Airport Advisory Commission

AMENDED A G E N D A Airport Advisory Commission Executive Conference Room – 800 Municipal Drive November 11, 2014, at 4:00 p.m. ITEM PAGE 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes from the October 9, 2014 Airport Advisory 1 Commission Meeting 4. Discussion and Action regarding December 9, 2014 Meeting Date 5. Operations Report (Mike Lewis) 5 6. Business From: Chairman Members Staff Floor 7. Adjournment For information regarding any item scheduled on this Agenda, please contact the Airport Manager’s Office at (505) 599-1394. ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DIABILITIES: The meeting room and facilities are fully accessible to persons with mobility disabilities. If you plan to attend the meeting and will need an auxiliary aid or service, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at 599-1106 or 599-1101 prior to the meeting so that arrangements can be made.  M I N U T E S AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION October 14, 2014 Regular Meeting The Airport Advisory Commission of the City of Farmington met on Tuesday, October 14, 2014, at 4:00 PM, in the Executive Conference Room in the Municipal Building, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, New Mexico. Members Present: Chairman Terry Simcoe Chairman Pro-Tem Tony Bennett Richard Neely Steve White Members Absent: John Arrington Wayne Mangum Staff Present: Bob Campbell Mike Lewis Dee Dee Moore Others Present: Jaade Plante – Atlantic Aviation Felicia Bekis – Atlantic Aviation Teresa Simpson Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chairman Simcoe, there being a quorum present; the following proceedings were duly had and taken. Approval of the October 14, 2014 Agenda Commissioner Neely made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Commissioner White and the motion passed by an unanimous voice vote of 4-0. Approval of the Minutes of the September 14, 2014 Regular Meeting of the AAC Commissioner White made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 14, 2014, regular meeting of the AAC. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bennett and passed by an unanimous voice vote of 4-0. Recommendation of the Through The Fence Operations Airport Manager Mike Lewis reminded the commission that this discussion is a continuation from the last months’ meeting regarding the property inside the fence that is owned by Mr. Jesse Beard. Mr. Lewis stated that he had met with the FAA and the NMDOT in September 1 and that they recommend that the Four Corners Regional Airport does not move forward with a Through the Fence type of operation. He stated that he had talked with the people within the FAA Property department and there is the possibility of receiving 93% funding from the state, with the City of Farmington incurring the balance, for the purchase of that piece of property. Mr. Lewis suggested that if the Commission wanted to move forward with this process, the next step would be to receive direction from this Commission to have the property appraised. Mr. Lewis apologized that this issue has been on-going for over a year and that everyone involved would like to see some closure. Chairman Simcoe asked if the appraiser would have any airport experience. Mr. Lewis stated that the appraiser has connections to airport people and was originally asked to appraise the property for Mr. Beard, but was unable to fit it into his schedule. Chairman Simcoe want to make sure that he addressed the FAA’s requirements and that it is addressed in the report. Mr. Lewis added that if the City was willing to participate in this purchase that it could provide for the option to place some hangars along that south edge of the airport. He informed the Commission that there is a “line of sight” area that needs to be kept clear of structures on the southern portion of the property because of changes in the FAA rules. He added that this process would include the need for another appraisal, the proposal to the FAA, back to this Commission for action and then to City Council for approval. Chairman Simcoe felt that the Commission should move ahead with this course of action. Commissioner Bennett asked what the previous appraisals were. Mr. Lewis stated that he didn’t have the exact figures, but estimated that the first appraisal requested by Mr. Beard was around $152,000 and that the second appraisal requested by the City was around $50,000. Mr. Lewis asked Assistant City Manager Bob Campbell if he felt that the city would be willing to purchase this property if the appraisal was in the range of $100,000. Mr. Campbell stated that yes the City would be willing to participate in the purchase of Mr. Beard’s property. Chairman Simcoe stated that he wanted the appraiser to be made aware of the commercial value and any future development of the airport, especially in relationship to the Airport Master Plan. Chairman Simcoe felt that this was a win-win situation for all parties and that he was in favor of this plan of action. Commissioner White also stated that he felt it was a good idea. Commissioner Bennett stated he also was okay with this plan. Commissioner Neely stated he thinks that this plan should move ahead. He asked if anyone had talked this idea over with Mr. Beard. Mr. Lewis stated no, but that Commission Arrington was going to speak with Mr. Beard. Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Breakell stated that no action could be taken during this meeting, but this topic can be advertised and posted in the next agenda and action can be taken then. Commissioner White added that he felt this fits into the long range plan for the airport. Mr. Lewis added that Mr. Beard has been the grandfather of the airport and should have closure on this issue. Chairman Simcoe stated that the Through the Fence regulations are just going to be more stringent in the future and this Commission doesn’t want to jeopardize any future or past federal funding because of this property. Mr. Lewis confirmed that if this area was rented it would be at the current ground lease rate of $0.26 per square foot. Operations Report Mr. Lewis explained enplanements were down 28 people but in August and September that is the trend. He added that Four Corners Regional Airport is one of only a few commercial airports 2 in the state. Other commercial airports are Santa Fe, Clovis, Roswell and Las Cruces. He added that Santa Fe is currently expanding their terminal but are lacking in property. Commissioner Neely asked if the lower numbers and the issues with Mr. Beards’ property could bring negative attention from the agencies awarding grants. Mr. Lewis stated that he didn’t feel it would. It could provide the opportunity for job creation and that he would be meeting with Armstrong to try and provide as many projects as we can for next year. Mr. Lewis continued with the operations report and identified that the current number of 4,815 year to date is way below the 10,000 minimum passengers required for the year. He stated that the Great Lakes Manager resigned to take a job with Southwest Airlines and that he is confident that Debby will do a great job. Mr. Lewis stated that Part 135 currently allows only four round-trip flights, and if the FAA or Congress would relax that requirement and allows more flights, it could help with the reduction of seats because of pilots having less than 1,500 flight hours. There were eight flight cancellations in September with one of them being cancelled because the runway was closed for paving. The other cancellations were all crew related. Mr. Lewis added that air traffic has been up this month. Commission Bennett added that there has been some flight training and cross country flights, and as a natural stopping point for east- west air travel. Most are not staying for long periods of time. Chairman Simcoe added that this may be another opportunity to advertise the surrounding area such as; Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Anasazi, or even aerial tours over those sites. Jaade Plante of Atlantic Aviation stated that their business could also support the idea of aerial tours. Chairman Simcoe suggested getting the word out and maybe a commercial pilot would be interested in taking families on a 1- 2 hour tour. This might be a business opportunity for our airport and should be followed up in more detail. Regarding the lower fuel flowage for this time period, Jaade Plante explained that Atlantic Aviation was in the process of moving from one tank to another and so they had to use most of the fuel to remove the tank. This next month should show more accurate numbers. Chairman Simcoe asked if there would need to be any remediation in the area where the tanks were located. Ms. Plante stated ground samples were taken, but the results have not been received. Mr. Lewis added that the EPA representative said the site looked clean. Mr. Lewis concluded his report stating that the numbers for the rental cars are at minimum levels and that Zebra’s is also down a little bit from last year. He felt that may be caused by the opening of Buffalo Wild Wings and the other new restaurants in town. He added that when there are local sports team favorites being televised the numbers seem to be higher. He informed the Commission that Zebra’s does not advertise on the billboards like they used to, but the did hit their minimum in July. Mr. Lewis mentioned that he is still working on a fuel project plan. Business from the Chairman: Chairman Simcoe stated that the drainage issue at the crossover has been corrected and there is no longer standing water at that location. 3 Business from the Members: Commissioner White asked if the painting was complete and both runways were re-opened. Mr. Lewis stated that the contractor has not finished painting and an extension was granted to October 22, 2014. Mr. Lewis added that there is currently a Bill being proposed to eliminate the need to use a disadvantaged business and add an 1% advantage instead of eliminating all other bids. Chairman White also stated that he has been getting calls about the increase in air traffic since the runway has been closed. Mr. Lewis stated that because of the weather last week the painting was delayed and has prolonged the closure of that runway. The runway should be reopened by the end of the month. Business from the Staff: There was no further business from staff. Business from the Floor: There was no business from the floor. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Commission the meeting was adjourned at 4:52 pm. _____________________________ ______________________________ Terry Simcoe – Chairman Dee Dee Moore – Administrative Aide 4 OPERATIONS REPORT November 2014 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21