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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2024 Fairhope Airport Authority Board Meeting MinutesMinutes of the Fairhope Airport Authority April 9,2024 The Fairhope Airport Authority met April 9, 2024 at 5:00PM in the City Hall Council Chambers at 161 N Section Street. Present: Pel Henry, Chairman, Don Ward, Len Strickland, Will Bruce, Jack Burrell and Chip Groner. Amy Pearson was absent. Also present was Josh Myrick, Attorney, and Dave Friedel, Airport Manager. Cynthia A Boothe took the Minutes. The Minutes of the March 12, 2024 regular meeting were considered and approved with a motion by Will Bruce, second by Don Ward and unanimously passed. Continental Aerospace Report: Paula Hembree reported that for March 2024, 5,594 gallons of AV gas was sold, and 28,318 gallons of Jet-A fuel was sold. The fuel sold in March 2023 was 9,630 gallons of AV gas and 26,520 gallons of Jet-A. Paula stated that there was a Fly-in last week of 25 Eclipse Jets for a convention and everything went smoothly, and they had good fuel sales. Airport Manager's Operations Report: Dave Freidel stated that he had gotten some good pictures of the faded runway markings and that he spoke with the FAA and ALDOT who said that the markings are acceptable until the runway project can be funded and completed. Dave also stated that the FAA and ALDOT are in agreement to separate the taxiway lighting project from the runway project to get these lights replaced more quickly. Dave reported that the Airport Authority's website will contain information for the RFP for the terminal building and he will be sending out emails to interested parties. Dave stated that he had a conversation with David Shearer from Continental who wants to work together on the transition plan if Continental is not going to retain the lease for the FBO to help make the transition go as smoothly as possible. Dave stated that at the last construction meeting for the Terminal Building that Derrick Owens of the FAA attended and mentioned that because the new Terminal Building is Federally and State funded that there will be a high level of interest for the opening and dedication ceremony. Dave will be working with the City of Fairhope to organize the event. Dave stated that he had recently talked with representatives of the Girl Scouts of Alabama, and they are interested in planning an event with the ninety-nine's when they are here in April of 2025. Dave told them that the Authority would help them with planning an event. Dave reported that the East Gate and T-Hangar codes would be changed later this month and that he would email all the tenants to inform them of the new codes. Dave reported that the traffic count for March 2024 was 5,527 operations. He stated that next month that he will have a full year's data and he thinks it will be about 70,000 operations. Dave said the JRROTC familiarization flights and drone operations got cancelled again. He is not sure if they will try again on the 20th . Dave stated that he got good pictures of the Eclipses out on the ramp when they had their Fly-in that he can use on the Authority's website. Dave stated that the Letter of Intent for lot P-26 was cancelled due to construction costs. Engineer's Report: Jordan stated that the FAA has agreed with separating the taxiway lighting project from the runway project if the Authority wants to move forward with that. The project cost will be approximately $880,000.00. The FAA will fund 90%, ALDOT will fund 5% and the Airport Authority will fund 5%. Jordan went over all the funding for the project and said that the Authority will be responsible for approximately $44,000.00. Pel Henry asked Jordan about getting the pavement on the East Side sealed. Jordan stated that ALDOT has a Pavement Management program they have started, and she thinks that this would fit well with that program. ALDOT would pay 75% of the cost and the Authority would be responsible for 25% of the cost. She will look into it further and report back to the Authority. Treasurer's Report: No Report. Legal Report: No Report. Board Discussion/Approval Requests: Minimum Standards/Rules & Regulations Additional Information Approval: Don Ward went over the Resolution to Approve Schedule of Airport Fees and Rental Rates. After a group discussion Don made a motion to adopt the resolution with the one edit of striking the reference to increase 12.5% every five years. A second was made by Will Bruce and it unanimously passed. Josh Myrick stated approval was needed for the Resolution to adopt the SASO Permit Application for any Commercial Operator at the Airport who will be required to submit and obtain approval prior to performing any commercial operations at the Airport. A motion was made by Don Ward to approve the resolution, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed. North Hangar Lease Approval: Josh Myrick stated that after a lot of discussion with Continental, the North Hangar Lease was ready for approval and Continental would be holding the insurance for property and casualty after Coley Boone, the insurance agent of record for the Airport was satisfied that the insurance policy proposed by Continental was sufficient. The lease will become effective on October 15, 2024 for the first five-year term. Will Bruce asked Josh if Continental could be required to provide proof of insurance by October 1, 2024. Philip Mahoney of Continental was present and stated that Continental was in agreement with the lease. A motion was made by Don Ward to approve the lease for the North Hangar as distributed to the Authority Members, second by Len Strickland and unanimously passed. Pel Henry wanted to publicly thank Coley Boone for all the hard work she did with the Airport Authority concerning the insurance for the North Hangar. RFP Approval: Don Ward stated that the Authority Members received the final draft of the RPF last week that is the result of the efforts of Don, the consultant and others who had input into it. The RFP, if approved will be launched on the Airport Authority website tomorrow, April 10, 2024. There will be a preproposal conference on April 25th , deadline for questions will be on May 1 st , and the deadline for proposals will be May 10th . The rest of May will be used to go over the proposals and make a choice for the winning bid. Don would like the contract to be approved at the July 9th meeting to leave time for everything to be in place for the October 15th deadline. Will Bruce asked Don Ward where the preproposal meeting for the RFP would be held. Don Ward stated that it would be at the Airport and would consist of taking all the proposed bidders for a tour of the existing FBO and the West Side and then take them to the new Terminal Building on the East Side and show tell them what the Airport is looking for on the East Side as it develops. A motion was made by Don Ward to approve and post the RFP, second by Len Strickland and unanimously passed. Pel thanked Don Ward for all of his hard work to get the RFP put together and ready for posting. Other Business: Jack Burrell stated that the FAA has awarded the Airport a three-million-dollar grant for infrastructure improvements to the West Side property to help develop access and utilities to the property so that it will allow it to develop into a light industrial area. GMC has drawn up a preliminary plat for the Authority to consider. Jack and Pel are both excited for this award and thanked everyone involved to help make this possible including Senator Katie Britt and Congressman Jerry Carl. Comments from Advisory Council Members: No report. Comments from the General Public: Gary Gover stated that he was concerned about preserving the wetland areas of the West Side Property and Jack Burrell said that parts of the wetlands were already protected and were part of a stream mitigation project several years ago. Pel stated that you can see the preserved area from County Road 32 when driving past it. Jack stated that the wetlands will be taken into consideration on the plat for that property. Jack Burrell wanted to thank everyone involved with the RFP for the new Terminal Building, especially Don Ward and everyone involved with the negotiations for the North Hangar Lease. Adjournment: A motion was made by Len Strickland to adjourn, second by Jack Burrell and unanimously passed. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:03PM. Pel Henry, Chairman ittedby Cynthia A Boothe