Airport Advisory Board

CITY OF ELKO AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD 3:00 PM, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025 ELKO CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1751 COLLEGE AVENUE, ELKO, NV 89801 I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL Present: Reece Keener, Mayor Jairus Duncan, AAB Member Joe Jarvis, AAB Member Nick Mieloszky, AAB Member John Patrick Rice, AAB Member Matt Stramel, AAB Member Curtis Smith, AAB Member – Arrived via GoTo at 3:14 PM City Staff Present: Jim Foster, Airport Manager Kara Vera, Security Coordinator/Administrative Assistant Annette Robinson, City Clerk Nichole Stephens, City Clerk Technician II III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. COMMENTS BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC Jim Foster, Airport Manager, called for public comment and did not receive a response. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Foster said he had not found any unsigned minutes in their records but would look again. VI. PRESENTATION VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Review, consideration, and election of officer positions for the Airport Advisory Board and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION Per the bylaws, the election of officers and their duties are required by Article IV of the bylaws. JF May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 1 of 7 ** A motion was made by Member Mieloszky, seconded by Member Jarvis to nominate John Patrick Rice as Chairperson. The motion passed unanimously. (6-0) ** A motion was made by Member Rice, seconded by Member Mieloszky to nominate Matt Stramel as Vice Chairperson. The motion passed unanimously. (6-0) ** A motion was made by Member Jarvis, seconded by Member Stramel to nominate Jairus Duncan as Secretary. The motion passed unanimously. (6-0) B. Review, consideration, and discussion for the review of the bylaws and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION The advisory board bylaws have not been reviewed for quite some time. Staff recommends a review of the bylaws. Per Article VI section 2. Amendments to the bylaws may be introduced and initiated by a majority vote of the Board. JF Mr. Foster said he recommended a review of the bylaws to make sure they still work for the intent of the board. He suggested subcommittee could be appointed and bring back recommendations to the airport advisory board to look at. John Patrick Rice, Chairperson, agreed a small committee would be a good idea as he felt it deserved some in-depth analysis. ** A motion was made by Mayor Keener, seconded by Vice Chair Stramel to create a subcommittee consisting of Jim Foster, John Patrick Rice, and Matt Stramel to review the bylaws. The motion passed unanimously. (6-0) C. Review, consideration, and possible discussion of parking around the FAA building, including the appearance of the building and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION. JJ Member Curtis Smith arrived via GoTo at 3:14 pm. Member Joe Jarvis reported when the governor came to town and his entourage arrived at the airport a few months ago, they had parked in the last few parking spaces on the side of Mountain West. He said the FAA guy had told them if they did not move their cars, he would have their vehicles towed and has also been unfriendly to others about parking over there in the past. He mentioned he treats the spot on the ramp side of the building as his own personal reserved spot. He said he did May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 2 of 7 not know if he’s approved to do that, and he was curious if maybe some of the parking on the east end could be shared and have last four or five spots on the west end of the building be reserved for FAA parking. He noted the outer appearance of the building has really gone downhill and could use some paint and weeding around it. Mr. Foster responded that there are no designated spots on the ramp side parking lot since it is a non-leasable area of the airport. Anything the airport has used federal funding for replacement or upkeep falls under exclusive rights and the airport does not do exclusive rights. He added he would look into their lease for that facility and see if there is in fact designated parking included in the lease. He did know, as an example, that El Aero has dedicated parking around their building, Med- X and a few others were the same way. Mayor Reece Keener added he felt the groundskeeping should be addressed right away with summer almost upon them if the board was in favor of making that recommendation. He asked Mr. Foster if they pay market value rent. Mr. Foster responded they do not, but in the leases the total maintenance requirement falls onto the entity because of what they’re getting as opposed to a fair market value rate. Member Nick Mieloszky asked if all the hangars in the area were responsible for their own cleanup and beautification. Mr. Foster responded yes in a sense, but also within reason. The airport provides limited groundskeeping and will mow weeds and pull weeds within the hangar rows, though they do need a little help from hangar owners since they are a limited staff. Mr. Mieloszky asked if there was a disposal dumpster available for hangar owners to put debris from weeds and other trash. Mr. Foster responded they did not provide that at the airport for that purpose. He asked the board what direction they wanted to go and what they would like to see. Mr. Jarvis responded there needed to be a conversation with the FAA right away about the cleanliness of the building, and then if Mr. Foster could check on the lease about