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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-04-05 Regular Meeting MinutesNew Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 1 NEW HANOVER COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING April 5, 2017 CALL TO ORDER The New Hanover County Airport Authority met on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, at Wilmington International Airport, 1740 Airport Boulevard, Wilmington, North Carolina. Chairman Wolfe called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance, and then read the Authority's Code of Ethics statement. No conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest were identified at that time. Airport Authority members present were; Thomas Wolfe, Chairman; Carter Lambeth, Vice - Chairman; Dan Hickman, Secretary; Tom Barber, Jonathan Crane, Donna Girardot, and John Perritt. Also present were Julie Wilsey, Airport Director; Gary Broughton, Deputy Airport Director; Robert Campbell, Finance Director; Whitney Prease, Facilities Director; Carol LeTellier, Business Development Director; Rose Davis, Executive Assistant; and Kemp Burpeau, New Hanover County Deputy Attorney. Guests present included Steve Bright and Amy McLane, Talbert & Bright, Inc.; Ralph Fox, Diane Durance, Ryan Evans, Peter Jensen and Josh Lopez. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Authority has reviewed the minutes of the Regular Public Meeting on March 1, 2017. Mrs. Girardot pointed out changes to the minutes she requested that were sent out to the Authority for review prior to the meeting. Mr. Barber MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Hickman, to approve the minutes of the March 1, 2017 Airport Authority Meetings as submitted. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. FACILITIES Mr. Prease, having met with the Facilities committee, recommends the approval of the following facilities action items: a. Work Authorization — Approve a work authorization with Talbert & Bright for design, permitting and bidding including Subconsultant services for the wet basin mitigation project in the amount of $95,980. b. North Ramp Electric Access Gate — Approve a Change Order (CO) with Trader Construction in the amount NTE $95,000 for materials and installation of mechanical access gate to the North Ramp. Work Authorization — Approve work authorization with Talbert & Bright for Construction Administration Services (CA), and Subconsultant Services in the amount of $13,941 for the North Ramp gate. Approval contingent upon NC Department of Aviation's review. New Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 2 After some discussion, Mrs. Girardot MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Barber to approve the Facilities items as recommended above. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Prease updated the Authority on the Perimeter Fence Project, North GA Apron Rehabilitation Project and the Live Oak Bank Hangar project using slides with photos of the projects. FINANCE REPORT Mr. Campbell reviewed ILM's February 2017 cash summary, monthly financial summary and February financials. Mr. Campbell reviewed the FY2018 Proposed Budget handouts advising that the Authority has until the May 3, 2017 Authority meeting to review, ask questions and recommend changes to the proposed budget. Mr. Hickman commented that he has reviewed the handouts looking for anomalies and noted that most were explained in the notes at the back of the handout. Mr. Barber commented on the great job Mr. Campbell has done on the budget. Mr. Campbell pointed out that the Capital Budget page in the handout is different from the one sent out prior to the meeting so that it is consistent with what was submitted to the FAA and most of the increase is covered with FAA entitlement funds. Mr. Barber asked if there was something in the Capital Plan about replacing the roof on the terminal building and Mr. Prease responded that there is money in the PFC funding for redoing the roof in certain sections and the rest will be addressed during the terminal expansion project. Mr. Campbell further pointed out the $2.4M budgeted for the new Avis Rental Car facility being built and also the $500,000 budgeted for Parking Lot Equipment, some of which is 15 years old, which the airport will have to pay 100 %. Mr. Campbell updated the Authority on the status of the TSA LEO reimbursement. GENERAL AVIATION Mr. Broughton reported that the military fuel contract will be awarded at the end of April with an effective date of June 1. GOVERNMENT & PGA Golf Mrs. Girardot reported on the recent DC trip, attended by Mrs. Wilsey and Mrs. Girardot, and their meetings with Representatives Burr, Tillis, Jones and Rouzer, noting that the reception was very positive this year but everyone wants to wait for the Infrastructure Bill. Mrs. Girardot reminded the Authority that previously Senator Burr asked what the State was doing for airports, so this year we were able to report that it is looking positive as far as the State stepping in for some sort of funding and that seemed to please Senator Burr. Mrs. Girardot reported on the NCAA Conference at Pinehurst, attended by Mr. Perritt