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Home My WebLink About2025-03-14 Special Meeting NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 453 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Special Meeting with the New Hanover County Airport Authority on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. in the Airport Terminal Conference Room, 1740 Airport Boulevard, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chair Bill Rivenbark; Vice-Chair LeAnn Pierce (and Airport Authority member); Commissioner Dane Scalise; Commissioner Stephanie A.C. Walker; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Staff present: Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell; County Attorney K. Jordan Smith; Deputy County Attorney Kemp P. Burpeau; Chief Financial Officer Eric Credle; Executive Aide Crystal Whittaker; and Josh Smith, Chief Communications Officer. New Hanover County Airport Authority members present: Chair Spruill Thompson; Vice-Chair Nick Rhodes; Secretary Jason Thompson; and Wanda M. Copley. Absent: Faison Sutton and W. Lee Williams. Wilmington International Airport staff present: Airport Director Jeffrey Bourk; Executive Assistant Rose Davis; Deputy Director Robert Campbell; Deputy Director Granseur Dick; Marketing, Air Service Development, and Public Relations Manager Erin McNally; Operations Manager Kenny Smith; Facilities Manager Keaghon Stark, Administrative Assistant Shawn Allen; and Advertising Jean Lawler. Chair Rivenbark and Chair Spruill Thompson called their respective Boards to order, reporting that the purpose of the meeting was to hear the New Hanover County Airport Authority's annual report on Wilmington International Airport. 2025 ANNUAL REPORT PRESENTATION Wilmington International Airport (ILM) Director Jeffrey Bourk presented the annual report highlighting the 2024 recap, Forecasts, Business Development, Communication and Marketing Plan, five-year Capital Plan (2022- 2026) and (2027-2031), Financial Plan, Environmental/Noise Studies, Economic Impact Study, and ILM Aerospace Foundation:  2025 Annual Report presentation:  Annual Vision Plan, which was started three years ago, was recently updated for 2025. ILM and the Airport Authority (Authority) look ahead five to ten years to meet the demands of the airport and the community overall.  2024 was a busy year. The Atrium remodel and the terminal curb front project are needed to get the facilities up to where they need to be to support the growth.  Grants:  ILM received $53 million in federal and state grants with the bulk of these funds going to support the terminal curb front project:  Required environmental documentation and commercial leases:  Projects in the business park, such as the Frontier Scientific cold storage warehouse, hotel, and 84 Lumber expansion, as well as several hangar projects are occurring and require environmental documentation: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 454  Over the last three years, a significant amount of the business park has been leased.  The leases generate revenue for the airport, allowing it to diversify its income and keep rates and charges low for airlines.  Revenue generated from the business park allows ILM to charge airlines less for expenses that are incurred.  Air service development 2024/2025:  ILM had eight non-stop routes in 2019 and now has 28 non-stop routes on seven airlines. In 2024, JetBlue announced a new route to Boston, Breeze added four non-stop routes, and Avelo added four new routes.  Vision Planning – January 2025 (Forecasts):  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecasts ILM’s growth is well below ILM’s actual projected growth.  If ILM follows the FAA forecast for capital development, it will be behind in several key areas and be hard to catch up.  ILM is currently trying to catch up to continue to be able to grow in certain areas NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 455  Parking is being built for now, but will also be able to expand parking easier in the future as needed  Aircraft gates, expanded terminal, and corresponding apron expansion:  In July 2025, all gates will be full, along with two hard stand airplanes on the ramp, during the overnight operations.  This is a strong indicator that ILM is running out of space.  Aircraft parking layout:  2025 Active construction projects and land acquisition:  Five-Year Capital Plan for 2022-2026 and 2027-2031:  Due to the development in the business park, the traffic impact analysis (TIA) shows the need to make roadway improvements. rd  These improvements start with extending two lanes on 23 Street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Airport Boulevard.  The approved project is underway with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) designing it, and the Authority contributed $1 million to fast track the project: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 456  2022-2026 budget for committed projects:  2027-2031 budget for uncommitted projects:  Estimated capital program cash flow: Director Bourk stated there are essentially $200 million in construction projects between now and 2031. For the 2022-2026 budget, some of the $154 million has already been spent. For 2027-2031, there is $50 million, with some projects moved to 2024-2025. He then shared an updated video of the airport projects showing what ILM will look like in a few years.  Financial plan:  ILM is one of the more profitable airports in the United States.  Net operating income is 30% and that will go to 35% once debt is retired.  When the facilities are open, there will be production of approximately 35% of operating income: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 457  Environmental and noise studies:  ILM received an FAA grant for $1 million to do the study to determine ILM’s noise contours and potential noise impacts.  Phase 1 is complete, and Phase 2 is starting:  Economic impact study:  The NCDOT Economic Impact Study shows that ILM’s impact has increased by approximately one-third:  ILM Aerospace Foundation:  Vision: To be recognized as a valuable community asset bringing awareness of careers in aviation to youth  Objective: To provide information, industry contacts, and funds that will afford interested students the opportunities for a career in aviation  Initial fundraising efforts have been at local general aviation events held twice a year NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, MARCH 14, 2025 PAGE 458  The Foundation has raised approximately $135,000 and is currently looking for a signature fundraising event. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further discussion, Chair Thompson asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 a.m. MOTION: Vice-Chair Rhodes MOVED, SECONDED by Member Pierce to adjourn the meeting. Upon vote, the MOTION PASSED 6-0. Hearing no further discussion, Chair Rivenbark asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 a.m. MOTION: Commissioner Scalise MOVED, SECONDED by Vice-Chair Pierce to adjourn the meeting. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the Special Meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.