HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-2021 Regular MeetingPublic Meeting Notice
Committee: Fairhope Airport Authority
Date & Time: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Place: Council Chambers
161 North Section Street
Subject: General Discussion
Notice must be stamped, dated and initialed before posted on
bulletin board.
p
Minutes of Fairhope Airport Authority
August 10, 2021
The Fairhope Airport Authority met August 10, 2021, at 5:00PM in the City Council
Chambers at 161 N Section Street.
Present: Don Lagarde, Chairman, Chip Groner, Pel Henry, Jack Burrell, Will Bruce,
Amy Pearson and Vince Boothe. Also present was Josh Myrick, Attorney. Cynthia
A Boothe took the minutes.
The Minutes of the of the July 13, 2021, meeting were considered and approved
with a motion by Will Bruce, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed .
Fairhope Airport Security/Fences: Chip Groner stated that he feels the Authority
should move forward with the electronic gate at the Highway 32 entrance to the
East Side. He also stated that he and Nick Van Houten would like to send out a
letter to all tenants addressing concerns about cars driving on and parking on the
main ramp. They also suggested getting directional signs for pedestrians,
cameras and card access to all gates. Chip also reported that about one half of
the north taxiway lights are out and will have to be rewired. He got an estimated
cost of $20,000.00. Don Lagarde stated that he and Pel Henry got several quotes
on new gates but still have unanswered questions so this item will be tabled until
next month.
Update on Airport T-Hangars project/new inquiry for hangar: Don Lagarde
stated that Dave Gordon of Tellus is still interested in building hangars on the East
Side .
Chip Groner stated that he had received an email from Kel Jones stating that he
would like a lease sent to him for one of the 130X130 foot lots and he also wants
the fuel farm option and an option for first refusal on the other lot that is
130X130 feet.
Don Lagarde stated that he had talked with Larry Rice of Medical Pr.operties Trust,
and he also wants a lease sent to him for one of the lots.
Vince Boothe had questions about the fuel farms and asked Josh Myrick to revisit
the fuel farm rules and requirements before the last fuel fa rm option is given out
and report back at the next monthly meeting. Jack Burrell also had several
questions about the fuel farm requirements.
Don Lagarde stated that Jorgen Hellmich has expressed interest in building
hangars on the Southwest area of the Airport property. He also stated that all the
deposits that were being held for possible hangar space leases will be returned to
the customers .
Jack Burrell stated that he would like to revisit the cost for the Authority to build
some T-hangars and see if the Authority can make the numbers for building and
financing work to move forward with the project . Jordan Stringfellow from
Volkert said that they were getting ready to bid out some hangars at another
airport and would be glad to let the Authority know the cost for those hangars .
Continental Aerospace report: Nick Van Houten reported that things were going
well at the Airport and that they have been busy . He also reported that
Continental is planning to move their engine reclamation operation to the North
Hangar so all the tenants occupying the North Hangar will have to relocate their
aircraft and have received letters to that effect .
Report from Airport consultant Jason Wilson: No report.
Treasurer's Report: Amy Pearson went over the Treasurer's Report for the
month of July and reported that the income and expenses are all pretty much on
track. She then went over the Projected operating cash position for July to
August. She stated that she is working on the draft budget for the coming year
and will be sending the Authority members a copy when finished.
Attorney's Report: Josh Myrick reported that the Certificate of Amendment to
the Authority's Charter has been completed which allows up to three Authority
members to live in the Baldwin County Board of Education School zone district for
Fairhope .
Discussion of resolution to add a 2% airport surcharge/fee for goods sold and/or
services rendered by airport operators: Josh Myrick and Chip Groner gave an
overview of what is included in the resolution and after a group discussion a
motion was made by Pel Henry to pass the resolution to add a 2% surcharge/fee
for goods and/or services rendered by airport operators to begin on October 1,
2021, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed.
Nominating committee's recommendations for officers: Chip Groner stated that
the nominating committee's recommendation for the slate of officers for the
coming year are Don Lagarde, Chairman, Chip Groner, Vice Chairman, Will Bruce,
Secretary, and Amy Pearson, Treasurer. Josh Myrick stated that the officers will
be voted on in September.
Update on website: Will Bruce stated that Gary Berdeaux is making good
progress with the new web design and should have it ready in the next couple of
weeks. He will be taking pictures of the Airport and Fairhope and using drone
footage also.
Engineer's report: Jordan Stringfellow inquired if the Authority members had
decided on the exterior of the new terminal building. Vince Boothe stated that
they would like to change the style of the exterior elevations to something more
welcoming and attractive and that would better represent Fairhope. It would
include some roof structure changes and exterior finish changes. Vince also
stated that he would like to see a porte co-chere added to one side of the building
also. Jordan asked Vince to draw up the changes the Authority would like and to
send them to her and she will send them to GMC for revisions so that the
paperwork can be submitted to ALDOT for approval.
Jordan asked where the Authority would like to place the monument sign for the
terminal building and Chip Groner stated it should be placed by the County Road
32 entrance.
Jordan stated that she had received comments from the FAA for the new Airport
Layout Plans and would be reviewing them soon.
Naming of Airport streets: Amy Pearson stated that she found the names of the
four Tuskegee Airmen from Alabama that were killed either in action or training
and would like to name the four streets after them. The names are Edward Laird,
John Henry Powell, Leon Roberts and Sherman White, Jr. Amy made a motion to
accepts these names for the streets, second by Chip Groner and unanimously
passed.
Other Business: Chip Groner stated that it would cost $20,000.00 to rewire the
taxiway lights that are out. Vince Boothe made a motion to make the repairs for
an amount not to exceed $20,000.00 by the contractor with the lowest price of
two quotes, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed.
Chip Groner stated that he felt it would be beneficial to the Airport for the
Authority to join the Aviation Council of Alabama and that the cost would be
$750.00. He also stated that they would be having a conference in Gulf Shores in
October and hopes that the Authority members should try to attend. Chip stated
that there will be several vendors at the convention that could be helpful to the
Airport. A motion was made by Chip Groner to spend $750.00 to join the Aviation
Council of Alabama, second by Pel Henry and unanimously passed.
Comments from the Public-limited to three minutes: No report
Move to executive session: Don Lagarde stated that the Authority needed to
move to executive session. Josh Myrick stated that the reason was to discuss
threatened or pending litigation for about twenty minutes. A motion was made
by Jack Burrell to move to executive session to discuss threatened or pending
litigation, second by Chip Groner and unanimously passed.
The Authority moved to executive session at 6:46PM.
Return from Executive Session: The Authority returned from executive session
and reconvened at 7:15PM.
Don Lagarde stated a motion was needed to authorize the Chairman to sign a
letter of engagement to hire Alan Armstrong as council for the Authority to assist
Josh Myrick in legal matters. A motion was made by Chip Groner to authorize the
Chairman to sign the letter of engagement for Alan Armstrong, second by Vince
Boothe and unanimously passed.
Don Lagarde stated that he would entertain a motion for adjournment . A motion
was made by Vince Boothe to adjourn, second by Jack Burrell and unanimously
passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:17PM.