HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-10-2023 Regular Meeting MinutesMinutes of Fairhope Airport Authority
January 10, 2023
The Fairhope Airport Authority met January 10, 2023 at 5:00PM in the City Hall
Council Chambers at 161 N Se ction Street.
Present: Chip Groner, Will Bruce, Vince Boothe, Pel Henry, Don Lagarde, Jack
Burrell, and Amy Pearson. Also present was Josh Myrick, Attorney. Cynthia A
Boothe took the minutes.
The Minutes of the December 13, 2023 Meeting were considered and approved
with a motion by Vince Boothe, second by Don Lagarde and unanimously passed.
Continental Aerospace Report: Nick VanHouten stated that things were busy and
going well at the Airport and they have had lots of fuel sales. He reported that
the City filled in all the pot holes in the parking lots and are going to restripe both
the North Hangar and FBO parking lots, new signage for Handicap spaces will be
installed, and a path to the FBO will be striped in. The fence has also been
repaired where it was hit by a car. He also stated that he is working on the Jet
Fly-In scheduled for March 2023. Chip Groner stated that he and Dave Friedel
were meeting with Zac McNeil tomorrow about the Fly-In.
Discu ssion/ Approval:
Redcel: Chip Groner stated that he had talked to Quinton about the request by
Redcel to revise the Minimum Standards for the Airport and he and Josh Myrick
feel that it is not a good time to revise the Minimum Standards at this time until
the negotiations with Continental Aerospace are completed.
Taxiway Lighting Expense: Chip stated that he had talked to Kyle who got a quote
to fix the taxiway lighting and the cost will be $10,209.50. A motion was made by
Vince Boothe to approve the cost of fixing the taxiway lighting, second by Pel
Henry and unanimously passed.
Equi pment for Airpor t Manager: Chip stated that he has taken Dave Friedel,
Airport Manager, around to introduce him to people involved with the Airport
and needs to get Dave some needed equipment for his position. A group
discussion by Authority Members offered several suggestions for equipment
sources.
Manager's Report-Ai rport Operations: Dave Friedel said it has been great getting
out to meet everyone and finding his way around the Airport and plans to get out
a lot more and establish a routine. He said, as was mentioned before, the taxiway
lights need replacing, and there are no major NOTAMS except for lighting issues.
He said he has been out with the technici ans for the AWOS's tri-annual inspection
and will be periodically checking on it himself to keep it in good shape. He
reported that Kyle has been working to clear the underbrush on the East Side and
there is still a lot more to do over there. He stated that some of his initial goals
for the Airport are to look at and review the Safety and Security Plan and bring it
up to date if needed, getting involved with all the operations and maintenance of
the Airport and working with the Authority for the smart growth of the Airport
and do what he can to help the Authority get to the place where they want the
Airport to be.
Property Listing Agreement: Pel Henry stated that he, Jack Burrell, and Morgan
Ashurst rode around the property for sale on the West side of the Airport and he
and Chip have met with the Mayor to help form a plan for development of the
property and funds to help with the development. He then stated that the 107
acres will be marketed for 4.5 Million Dollars and Morgan Ashurst has said he will
cut his commission for the sale to 5%. A motion was made by Pel Henry to
approve a Resolution for the Real Estate Agreement and for Chip to sign the Real
Estate Agreement with Morgan Ashurst, second by Vince Boothe and
unanimously passed.
Engineer's Report: Jordan Stringfellow stated that she has not received the Go
Letter yet from the FAA for the Airport's runway project but should hear
something in the next couple of weeks. She has also applied for a weather
related camera supplied by the FAA at no cost to be installed at the Airport but is
still waiting to hear back from them. The camera would be mounted on the
beacon tower.
Treasurer's Report: Amy Pearson presented the Treasurer's report through
December, 2022. She then went over the Income and Expense reports and also
the bank balances and stated that everything was on track so far.
Legal Report: Josh Myrick stated that the only thing he has is the reversion of the
wetlands mitigation property back to the Airport Authority from GMC. Josh stated
that he had received communication from the Corp of Engineers stating that the
mitigation require ments have been met by GMC for the wetland mitigation
project they did, and the property is now ready for reversion back to the Airport
Authority. Josh has a Wetlands Resolution and attached to the resol ution is the
Corp of Engineers report and a copy of the deed reverting the property back to
the Airport Authority. It will also be encumbered by a conservation easement as
the Corp of Engineers require. He is uncertain if the credits can be sold again for
the same property or if the credits have been exhausted. He is going to check
with the Corp of Engineers to see if there is a possibility of resale. A motion was
made by Vince Boothe to accept the Wetlands Resolution, second by Pel Henry
and unanimously passed.
Other Business: No Report.
Comments from the General Public: Dave Friedel mentioned that the Airport
sign at the entrance to the Airport is in bad shape and needs replacing. Chip
Groner stated that a new sign is being discussed that would have the name of the
Airport as well as the other tenants at the Airport.
Adjournment: Amy Pearson made a motion to adjourn, second by Will Bruce and
unanimously passed. -
Chip Groner, Chairman
5 bmftted by Cynthia A Boothe