HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-11-2024 Fairhope Airport Authority Meeting MinutesMinutes of the Fairhope Airport Authority
June 11, 2024
The Fairhope Airport Authority met June 11, 2024 at 5:00PM in the City Hall
Council Chambers at 161 N Section Street.
Present: Pel Henry, Chairman, Chip Groner, Will Bruce, Jack Burrell, and Amy
Pearson. Len Strickland and Don Ward were absent. Also present was Josh
Myrick , Attorney. Cynthia A Boothe took the minutes.
The Minutes of the May 14, 2024 regular meeting were considered and
approved with a motion by Will Bruce, second by Jack Burrell and
unanimously passed.
Airport Manager's Operations Report: Dave Friedel reported that the traffic
count for May, 2024 was 5,742. The count for May, 2023 was 6869.
Dave updated the fuel tank work by stating that he was waiting on quotes from
Hoffman and Perry Brothers to sandblast both tanks, re-line Jet A, line 1 00LL,
paint exteriors and possibly rebuild the front pump drip pan area.
Dave stated that the date for the Air Race Classic will be June 17, 2025 and
Fairhope will be the starting point for the race. Racers and supporters will
begin arriving the previous Thursday so several events will be planned,
including breakfast the morning of the race. He has been talking with Pam
Caudill and ARC staff and he has also reached out to the 99's who were a big
help in 2015 when Fairhope was the terminus for the race. Old sponsor
banners were found in storage and hopefully they can be reutilized. Dave
plans to brief the Fairhope City Council about the race as the Authority will
need their help and support. He also asked Will Bruce to talk to the Advisory
Council about helping to support the planned events. Dave stated that the
2015 Air Race Classic had an economic impact of $136,000.00 to the City of
Fairhope and feels that it will be even greater for the 2025 Air Race Classic.
Continental Aerospace Report: David Shear reported that the sales of Jet-A
for May, 2023 were 31,000 gallons and for May, 2024 the sales were 25,000
gallons. The sales for AV gas for May, 2023 were 11,000 gallons and for May,
2024 the sales were 15,700 gallons.
Engineer's Report: Luke Hicks stated that the work on the Te rminal Building
is going well and should be finished soon.
Luke reported that they are almost done with the design for the Ta xiway
Lighting project and are waiting on the Go-letters from the FAA & ALDOT.
Treasurer's Report: Amy Pearson went over the Profit & Loss Budget
Performance for May, 2024 and stated that everything was in good order.
Legal Report: Josh Myrick stated that he has the finalized leases for Garage
Aereo (68 Ventures) and Apex Contracting Services.
Josh said that he has received paperwork from GOLO Adventures regarding
the pavement installation from their lot to the Taxiway which was an
addendum to their lease. The pavement has been completed and Josh has
received an acknowledgement of receipt of ownership of the Public Use
Ta xiway for the Authority to maintain and stripe. The addendum also states
that the Engineer of Record for the Authority will certify that the pavement
meets the required standards. Once Volkert sends the certification of the
pavement, Josh has no objection to the Authority signing the
acknowledgment. Josh asked for a motion to sign the acknowledgment
subject to Volkert certifying the pavement meets the required FAA standards.
A motion was made by Chip Groner to sign the acknowledgement once the
pavement is certified, second by Will Bruce and unanimously passed.
Board Discussion/Approval Requests: Pel Henry stated that the selection
committee for the FBO RFP which is Len Strickland, Don Ward, and himself,
received five proposals for the Fixed Base Operator at the Airport. After
interviewing the companies with the top three proposals, the RFP Committee
recommends that the proposal by Flightline is the most complete and
presents the best potential future financial incentives to the Airport and has
the necessary experience and qualifications to operate the FBO at the Airport.
The RFP Committee would like to award Flightline the opportunity to negotiate
with the Authority for an FBO lease at the Airport. This would not be a
commitment by the Authority to enter into a lease with Flightline, and that final lease terms are subject to negotiation between the Authority and Flightline. A motion was made by Will Bruce to enter into negotiations with Flightline for the FBO Lease, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed.
Other Business: No Report.
Comments from the Advisory Council: Larry Anderson inquired about whether the PAPI lights were working. Dave Freidel told him they were. Chip Groner stated that Larry Anderson was last week awarded the Wright Brothers Award for 50 years of accident free, incident free, and violation free flying.
Comments from the General Public: No Report.
Adjournment: There being no further business, Jack Burrell made a motion to adjourn, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed. The meeting
adjourned at 6:26PM.
Sub itted by Cynthia A Boothe