TSA is trying to provide low cost technology in the next few weeks and the AAAE (American Association of Airport Executives) has asked TSA and/or the government for assistance in funding. ILM is asking for a delay until the next budget year since our budget has already been set for the year. Discussion followed. Mrs. Wilsey reported on the impact of the government shutdown on ILM and that locally the FAA tower will continue to operate however administrative staff is furloughed so our operations statistics will not be provided during the shutdown. ILM's projects will continue without any impact. New Hanover County Airport Authority October 2, 2013 Page 3 Regarding the Small Community Air Service Development Grant(SCASDG)received by ILM, Mrs. Wilsey gave credit to ILM's new air service consultant, Mead & Hunt, and Joseph Pickering for their work in assembling the grant and to staff members for working in the community to solicit money and letters of support from local businesses. In response to Mr. Barber's question, Mrs. Wilsey reported that there were 59 grant applications, 25 grants awarded and ILM's was one of three for $750,000, the highest amount awarded. Mrs. Wilsey also reported on the receipt of the three FAA grants for a total of$6.6M that were pending at the September Board meeting and the press coverage received as a result of those grants. Mrs. Wilsey informed the Board that Mr. Bobby Walston has been appointed the new Director of Aviation for NCDOT. MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Dr. Roseman shared with the Board the October issue of WILMA magazine's article on Women to Watch which featured Mrs. Wilsey. Mr. Morton reported that the marketing committee went to Jacksonville to meet with representatives from the military base travel offices to build a relationship with them. Dr. Roseman further reported that one of the things they talked about in this meeting was the USO and the need for a USO presence at ILM. Dr. Roseman indicated the committee is working to change current advertisements to indicate all direct service cities in each advertisement. In response to Dr. Crane's question about a location for a USO, Dr. Roseman responded that the alcove where the PSO offices are currently could be used and the officers could return to their old offices at the Allegiant ticket counter. Dr. Roseman MOVED that the Board pursue putting a USO in the facility to meet the needs of the military. After some discussion, Mr. Lambeth SECONDED the motion for staff to explore the possibility of having a USO at ILM. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Morton reported that the Master Plan has been placed on the website as previously requested by the Board. PLANNING& DEVELOPMENT Mr. Morton updated the Board on the Business Park Phase I, indicating the permit should be in soon and constriction should begin the last week of October or early November and should be completed in 90 days. Mr. Morton recommended approval of the Flex Space Broker listing agreement with Coldwell Banker Commercial. Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. Crane to approve the Flex Space Broker listing agreement with Coldwell Banker Commercial. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the listing agreement is hereby incorporated as part New Hanover County Airport Authority October 2, 2013 Page 4 of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book III, Page 189. OPERATIONS REPORT Using charts for illustration, Mr. Broughton reported total passengers handled, seats available and customs traffic for September. Mr. Broughton shared that according to Mead &Hunt's forward looking schedule ILM's capacity for February 2014 is still expected to be up 14% despite Delta cutting their LaGuardia flights for the deep winter down from 3 to 1 and thinning out their Atlanta service. US Airways' numbers still remain up. Mr. Broughton reported on ILM's FAA Tabletop Exercise held on September 24th which focused on a severe weather event scenario. There was great participation from mutual aid agencies. Gary Taylor and his staff did a great job in putting that together. In response to Mr. Perritt's question regarding reaching out to Delta customers to avoid losing their business during these cutbacks, Mr. Broughton indicated that Mr. Rosborough has a focus group coming up with business leaders in the community and will share it with them. It was suggested that we get word out to travel departments of area businesses and put on the website that this is a temporary change. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mrs. Wilsey reported that Mr. Broughton and Mr. Morton will be attending Routes 2013 October 5-8 and will be meeting with seven airlines. Mr. Pickering will also be at Routes 2013. The flu shots were cancelled today but have been rescheduled for Thursday, October 10, 3-5 pm. Mrs. Wilsey shared a customer service photo with Officer Tony D'Erasmo and ILM firefighters posing with special needs visitors that come to ILM on a regular basis to watch the airplanes land. Officer D'Erasmo asked permission to take the visitors over to the firehouse and give them a tour and demonstration of the fire trick. This demonstrates the positive customer service culture by members of our team. Mrs. Wilsey shared positive comments emailed from Cam Griffin from the County regarding ILM's staff and volunteers. Regarding the American and US Airways merger, Mrs. Wilsey reported that as of today the government tried to delay the November 25th hearing date due to the shutdown but that was denied and the hearing should proceed on November 25th as scheduled and this should be resolved by January 2014. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. NEW BUSINESS Mrs. Wilsey asked if the Board members had any interest in a"flyilm" email account for Airport Authority business. Mr. Perritt shared that he had initially requested the account due to public New Hanover County Airport Authority October 2, 2013 Page 5 domain emails and concerns about using his personal or business email accounts and that they could be challenged. Discussion followed. Mr. Perritt and Dr. Crane expressed an interest in having an email account. Mr. Lambeth asked when TWY B & C were going to reopen and Mrs. Wilsey responded around October 9th. After that the contractors will be working between midfield and down to the end of RWY 6. Mr. Prease reported that he received a text that the badge computer was up and operational. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Perritt to adjourn. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairman Barber adjourned the meeting at 6:10 p.m. Prepared by: Respectfully Submitted: Rose M. Davis Dr. Jonathan S. Crane, Secretary Date of Approval: November 6, 2013