the parking and get back to them. ** A motion was made by Mayor Keener, seconded by Member Jarvis to approve direct staff to meet with the FAA and take concerns to them regarding the landscaping and general upkeep and appearance of the building. The motion passed unanimously. (7-0) D. Review, consideration, and discussion of adding a porta-potty or two to the hangar areas and matters related thereto. FOR POSSIBLE ACTION May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 3 of 7 Mr. Rice said he did not know if it was within the city’s resources, but he was wondering if it was possible to install another porta-potty on the north end as a convenience for general aviators. Mr. Foster responded they provide a single porta-potty that is currently located at the intersection of B1 and the general aviation hangar. The cost for the monthly service comes out of the airport’s operating budget and is anywhere from $160-240 a month depending on the use of the porta-potty. An additional porta-potty would have to come out of the airport operations budget unless a tenant wanted to take responsibility for that. Mr. Jarvis asked if Mr. Foster knew how often it was used. Mr. Mieloszky responded it is being used a lot where it is located now. Mr. Foster added that is why the pricing fluctuates, as it is based upon usage and it is serviced weekly. Mr. Rice said he didn’t think it was so important that they needed to double their expenses on that particular line item. While it would be convenient, he was fine not pursuing it any further. There was some discussion between the members about the current location and how someone unfamiliar with the airport may find it hard to locate. Some of the members suggested a sign to help direct people. Mr. Foster mentioned that Ms. Vera said that they did originally before it was relocated to that position. They had discussed putting the porta-potty near the self-service fuel tanks, located on the east end of the area. He added if they felt it was not a good location, they could discuss that, but he felt that the intent of the current location was not necessarily to pick up transient pilots, but more for use by the hangar folks. There was general agreement that the current location was a good spot for the porta-potty. No action was taken on the item. E. Review, consideration, and discussion of the possibility of creating GA access to the terminal so GA people flying in could go to the restaurant and matters related thereto. Discussion Item Only. JPR Mr. Rice said he knew people flying in like to stop and have something to eat. Since the restaurant was in the commercial terminal, it was a long way from the general aviation. He wondered if there was someone that would be willing to have an operation that had a way to serve people. Mr. Foster explained the separation of the general from the commercial terminal ramp is accomplished by multiple pieces of pavement out there and there was not a direct route from the general aviation ramp to that facility. If they were to fly in and park at the transit parking at El Aero, there is not a way for them to go across because they would have to cross movement areas of the airport where driving privileges are required. The way the airport was configured it did not allow general aviation people to walk down, they would have to drive down to the restaurant. May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 4 of 7 Member Jairus Duncan mention El Aero or Mountain West have two courtesy cars available and people come in and take them to lunch or wherever they need to go, so there is nothing preventing them from driving over to the terminal to have lunch. Mr. Foster did like Mr. Rice’s thinking, and maybe they could do some advertising in the pilot’s lounge to encourage more people to use the restaurant. Member Curtis Smith asked if there was any reason one of the line service people couldn’t drive people over and drop them off if El Aero agreed to it. Mr. Foster responded that it was a good question. If that was made available, there would be certain things that would have to occur to maintain their security. The courtesy car would have to have an amber beacon and be placard accordingly and would need to have access to an aviation radio. The person would have to escort those individuals down to the terminal ramp and out the side entrance gate and then provide the same escort to return. It would also need to be discussed with TSA. Mr. Stramel said with the courtesy car available to them he didn’t think it would be worth it at all. Mr. Jarvis suggested the restaurant possibly provide a shuttle service from the restaurant. Mr. Foster responded they are short-staffed and struggling to keep employees, so he did not think that would be a viable option for them. Mr. Duncan thought advertising in El Aero would be a good idea for them to make people aware they are here. He said they had no problem putting stuff up and menus in the pilot lounge. F. Review, consideration, and discussion of various water fixtures located throughout the GA hangar areas and matters related thereto. DISCUSSION ITEM ONLY. JPR Mr. Rice said Mr. Foster had already given him the answer he sought when he put this down as an agenda item; there’s a reason for it and it was mostly about drainage concerns for washing aircraft. The washing needs to take place within a certain area of the ramp so that it drains properly. He added he wouldn’t have any need for the hydrant near his hangar for anything other than washing his plane, but Mr. Foster’s explanation made sense to him. He said he did not have any other questions about it and asked if anyone else did. Mr. Foster said