and Mrs. Girardot, along with ILM staff, indicating how proud she was of Mr. Broughton and the center stage he took for the last year as President of the NCAA; how his service brought a lot of good New Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 3 reflections on ILM; and thanking him for his leadership. Mrs. Girardot further reported on the AAAE Board and Commissioners Conference in Greenville, SC, attended by Mr. Hickman, Mrs. Wilsey and Mrs. Girardot, where she picked up a lot of good feedback to bring to the marketing committee; and asked Mr. Perritt and Mr. Hickman to join with her and Gary Taylor to talk about drones and the airport's involvement. Mr. Barber asked if they had any luck talking with the legislators about the SCASDG and whether we could change that. Mrs. Wilsey stated that she spoke with Mr. Pickering before the trip and he recommended that ILM stay the course with the current destinations in the grant until we see what's going to happen. Mr. Pickering also recommended that staff go back to our point of contact at USDOT before going directly to the congressmen and senators. Mrs. Girardot reviewed the current version of SB 351 and the angst that its wording created for the other NC airports, and stated that we have been assured that this is a place holder, and that the focus is still on all 72 NC airports. Mr. Broughton updated the Authority on the recent PGA meeting at ILM which was attended by both American, Delta, the Air Traffic Control Manager, Gwen Crow with Wells Fargo, and Air Wilmington. Mr. Broughton reported that: • Delta will have a final schedule around April 8' with larger equipment through the tournament; • American plans to run their normal schedule, but both airlines are looking at their bookings around the PGA event; • Avis Rental Cars are providing over 200 cars, and all cars will be in place no later than April 28th. • Ms. Crow advised that there will be some arrivals beginning on Saturday, April 291h, with arrivals heavy on that Sunday, but the busiest day for arrivals will be Monday, May 1st for the arrival of the golfers and their families. • Ms. Crow informed Air Wilmington that there is usually about 40 -50 players that will arrive through the FBO with about 5 -6 of those with their own aircraft and the remainder will use charters like NetJets. • Air Wilmington has indicated they will have their normal staff of 6 -8 on site with the ability to call in more on short notice, if needed. Wells Fargo CEO, Tim Sloan, has confirmed his attendance and will be arriving at Air Wilmington in the corporate jet. • The names of the players will be released as they commit and will be posted on the Wells Fargo website. New Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 4 • Departures begin on Friday for those who missed the cut with more on early Saturday. Sunday departures will be heavy as everyone leaves after the tournament is over. • The Air Traffic Manager indicated he has requested a temporary clearance and departure frequency and he will have additional staff in the tower; and • TSA has said they will add 6 additional screeners, and they will have their dog(s) deployed at ILM in the bag make -up area, lower level. HUMAN RESOURCES Mrs. Wilsey updated the Authority on the current job vacancies at ILM: HVAC Technician; Operations Dispatcher; and, Maintenance Technician L A Maintenance Technician II has been hired and will start on April 11 to Mrs. Wilsey, reporting on information gleaned from the AAAE conference in Greenville, stated that airport vacancies are not uncommon. Airports are a security sensitive employer, there are some skills that are special and a lot of the airports say their best recruitment efforts are from other airports. MARKETING Ms. LeTellier requested approval to negotiate a Contract for Services with Morvil Advertising and Design Group in an amount not to exceed $40,000 for a contract to begin July 1, 2017. Mr. Barber MOVED, SECONDED by Mrs. Girardot to approve the contract with Morvil Advertising. The MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. LeTellier shared that Erin McNally co- presented "Tell Your Story" at the NCAA conference and an attendee at the conference stood up and said that was the best presentation at the conference and the most informative. Ms. LeTellier reported that Ms. McNally is currently on her way to represent ILM at Sun & Fun. PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT /TERMINAL EXPANSION Ms. LeTellier reported that Avis Budget Car Rental extended their lease on a month -to -month basis via a letter agreement until their new facility is completed. Ms. LeTellier further advised that Scratch on 23rd would be having a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on April 21" at 11 am. Ms. LeTellier introduced Diane Durance, Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, whose graduate team will be presenting the ILM Vision Project at the May Authority meeting. Ms. LeTellier shared that the graduate team would be hosting a focus group of 14 community stakeholders on April 61n Ms. Durance addressed the Authority stating that the 5 graduate students in the Masters of Public Administration program were looking