Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-06 Minutes New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 1 NEW HANOVER COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING August 6, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The New Hanover County Airport Authority met on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, at Wilmington International Airport, 1740 Airport Boulevard, Wilmington, North Carolina. Chairman Perritt called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. Airport Authority members present were John Perritt, Chairman; Jonathan Crane, Vice- Chairman; Tom Barber, Secretary; and Carter Lambeth. Also present were Jon Rosborough, Airport Director; Julie Wilsey, Deputy Airport Director; Gary Broughton, Operations Director; Whitney Prease, Facilities Director; Rose Davis, Executive Assistant; Wanda Copley, New Hanover County Attorney; and Steve Bright and Amy McLane, Talbert & Bright, Inc. Guests present included Hal Reichardt, Amy Holliday, Tom Goodwin and Jonathan Spiers. IN MEMORIAM Chairman Perritt recognized the recent passing of Dr. Irvin (Al) Roseman and called for a moment of silence for Dr. Roseman and also for Dr. William A. Lambeth, Jr., Mr. Lamb father who recently passed. service. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Authority has reviewed the minutes of the Regular Public Meeting on July 9, 2014. Dr. Crane MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Lambeth, to approve the minutes of the July 9, 2014 Regular Public Meeting as submitted. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Goodwin, a local pilot, addressed the Authority with his concerns about how the Authority has handled GA issues. Mr. Goodwin also expressed his appreciation for all that Dr. Roseman did for general aviation. Chairman Perritt assured Mr. Goodwin that the Authority shares his vision for GA but that the path to that vision is a difficult path and one that the Authority has to look at all possible solutions, keeping in mind that we are a different airport than Southport with different rules, regulations and challenges. SPECIAL EVENTS Mr. Broughton reported to the Authority the following upcoming events: rd August 23 AviatMall Open House th September 4-7 Air Wilmington hosting SE Bonanza Society Fly-In th September 6 Omega Cross Country Race New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 2 th October 11 Aviation Day and Fly-In with 5K Run on the Runway th October 18 Tri-annual Mass Casualty Exercise FINANCE REPORT Mr. Lambeth reported that Mr. Morton is at the Aerospace Supplier and Manufacturing Summit in Winston-Salem with Wilmington Business Development. Mr. Lambeth reviewed the end of year financials, which have not been audited. Mr. Lambeth recommended the renewal of a one-year lease with Nix-On Shine at $150/month for 48 SF at the Terminal Hold Room Rate. Mr. Perritt MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. Crane to approve the lease with Nix-On Shine. After a brief discussion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Lambeth recommended amending the Newton and Associates PFC contract to add $50,128.68 for additional work required during the 2 year PFC approval process due to FAA policy changes and ADO changes from Atlanta to Memphis with the additional funds to be paid by the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Barber to amend the contract with Newton and Associates by adding $50,128.68. After a brief discussion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. FACILITIES Mr. Prease recommended that the Authority approve the Chairman to accept all grants offered to the Authority in the next 30 days from the Airports Division Office (ADO). Dr. Crane MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Lambeth to approve the Facilities action item above. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease further explained that one of the grants expected to be received is AIP 50, which is the Safety and Wildlife Project at the approach of RWY 24. A large drainage network will be filled in to reduce wildlife habitat areas inside the fence. Mr. Rosborough commended the ILM team for handling the transfer from the Atlanta ADO to the Memphis ADO. Staff and Talbert & Bright had introductory meetings with the Memphis staff to facilitate the transition. ILM is still on target for a discretionary grant despite a few delays from the transition. Chairman Perritt explained that receiving grant money is part of what creates a premiere facility and it also drives a lot of limitations on what we can do with the facility that the previously mentioned competition of Wallace, Southport and Whiteville do not have. Chairman Perritt stated he received feedback from the general public about the runway closure and that it is a very sensitive issue, particularly in the spring with the crosswinds. Chairman Perritt further stated that considering things going on in the real world, government spending and the budgets, when money is available to do a capital long term improvement, it behooves the A rebuilt, or resurfaced in a year, the money may not be there. New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 3 Mr. Rosborough pointed out that runway repairs only happen every 15-20 years. In order to get the funds, the FAA goes through a deliberate process of review and ILM has to have profound justification to get these funds. ILM is competing against other airports, the same size and larger, and the FAA put ILM #3 of all these other discretionary grant applications that they had, so they realize what the opportunities are here for this region and this airport. ILM the money if the forecast did not look positive for the airport. Mr. Prease recommended the approval of a work authorization for RWY 24 Wildlife Hazard and NAVAID Critical Area Mitigation with Talbert & Bright, Inc. for construction administration, inspection, quality assurance testing and mitigation coordination services not to exceed $335,367.50. Dr. Crane MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Barber to approve this work authorization. After a brief discussion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease recommended the approval of a contract with S.T. Wooten Corporation for RWY 24 Wildlife Hazard and NAVAID Critical Area Mitigation, contingent upon AIP and discretionary funding, in the amount of $3,482,889.40. Mr. Barber MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Lambethto approve the contract with S.T. Wooten Corporation. After a brief discussion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease recommended the approval of a contract amendment with Catlin Engineers and Scientists in the amount of $5,100.00 for ground water testing and additional soil samples located on the South ramp. should have the results of the test within 3-4 weeks. Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Dr. Crane to approve the contract amendment with Catlin Engineers. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease recommended the approval of a contract amendment with Hibbert Enterprise, Inc. in the amount of $20,000.00 for additional tree removal and a post clearing survey in the RWY 17 Clearing Project (AIP 49). Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Barber to approve this contract amendment with Hibbert Enterprise, Inc. After a brief discussion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease reported that the RWY 17-35 Rehabilitation Project is progressing on schedule and th the runway should be open on Friday, August 15 so that ILS can be turned back on and tested. The approach end of RWY 17 will be VFR and the ILS will be operational on RWY 35. In response to Mr. question regarding the reinstatement of the GPS approach to RWY 17, Mr. Prease indicated it will be reinstated at some point following the 18B survey and submission to the FAA for approval. Mrs. McLane stated that aerial photography will have to be flown for the 18B survey which starts the process to reestablish the RNAV approaches. That nd then the FAA goes through a rigorous review of all the data and develops new RNAV approaches with new PAPIs and new REILs which should be up and running before the new approaches are developed. Mrs. McLane indicates the new RNAV approaches are typically taking 12 18 months to establish. Mr. Bright pointed out that he understands it is inconvenient to the pilots and flying public for all these closures and interruptions but the ILM team has really done a great job because foran airport this size, a crosswind runway is not normally eligible for Federal funding and so because New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 4 of some decisions and agreements that were made several years ago, ILM is getting $5-6M to t to give ILM millions of dollars in benefits that will be hard, if not impossible, to get later. Mr. Prease updated the Authority on information items listed on the agenda, including the final closeout of the Rental Car Facility project and Mr. Prease recommended that the Authority approve for the Chairman to closeout this project and approve liquidated damages, if any. Dr. Crane MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Lambet behalf to close out the Rental Car Facility Project. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease reported that staff received 3 proposals from architects for the Business Park On-Call RFQ: LS3P, Reese Architects and Lindsay Engineering. Staff will review those proposals and make a recommendation at the next Authority meeting. GOVERNMENT Mr. Rosborough reported to the Authority on his recent trip to DC for the Airport Legislative Alliance meeting. Mr. Rosborough stated the ALA has been working to get the ACI-NA and AAAE organizations together believing that there is power in numbers and that if these groups will come together and speak with a single voice to congress they will be more successful in competing for limited dollars. MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS advertising through social media including Twitter and YouTube and coordinating new travel packages with local radio stations. PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT presentation regarding the listing proposal with Environmental Unlimited for the 80,000 100,000 sq. ft. of land to develop and attract aviation interests and other light industrial interests and also lease the AAI Pharma and the Conway Freight buildings. Mr. Barber explained the revised contract, including the commission structure and the non- refundable deposit. Mr. Barber recommended the approval of this contract as revised. Mr. Lambeth MOVED that the Authority approve the contract with Environments Unlimited as revised, SECONDED by Dr. Crane. Following discussions the motion was amended to include that current prospects on the property would not pay commissions and that the first 50% of the commission would not be paid until the non-refundable deposit was received. After discussion and amendment of the motion, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. OPERATIONS REPORT Using charts for illustration, Mr. Broughton reported total passengers handled, and seats available for July 2014. New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 5 Chairman Perritt asked for confirmation from staff that while our passengers and numbers have a slight down trend, our consultant indicated that we were doing much better than the US average airport this size and that while our GA numbers are down, the GA activity in the country is down that much or more. Staff concurred with his statement. country with all of our activities. Mr. Broughton reviewed the statistics provided by Mr. Pickering which ended March 31, 2014, eats as the airlines gave us. Mr. Broughton stated that the load factors were down 6.9% for that period, however, our yield was up 3% for that same 12 month period. Mr. Broughton indicated the airlines are really looking at the yield or revenue they are making rather than the load factor. Mr. Broughton summarized that ILM was up compared to the southern region which was down 4% in seats; the entire US was flat; for enplanements the southern region was down 3% and the US was up 1%, as was ILM. There is