there is a frost-free valve located at the end of the hangar rows towards the old ship cycle that’s locked out of service. The reason behind that was because when it was being used to wash aircraft, that water was flowing directly into a storm drain, and this caused serious problems for the stormwater prevention plan, so it was taken out of service six or seven years ago. As long as the water and material stay on the airport property and doesn’t leave, there isn’t a problem. He added they have provided an area for aircraft owners to wash their aircraft with a direct line that stays on the airport and does not flow into the stormwater system. Mr. Stramel asked about the water outside the shop at El Aero and if it went into the stormwater. May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 5 of 7 Mr. Foster responded there was a French drain outside of the El Aero maintenance facility that goes down south, cuts across the ramp and then daylights; it technically does stay on the facility. G. Review, consideration, and discussion of fees charged at the Elko Regional through various resolutions and matters related thereto. DISCUSSION ONLY. JF Mr. Foster said they were anticipating doing a rates and charges cycle with the next budget cycle that could affect some of the rates they have out at the airport. He noted one of the requirements of the FAA is they want airports to become self-sufficient and we need to get there. He pointed out as an example the land lease rates had not been increased since 1997. The last increase was from 25 cents a square foot to 28 cents a square foot per year. Mr. Mieloszky said when he looked it up on Foreflight it was almost non-existent for Elko in the comments. He understood that fees were so predominant now in aviation, but he wanted it to be transparent by having a sign as you pull up to the G area or have the information readily available on Foreflight so people can make informed choices. Mr. Foster responded that most of the fees generally don’t affect general aviation traffic, but he agreed that information should be available. He noted that information was already available on their website. He said he anticipated that there will be some changes that will occur through the rates and charges survey and especially the land lease prices as those hadn’t increased in almost 30 years. Mr. Stramel asked could they expect another three cents. Mr. Foster responded he was hoping to get to 30 cents but that would still be very reasonable for the entire year. Mr. Mieloszky asked if Mr. Foster had looked into where that compares with other airport facilities. Mr. Foster responded Wyoming did a comprehensive study and they were all over the place. He tried to look at airports comparable to their size, but the fees ranged from 26 cents to 37 cents a square foot. He was not sure if they would have to do a business impact statement before raising rates. Annette Robinson, City Clerk, responded she didn’t know if this would apply since they are individual hangar owners and not businesses. IX. REPORTS A. Staff Reports Mr. Foster reported they had their annual certification inspection on Friday. They did have some write-ups, mostly signage. This can happen as the signs get sun-faded and need to be replaced. Overall, they did very well on the certification inspection, with some recommendations to continue May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 6 of 7  prioritizing crack sealing, taking care of the facility and other things of that nature. He added they were currently on day 45 of 84 of the terminal ramp reconstruction project and it was going very well so far. Phase two would hopefully start in the next week. There were some additional projects that they had coming up, including the pavement preservation project that was currently out to bid; they were looking at potentially a fall start date for that project. Mr. Stramel asked if there was a budget in mind for the project and how much was coming from the FAA and how much was being supported by Elko. Mr. Foster responded he would let them know the engineering budget after they had received the bids. He said projects out at the airport that fall under the Airport Improvement Program are projects funded by the FAA. The current ramp construction project is 97.75 percent funded by the FAA and the rest is paid out of pocket by the city. The upcoming project would be a 95/5. Mr. Duncan asked if any part of Murray Way was included in the pavement preservation. Mr. Foster responded it was not, but he did meet with the Street Department and asked them to help them out and get it fixed. B. Board Reports There were no reports from the board. X. COMMENTS BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC Mr. Foster announced that Skyfair would be held of September 13th. Last Thursday they had their second midday flight arriving around 11:10 am and departing around 12:10 pm. The flights are available on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday. Mayor Keener mentioned a retired friend and his wife had discovered recently it was less expensive to fly out of Elko than it was Salt Lake City. He felt it was important to get on the Delta website and shop prices as it helps the community and the city when those flights are utilized. Mr. Stramel commented he recently booked and confirmed Elko was cheaper than flying out of Salt Lake. XI. SCHEDULE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting was scheduled for August 13th at 3:00 PM. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 PM. John Patrick Rice, Chairperson Jairus Duncan, Secretary May 14, 2025 Airport Advisory Board | Minutes Page 7 of 7