forward to meeting the Authority and giving their presentation in May. New Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 5 OPERATIONS REPORT Mr. Broughton updated the Authority on the results of ILM's annual Part 139 Airport Certification Inspection, March 20 -22, 2017, conducted by Patrick Rogers. Mr. Broughton shared that the ARFF team response time was 2 minutes 21 seconds; they have to beat 3 minutes. Mr. Broughton reported that ILM did have one finding with the fueling agent, Air Wilmington, not being in compliance with their NFPA 407 due to one hand -held fire extinguisher on an Avgas truck that was in need of a recharge and the truck being parked 48 feet from the building when it is required to be 50 feet away. Mr. Broughton shared that in Mr. Rogers' out brief to ILM, he stated that ILM is one of the best airports that they inspect and he sent Mrs. Wilsey an email where he stated: "As usual, you and your staff have done a really good job to ensure compliance with Part 139 standards. Your airfield looked great. Thanks for your staff support. You have a great team." DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mrs. Wilsey recommended the approval, based on the February 23, 2017 Resolution from WAVE, of a trial route with the conditions that 1) ILM will not have any financial responsibility and 2) ILM reserves the right to terminate the service at any time. Chairman Wolfe stated that this was very limited liability on the part of the airport and reminded the Authority that ILM has substantial revenue coming in from our taxis and Uber and should make sure that this does not deter or hinder ILM in that aspect. Mr. Barber concurred that as long as ILM can terminate it, the agreement is no risk and Mrs. Girardot stated it was important to have a 6 -month assessment and evaluate once we have the numbers. Mrs. Girardot MOVED as follows: Whereas County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. and WAVE Executive Director Albert Eby have presented a Resolution requesting service to Wilmington International Airport, I make a motion to approve WAVE's request with the understanding that at the end of the six month period WAVE will present to ILM a report showing the daily average of WAVE's passengers arriving and departing. At the end of the six month period, ILM will evaluate the report and determine if WAVE service shall be continued. The motion was SECONDED by Mr. Lambeth. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Ms. LeTellier announced to the Authority that Wells Fargo will be unveiling their mural at ILM on Tuesday, April 1 lth at 2 pm, noting that the press and dignitaries have been invited and encouraging the Authority members to attend, if available. Ms. LeTellier further announced that at 5 pm, April 11 th, the Arts Council is having an artist reception for the new show, "Local" at ILM. New Hanover County Airport Authority April 5, 2017 Page 6 NEW BUSINESS Mrs. Wilsey shared information from a recent conference that while everyone knows that airports provide air transportation, one thing that airports need to do better is to communicate to our community the things that employees and staff do that are outside of transportation. For example, Jean Lawler is the President of the Azalea Festival, she is one of ILM's employees; Gary Broughton was the President of NCAA for the year, providing leadership to the state; Erin McNally presented at the NCAA conference. Mrs. Wilsey pointed out the pictures that are included between slides in the meeting presentation and questioned whether they needed to be consolidated more, perhaps once a month, to brag about the things ILM does for the community. Mrs. Wilsey stated that it was better to talk about the positive things we do because it can help when there are controversies. Positive stories may lessen the negative impact of controversial topics. Mrs. Girardot stated that it reinforces that connection between ILM and the community. Mrs. Wilsey thanked the Authority members for taking the time to go to the NCAA conference, to DC and to the AAAE conference. It is really important that ILM participate as a staff and a board on both the state and federal level. It is a great opportunity to network and learn from other airports. Mr. Wolfe commended the Authority members that did attend, noting that it is time consuming. Mr. Perritt commented that it is really rewarding to meet with FAA and NC DOT Division of Aviation at the conference and hear them say really nice things about ILM. Mr. Perritt noted with the networking, it is rewarding to find out the respect that the ILM team has among peers and local agencies. Mrs. Wilsey shared an email from Jimmy Capps, who is with DOT Aviation in Wildlife and who did a site visit recently: "Again, you and your staff are doing a great job there. The facilities are fantastic, and the overall commitment to wildlife management is refreshing to see. I wish all 139 airports in NC took the approach." This was received just this past week. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Wolfe adjourned the meeting at 5:44 p.m. Prepared by: Rose M. Davis Respectfully Submitted: Dan Hickman, Secretary Date of Approval: May 3, 2017