less than 1% of change in the load factors. Chairman Perritt initiated a discussion on fuel flowage and indicated that the Board is watching fuel flowage to see the impact of having two full service FBOs. Dr. Crane pointed out that currently on ForeFlight, er stated that while AviatMall is $6.25 a gallon, if you participated in their Aviatvantage program, it dropped it down to about $5.60 a gallon, so actually we are $5.60 a gallon at AviatMall versus $6.40 at Southport. Mr. Rosborough informed the Board of the purchase of the two display cases being utilized in Mr. Rosborough updated the Board on the transition between himself and Mrs. Wilsey indicating that Mrs. Wilsey has been attending more conferences and is being asked to speak at various civic clubs. Mr. Rosborough shared that he and Mrs. Wilsey were interviewed by Ms. Carey Ricks for the New Hanover County Network and that it will be broadcast soon. Regarding the Anna Pennington Memorial, Mr. Rosborough reminded the Board of the discussions at the last meeting regarding size and possible location of this memorial. Discussion followed regarding the large size of the initial proposed memorial and the challenges it presented regarding honoring others that have influenced ILM in the future. Chairman Perritt suggested going to a wall of fame to allow the airport the flexibility to recognize others deserving similar honors now or in the future. New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 6 Dr. Crane initiated discussion of upgrading the observation area with a playground, picnic tables, educational also. Mr. Rosborough stated there could be issues from a risk management standpoint regarding a play area. Staff will benchmark airport observation areas. Mr. Rosborough encouraged the Board to consider doing both the wall of fame and the observation area and Mr. Barber agreed, with the exception of the grills being a potential problem. Mr. Lambeth stated that he feels something should be done in the terminal to honor Anna Pennington because she had a dramatic impact on every aspect of this field for years. Dr. Crane MOVED that the Board allow staff to explore both options and the possibility of doing both the wall of fame and the observation area, Mr. Lambeth SECONDED. Discussion followed regarding this project and the motion. Chairman Perritt suggested that the two items be separated and investigated separately. Dr. Crane withdrew his motion. Mr. Lambeth MOVED that the original concept of a memorial for Anna Pennington be incorporated into a wall of fame, SECONDED by Mr. Barber. Upon vote the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Lambeth MOVED that staff explore options, recommendations, costs, and legal implications of upgrading the observation area with the main objective of promoting the public to visit the airport and take part in aviation, SECONDED by Dr. Crane. Upon vote the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Rosborough reported to the Board on staff findings regarding a potential restaurant on airport property on the North ramp with the objective of trying to get more general aviation personnel and aircraft to the airport and enhance the number of operations. Mr. Rosborough concluded that the recommendation of staff, if the Board wishes to pursue it, would be to pursue the low cost option of contracting with mobile food trucks due to other options not being financially feasible at this time. Mr. Barber suggested that perhaps staff create a user group or focus group of about 6 restaurant owners and run these options by them to see what they think. Mr. Lambeth agreed the focus group would be a good idea but he is concerned about a restaurant not being economically viable here. Dr. Crane thought it was a good idea to kick it around with restaurant owners but likes the thought of combining options 1 and 2 where you have the general aviation building there where people could go in, sit and eat and you have a food truck outside. The food truck owners would have a presence inside the building to keep it clean, answer the telephone and provide restrooms. Mr. Rosborough pointed out the trade off to doing this is that you take that building out of the business park revenue stream. New Hanover County Airport Authority August 6, 2014 Page 7 The Board agreed that staff should put together a focus group of local restaurant owners, show them this presentation and get their input and report back to the Board. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. NEW BUSINESS Chairman Perritt initiated discussion with the Board regarding the Airport Authority Christmas thth Party and the potential dates of December 10 and December 17. Mr. Lambeth pointed out that thth December 17 is Wright Brothers Day. It was agreed that December 17 would be the date of the Christmas party. Chairman Perritt formally announced the committee assignments: Mr. Lambeth Finance; Dr. Crane Marketing; Mr. Barber Planning and Development; and Mr. Perritt Facilities CLOSED SESSION Chairman Perritt recommended the Authority enter into closed session to consider personnel matters pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(6) and called for a motion. Mr. Barber MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Lambeth to go into closed session to consider personnel matters. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. The Authority went into closed session at 7:02 pm. Everyone departed the Conference Room with the exception of the Authority members and Mrs. Copley. OPEN SESSION Chairman Perritt called for a motion to return to open session. Mr. Lambeth MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Barber to return to open session. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. The Authority returned to open session at 8:00 pm. There was no action taken during the closed session. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Perritt adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:02 p.m. Prepared by: Respectfully Submitted: Rose M. Davis _______________________________ Thomas C. Barber, II, Secretary Date of Approval: September 3, 2014