Airport Commission

Fitchburg Municipal Airport Commission Meeting Minutes July 20, 2022 LOCATION: City of Fitchburg Legislative Building TIME: 6:01 PM Attendees: Airport Commissioners: Chair Clayton Raymond, Commissioners Elizabeth Walsh, David Ginisi, Richard Liberatore Others in attendance: Airport Manager Peter Kettle, Mayor DiNatale, Director of City Economic Development Mary Jo Bohart and via zoom are Gale Representatives Jackie Marks and Matt Caron. Meeting Protocol: Meeting called to order by Chair Raymond Chair Raymond introduced the commission members in attendance and all others in attendance at the chamber. Previous Months minutes-including special meeting minutes: Chair Raymond made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of June 2022. Comm. Walsh 2nd the motion, All in favor, 4-0. 22-07-01 Action Items for previous meeting: Airport Manager Kettle reminded the Chair that action items will be covered during the meeting. pondence to the commission: There were none received Project Review-Gale: Monthly Project Update Jackie Marks began her presentation by giving the Gale Monthly Updates. Airport Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan update – AIP No. 3-250018-029-2021 On June 6th , 2022 the FAA responded to the Airports March 4th , 2022 OE/AAA request for determination related to the utility poles along Crawford St. in Leominster in the approach to Runway 32. Gale participated in a conference call with FAA's Obstruction Evaluation Team on June 14th 2022 to discuss the course of action the Airport should take to address the poles. This preliminary discussion indicated that lighting the poles will mitigate the 20:1 approach surface penetrations, allowing the Airport to retain its current instrument procedures, including nighttime operations. Gale is awaiting further guidance from the FAA.  The Airport Layout Plan (ALP) was uploaded to OE/AAA process for review on June 27th, 2022. The review period is a minimum of 45 days which would be August 11, 2022. A full draft copy of the AMPU and the ALP has been posted on the City's Website for public viewing and comment and provided to MassDot and FAA. Environmental and Wildlife Hazard Assessment – AIP No. 3-25-0018-XX-2022 The FAA informed Gale and the Airport on July 19th 2022 that they cannot issue an AIP Grant for the Environmental Assessment (EA) project until the ALP has been signed, which means that AIP funds may not be available for the EA in FY-2022. The ALP is currently with the FAA for review and approval. Gale is currently working with FAA Officials to explore options to keep the EA on track for the FY-2022. Gale has come up with the following options to keep the EA and the Wildlife Hazard Assessment (WHA) on track for the FY-2022. This is in order of preference. 1. The FAA is able to approve the ALP and proceed with issuing a grant in August 2022 for the EA and the WHA. 2. The FAA issues a grant for the WHA in August and the City floats the cost of the EA until a FY-2023 grant is submitted on October 1, 2022. The city would be reimbursed for the cost spent to date once a grant offer is issued. 3. FAA issues a grant for the WHA in August 2022. The Airport uses BIL funds for the EA. It is estimated that the EA would use 130,000 of the available 295,000 allocated to the Airport. This option does not require the city to float the cost as outlined in option 2, above. 4. The FAA issues a grant for the WHA in August 2022. The Airport waits until Spring/Summer of 2023 to start the EA. This option will delay subsequent projects on the Airport CIP by at least 1 year. 5. FAA is unable to issue a grant for the WHA and the EA in August 2022. This total project is delayed by a year and will delay all subsequent projects on the Airport's CIP by at least 1 year. NOTE: The Commissioners along with our Gale partners discussed the pros and cons of each of the options as the options were presented. The Commission was in agreement that Option #1 would work best to move forward and that the FAA needed to sign our ALP as soon as possible. The Second option, Option #2 would be our back up plan but this would require approval by our City Council. Bottom line here is the Airport cannot afford losing any time on the Master Plan Project. The Project continuing is vital to the success of our Airport growth. Chair Raymond made a motion to accept the priority Option List, 1 thru 5 established by Gale. The motion was 2nd by Comm. Walsh All in favor 4-0. 22-07-02 Other Gale Items: Installation of a back up Generator That the generator have the capability to power the entire Administration building including the flight school. This project to be funded in FY2023. Motion made by Chair Raymond that the generator capacity include the flight school section of the administration building. Motion 2nd by Comm. Ginisi. All in favor 4-0. 22-07-03  Fitchburg Pilots Association (FPA) The FPA is moving forward on their Young Eagles Event scheduled for Saturday, August 13th , 2022. New Business: Building 18-Ken MacLean Mr. MacLean is applying for a grant that will allow him to upgrade his HVAC system in his building, the old Bullock building, and he is looking for approval from the commission. Chair Raymond Made a motion to allow Mr. MacLean to proceed in getting the grant and installing the system as long as he understands that he is responsible for all maintenance to this new system. The motion was 2nd by Comm. Walsh. All were in favor 4-0. 22-07-04 Action: Airport Manager Kettle and City Solicitor Pusateri Old Business: Valentine Eye Care The City Solicitor Pusateri has passed on the agreement to the Airport Manager Kettle and all that needs to be completed is to have parties sign the document. Action: Airport Manager Kettle Mass Development Site Readiness. Mary Jo Bohart, Director of City Community Economic Development, advised the Commission that both the Finance Committee and the City Council have agreed on the grant moving forward. Ed Starzec suggested that the Commission plan on a kick-off meeting sometime towards the end of August with a members of the Commission. Chair Raymond agreed on the meeting and left it to Mary Jo to schedule a date and time. Action: Mary Jo Bohart / Ed Starzec Door to Terminal Lobby. Airport Manager Peter Kettle reported that the work on the door would start on Monday July 25th . Action: Airport Manager Kettle Tie Down. (FPA-Coop). The Airport Manager Peter Kettle is still waiting for a response from the FPA-COOP regarding the letter sent out to them from the City Solicitor, and because we haven't heard got a response in 45 days, Airport Manager Kettle has already instigated the increase in their rent. Action: Attorney Pusateri / Airport Manager Kettle RFP – 7 and 9 Hangers. The Airport Manager Kettle reporting that the document is being evaluated by Mr. Sheffles and his attorney and we are waiting for a response from them. Action: City Solicitor and Airport Manager Kettle  Door for Hanger 2 and 3. Airport Manager Kettle reported that all the work has been completed and the doors are working incredibly well. Roofs for Hangers 2 & 3 Airport Manager Kettle reported that the coatings of the roofs for Hangers 2 & 3 would begin in the first part of August. Action: Airport Manager Kettle Hanger 10 New Door Airport Manager Kettle reporting that the door is installed and working perfectly. City Building Inspector has signed off on this project. Self-Serve Fuel Transfer to and from truck. Airport Manager Kettle that the transfer system works and the project is completed. Minimum Standards. Manager Kettle is still working on putting this document together. Action: Airport Commission and Manager Kettle The Pete Store. Action is on hold as this item is directly related to the Airport Master Plan and the Airport Layout Plan (ALP). Action: Assistant Airport Manager Deb Silvar Convergent Energy. Action on hold as this item is directly related to the Master Plan and the Airport Layout Plan (ALP). Action: Gale Financial Review: Approval of Commitments and Abatement's. There are no Commitments or abatement's but Airport Manager Kettle did explain to the Commission that a group is using the airport to train with Powere Para Gliders (PPG). It is a revenue source for the airport and he is charging them accordingly. Executive Session: There is no executive session. Next Regular Meeting: August 17th , 2022 @ 6pm Regular Meeting Adjourned: The Chair Raymond made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:51pm All in favor, 4-0. Recording Secretary, Richard Liberatore