Airport Commission

Fitchburg Municipal Airport Commission Meeting Minutes June 23, 2021 LOCATION: City of Fitchburg Legislative Building TIME: 6:00PM Attendees: Airport Commissioners: Chair Clayton Raymond, Elizabeth Walsh, Richard Liberatore Others in attendance: Airport Manager Peter Kettle, Nick Ippolito and Matt Caron of Gale Associates, Solicitor Pusateri • Meeting Protocol: Meeting called to order by Chair Raymond: 6:00pm o Chair Raymond introduced the commission members in attendance. 1. Previous Months minutes-including special meeting minutes o Meeting minutes May 26, 2021 o Motion to approve – Liberatore o 2nd – Walsh § 23-06-01 Vote – 3-0, Approved 2. Action Items from previous minutes o Peter – RFP Hangars: Awaiting the commission assessment criteria, once that is complete, Mary Delaney can issue the RFP. o ACTION – Chair Raymond o Nick – Backup Generator Grant Search: MassDOT would look into an application to fund at an 80-20 split, provided that the application is submitted in the next fiscal year. o Peter – Drone Presentation: Already met with Chief Martineau- will be putting together a joint petition together to prevent drones from flying freely at the airport before the City Council. Awaiting Solicitor Pusateri to provide some sort of documentation for police to use to prevent drones from flying overhead. o ACTION - Peter & Solicitor Pusateri o Peter – Leominster Land Access: Solicitor Pusateri is looking into providing an easement for the land and will then present it to Leominster DPW. o ACTION - Peter & Solicitor Pusateri o Peter – Bruce Higgins from San Diego: Peter has sent a letter to Mr. Higgins to inform him that the airport does not have that request of land available for sale but proposed to connect him to the City of Fitchburg  o Peter – Reduced Fee for Tie-Downs: Peter announced the reduced fee to the airport. Awaiting a letter from Solicitor Pusateri so Peter can go back and renegotiate a price on someone who wants to pay less for a hangar. o ACTION - Peter o Peter – Budget Appropriation: Hangars 2, 3 & 10 have all been approved by City Council for repairs for the new fiscal year. Labor has since increased, Peter is assessing to find labor financially feasible. o ACTION - Peter o Chair Raymond – MassDevelopment Grant Application: Chair Raymond has signed a letter of support for the grant application for submission at the request of Mary Jo Bohart, Director of Economic Development. o Peter – Self-Serve Fuel Farm Valve Issue: Valve issue remedy was approved and everything is working safely and efficiently. o ACTION - Peter 3. Correspondence to the commission o No correspondences this month to report. 4. Project Review of Gale Associates o Runway Project o Flight inspection was completed on Thursday, June 21st – NavAids are now available for operation. o Developing a corrective actions plan for additional grounding around the facility due to lighting strike that happened last year which currently does not meet specifications. o Upon completion of the grounding work, project will officially be complete. o Airport Master Plan o FAA grant offer has been issued to the City of Fitchburg. Docusign contract has been created to be executed efficiently. o Once signed, Master Plan can begin production. o ACTION – Peter & Chair Raymond o Stand-by Generator o Covered in action items. o Fuel Tank Project o Gale has been working with Smart Tank on a fee proposal to add a separate valve to the distribution system. § ACTION - Nick There are two (2) projects that Gale Associates, Inc. (Gale) is administering on behalf of the Fitchburg Airport Commission. They are: Runway 14-32 Final Design and Construction – AIP No. 3-25-0018-028-2019 Project Description: This project will include the 95% and Bid Set Documents necessary to allow competitive bidding of the Runway 14-32 Reconstruction Project. This project will also include Bidding and Construction Phase Services for the new Runway 14-32. Estimated Project Cost: FAA Share: $ 13,832,100.00 (90.0%) State Share: $ 768,450.00 (5.0%) Local Share: $ 768,450.00 (5.0%) Total Cost: $ 15,369,000.00 (100%) Airport Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan update – AIP No. 3-25-0018-029-2021 (TBD) Project Description: This Project includes an update to the FIT Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan which were last updated in 2008. It is anticipated that this project will review the adequacy of the Airport’s landside and airside facilities, including hangars, aprons, taxiways/taxilanes, aeronautical and non-aeronautical uses, fencing, improved approach procedures, etc. Estimated Project Cost: FAA Share: $ 332,400.00 (90%) State Share: $ 000.00 (5.0%) Local Share: $ 000.00 (5.0%) Total Cost: $ 332,400.00 (100%) 5. Fitchburg Pilots Association Nothing to report. 6. New Business o Rent Increases of 2.2% o 2.2% is a part of the agreement Solicitor Pusateri drafted, the cost of living has been factored in, and cost of development of the airport. o Motion to approve – Raymond o 2nd – Walsh § 23-06-02 Vote – 3-0, Approved o Airport Fencing/Trash o Peter proposes that DPW gets involved to put up barriers in front of  fencing. Current fencing is in poor condition. 7. Old Business • Joe Spinelli & five additional people – Now 9. o Awaiting for RFP to be issued. Cannot be issued until commission sends information on adjudication to Mary Delaney. § ACTION – Chair Raymond o Solicitor Pusateri recommends the formation of a sub-committee to present information to Mary Delaney. • Drone Presentation o Covered in action items. • RFP Solar Farm o No change • Warehouse Development o Covered in action items • Land Access Rental – Leominster DPW o Covered in action items. • Ipanema Productions o Received all permits, Carlos Silva is all set. • Self-Serve Fuel Farm Covered in action items & with Gale Associates. • Tie Downs o Covered in action items • Budget & Appropriation o Approved. • RFP Hangars o Covered in Action items. Merging this with Joe Spinelli for next agenda. • TITAN – Badging & Credit Cards o Everything is complete. 8. Financial Review o Ongoing. o ACTION: Peter. 9. Manager’s Operation Report o Covered in previous line items 10. Executive Session • None at this time 11. Date of next meeting: July 28, 2021 @ 6:00PM @ Legislative Building 12. Motion to Adjourn – Raymond 2nd – Walsh Conclusion – 7:32pm