Airport Authority

Athens Airport Authority Meeting September 25, 2018 3:00 p.m. Athens Flight Center - Conference Room Authority: Lester Shindelman, Chair Beth Higgins, Michael Pierce, David Asman, Robert Miles, Bayne Smith Airport: Mike Mathews, Airport Director Angela Dalton, Airport Billing Coordinator Robert Hiss, ACC Assistant Manager Public Comments: N/A Approval of August 28, 2018 Minutes: Approved as submitted. Old Business a. By-Law Changes: Bill Berryman, ACC Attorney, presented an overview of the Authority’s legal ability to obtain bonds/secure debt for the Airport through Athens-Clarke County. Discussion was held. Mr. Shindelman distributed and discussed an example of a RACI chart and noted that he, Mr. Hiss and Mr. Mathews are working on completing as it pertains to the Airport and for possible inclusion in the by-laws. Mr. Shindelman noted that the next steps for adopting the updated by-laws is for Mr. Hiss to clarify language on the bond issue and then the final draft will be e-mailed to the members for their review and further input prior to the October meeting. b. Governance Study: Mr. Hiss noted that $40,000 was placed in the Airport’s FY19 budget for the completion of a governance study; however it has since been determined that the study is not necessary at this time because the Authority is proceeding with the exercise of updating the by-laws. He noted that these funds could possibly be better utilized on air service development, and if agreed, the Authority would have to request the Mayor & Commission redistribute the funds for that purpose. Mr. Smith made a motion that the Authority formally request that the Mayor & Commission reallocate the funds initially intended for the governance study to future air service development efforts. Mr. Pierce 2nd. Motion passed with unanimous vote. Mr. Mathews will prepare an agenda item for Mayor & Commission’s consideration of this request. c. Airline Incentives: Mr. Mathews presented a draft incentive plan that he has been working with Mead & Hunt and Mr. Hiss to prepare. Discussion was held. Mr. Smith made a motion to adopt the ASD Incentive Program with clarification of the following: 1) Total incentives will be “up to” $250,000 2) Define markets after consultation with ASD consultant (Mead & Hunt) 3) Clarify definition of flights and routes in Section B3 Ms. Higgins 2nd. Motion passed with unanimous vote. Mr. Mathews noted that the plan will be presented to the Mayor & Commission for their review and approval during the October/November cycle.  d. Funding Request (Mayor & Commission Work Session): Mr. Hiss noted that the Airport is scheduled to present at their October 9th Work Session on the following: 1) An update on the Airport as a whole 2) The status of the air service development efforts 3) SCASD grant update (past & future) Mr. Mathews and Mr. Shindelman will be making this presentation on behalf of the Airport and the Authority. Airport Manager Reports a. Financial Report: Mr. Mathews reviewed the monthly report provided by the ACC Finance Department as of August 31, 2018. b. Operations Report: The operations report compiled with data received from the Control Tower Chief has been updated and was reviewed. c. Runway Project: Mr. Mathews reported that, as previously scheduled, work has been temporarily halted on the pavement portion. However, work continues on the drainage and lighting phases. The project is still on schedule to resume full construction on November 5th. d. On-Call ASD Consultant: Mr. Mathews noted that the contract has been executed with Meade & Hunt and he is working to schedule a kick-off meeting within the next couple of weeks. e. Falcon Aviation Update: Mr. Mathews noted that he is still working on securing a larger space on the Airport for the flight school. f. Fuel Cost of Goods Sold: Chairman Update: Mr. Shindelman reviewed all of the accomplishments of the Authority within the last month. Business, Finance & Planning Committee a. SWOT Analysis Results: Mr. Shindelman distributed copies of an evaluation of the discussion held during the work session. b. Strategic Planning Next Steps: Mr. Shindelman distributed copies of an updated flow chart indicating the process. The next step is to hold a visioning session with Catherine Bennett, ACC Organizational Development, to work toward stablishing a mission statement and overall goals. It was noted that the updated market study that Mead & Hunt is working to complete will help guide the next step of the strategies to meet the goals. The Visioning Session is scheduled for October 22nd. Air Service Development Committee a. SCASD Grans “Winner” Analysis Update: Mr. Shindelman distributed a spreadsheet of his findings on the winning recipients. He also noted that a conference call is scheduled with SCASD Administrators to discuss Athens’ proposal and its strengths and possible weaknesses. b. Working Group Recruiting Update: Mr. Shindelman discussed a spreadsheet listing possible members and the status of their recruitment. The next step will be to schedule a meeting to update the group on the ASD efforts and introduce them to Mr. Mathews as the new Airport Director. This will be scheduled one the market study is complete so that Mead & Hunt can provide a presentation on updated information. Operations Committee a. Customer Service Initiatives: Mr. Mathews noted that he plans to begin placing the survey out for customers’ response on October 1st. New Business a. AHN/Athens Tech Aircraft A&P Maintenance Training Partnership: Mr. Mathews noted that he is working on establishing a contact to meet with concerning this project. Adjourn: 5:39 p.m. Respectfully Submitted ____________________________ Angela Dalton, Secretary