Airport Board

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Airport – Bowman Field Airport Advisory Board Wednesday August 25th, 2021 @ 7 a.m. Meeting called by Members Present: Jim Jonas, Chair person; Jim Jonas, Chair per son Tim Casey; John L ombardi; Eric Cortright Type of meeting Monthly Meeting Minutes taken by Carlye Hansen Members Absent: Randy J ohnson Staff: Carl Hamming, Planning Director : Carlye Hansen, Planning Department Secretary; Terr y Ver meire, Commission Representative; Monte Belgarde, Airpor t Manager Staff Absent: None Others Present: Sar ah Jones, Engineer; Jim Greil, DOWL AGENDA TOPICS Call to order The meeting was call ed to order at 7:03 a.m., by Jim Jonas, Ch airperson. Approval of Minute s A. Wednesday, May 10 t h , 2021 Motion was made by J ohn Lombardi to approve the minutes from February 24 t h , 2021; seconded by Tim Case y. Motion passes 4-0. Manager’s Report – Monte Belgarde, Airport Manager Monte Bel garde reported that at this ti me, operations have been significantly curtailed due to the f orest fire smoke that has hit the area hard this year. Now, with the apron project, this will have another impact on the operations until this is completed. He di d w ant to mention that f olks may notice that he cut some grass down along the side of the second runway for emergen cy loading and unloading of patients accessing Life Flight services. He Anaconda-Deer Lodge County • Bowman Field • 1022 MT Hwy 48 • Anaconda, MT 59711 1|Page  Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Airport – Bowman Field feels that this is a service that must be continued by the ai rport, however, he is coming into extreme resistance by DOWL, the FAA, and ADLC CEO, Bill Everett. He is quite upset as recently he lost a family member who had to use the emergen cy services here at our airport. He very, very strongly feels that this i s a community service that must be preserved regardless of how hard it may be to do so. The time f rame for this project is rough ly a month, with finishing work such as ti e-down anchors, reflectors, etc., being done later, which would probably bring the enti re project to completi on within six weeks. Jim Grei l. DOWL, di scussed the email that Mr. Bel garde recei ved from J oe at the FAA. It basically stated that if you do close a runway, all li ghts must be off, as well a notum being sent out stating that there are w ork vehicles/construction vehicles on or near the runway. The FAA is basically wanting to know th at the pilots coming in are properly train ed to deal with this sort of an i ssue. Mr. Greil stated that nothing will be parked on 422, an d that the only vehicular access will be transport only. It was asked what the distance from the path he has mowed into the run area is and Mr. Belgarde stated th at this is roughly ¼ mile, as he also has some questi ons as to exactl y where the property line is at that end. Sarah Jones, Engineer, confirmed that the mowed path is parallel to the ru nway. Of course, w ith this being in a grassy area there are also some fire concerns to con sider. Eric Cortri ght did state, that while he is sympathetic to the i ssues regarding Life Flight access, he feels that the airport should 100% be shut down until the project is finished. Ms. Jones stated that the current project does not involve the runways, just the apron only. Ms. Jones also recommended that if you close the runway, an d sh ut the lights out, there is a possibili ty of rentin g or obtaining “lighted X’s”. She is goin g to check with several resou rces in Missoul a, Great Falls, and Bozeman for availabil ity, as well as pricing. Mr. Belgarde did state that multiple runway edge lights are needing to be repl aced. He i s going to inquire about the infrared sensor lights. These woul d be off during the day and on at night. They will need a separate out circuit, but he believes an electrician could do this and that it would all eviate a lot of problems in the future. Mr. Greil stated that there i s a possibili ty that this could be paid f or through a grant or loan program. Mr. Belgarde said that he has had multiple calls regarding renting large hangar space. He, himself would also be interested in a large hanger. This is something that will be investigated in the f uture as we are looki ng forward to growth of the ai rport. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County • Bowman Field • 1022 MT Hwy 48 • Anaconda, MT 59711 2|Page  Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Airport – Bowman Field Flight School Report – Monte Belgarde, Flight School Owner and Instructor Mr. Belgarde again stated that, as above, the smoke has been a deterrent with the flight school. He is guessi ng currently, the operations at the airport, as well as the fli ght school capacity is down by at least 70% due to the smoke. He i s hoping that once the apron is completed, and the smoke disperses, that things will drastical ly improve. Consultant Report – Jim Gre il, DOWL Engineer ing Consultant Mr. Greil i s here today, al ong with Sarah Jones. He presented the Bowman Fiel d Airport Consultation Report. Please see attached. Jim Jonas inquired if the close out has been compl eted and fi nalized for Morri son -Maierle. Mr. Greil will be con tacting Heather Edwards, Administrative Secretary, regarding this. John Lombardi inquired about future CIP s. Mr. Greil stated that this will be done year by year and will be based on what is needed most. Mr. Greil stated that he would l ike to see an updated CIP based on upcoming projects and the wishes of the board. At this point, he does state that there is n o chance soon for a f uel farm. We need to foster more development and possi bly in the fu ture we can explore this opti on once agai n. New Business None. Miscellaneous / Public Comme nt Carlye Hansen, Plan ning Department Secretary, did n ote that the hangar l ease ren ewals have been sent for th e 2021/2022 contract/ leases hel d by the hangar owners. Next Meeting Date Wednesday, September 29 t h , 2021 Adjournment Motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Tim Casey; se conde d b y Eric Cortright. Motion passes 4-0. Respectfully Submi tted, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County • Bowman Field • 1022 MT Hwy 48 • Anaconda, MT 59711 3|Page  Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Airport – Bowman Field Carlye Hansen Carlye Hansen, Plan ning Department Secretary Approved: 09/29/2021 Anaconda-Deer Lodge County • Bowman Field • 1022 MT Hwy 48 • Anaconda, MT 59711 4|Page