Airport Commission

Fitchburg Municipal Airport Commission Meeting Minutes March 27, 2024 LOCATION: City Hall 3rd Floor Meeting Room TIME: 6:03 PM Attendees: Airport Commissioners: Chair Clayton Raymond, Commissioner Erik Tkal, and Commissioner Richard Liberatore. Note: One other new Commissioner appointed to the Airport Commission Mr. Paul Hathaway, offered his apologies as he had a prior engagement before joining the Commission. Other in attendance: Airport Manager Peter Kettle, Mayor Samantha Squailia, and from Gale Associate, Representative Jackie Marks and Matt Caron Meeting Protocol: Meeting called to order by Chair Raymond. Chair Raymond introduced the Commission Members and all others who were in attendance. Chair Raymond took it upon him self to introduce a new member to the Airport Commission. Mr. Erik Tkal is now a Commissioner for the Airport and we wish Erik well as he serves the City in his new position. Previous Months Minutes-including special meeting minutes: Chair Raymond asked for a motion to accept the February Minutes. Motion was made by Commissioner Liberatore, 2nd by Chair Raymond to accept the minutes as recorded. All in favor, 3-0. 24-03-01 Action Items from Previous Meeting: Minimum Standards: Chair Raymond at last months meeting presented a Draft Version of the MS that he wanted the Commissioners to review and give their feedback for this months meeting. Commission Liberatore had 4 points of the document that he needed clarification on. Much of it was wording in the document and Chair Raymond did his best to elucidate the sections in question. Chair Raymond in turn brought up the section that pertained to Land Lease Agreements and the way a tenant would be charged for the parcel of land he would need. The Chair felt that the most equitable way to charge a tenant would be by the Square feet rate. This would include all leasees on buildings, hangars, property both on short and long term agreements. The Chair went ahead and asked for a motion that would insure that any Land Lease would be charged by a square foot rate. Commissioner Liberatore made the motion and it was 2nd by Commissioner Tkal. All were in favor, 3-0. 24-03-02 Action- Chair Raymond Hangar #1 and Hangar #13: Airport Mgr. Kettle reported that Hangar #1 was completely filed with Air Craft and that he has a 30 percent increase in rent. Also the Hangar roof was repaired and the leaks have stopped. Mgr. Kettle continued to report that Hangar #13 had a troubled door and that the Hangar door was professionally repaired and is working just fine. Action- Airport Mgr. Kettle Correspondence to the Commission: Airport Mgr. Kettle received one correspondence from Air Methods / Life Flight, notifying the Airport Manager that Air methods will be vacating the rental space in the Administration Building by the 18th of June 2024 and will be moving into their new quarters at the Airport and will be totally functional. Project Review- Gale: Monthly Project Update Gale Representatives Jackie Marks and Matt Caron made the monthly update presentation. Environmental Assessment and Wildlife Hazard Assessment: AIP 3-25-0018-034-2023 Gale Associate Jackie Marks started the update on how Gale coordinated with the Airport to post a public notice announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and notifying the public that the Airport and the FAA would take comments on the EA for a period of 30 days. The Public comment period ends on March 29th, 2024. Gale has instructed the Airport to pass on comments that we do receive for review from the FAA. FAA will ultimately determine if those comments will be included in the final EA. The next round of Wildlife Surveys is schedule to take place from April 7th to April 9th. Design and Permitting for Main Apron Reconstruction: Gale Associate Matt Caron spoke in regards to the Design / Main Apron project. An Independent Fee Estimate (IFE) was completed by the Airport and Gale's fee was 10% of the IFE. Following completion of the IFE process, Gale prepared and submitted FAA and MassDot grant applications on March 6, 2024. Gale is waiting for the FAA to respond at this time. Gale is preparing a contract for execution by the Airport in the Amount of $267,800.00 and Gale is looking for a motion to authorize the Chair to enter into a contract in the amount of $267,800.00. Chair Raymond made a motion to enter into an agreement with Gale Associates in the Amount of $267,800.00 and to have that contract circulate within the City for appropriate signatures. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Liberatore. All in favor, 3-0. 24-03-03 Action- Gale and Airport Mgr. Kettle Groove, Seal and Remark Runway 14-32 (ASMP-2024-FIT-29 and ASMP-2024-FIT-30) Matt Carom presented this update stating that Gale has assisted in preparation of a draft scope of service, which was reviewed and approved by MassDot. Owen Silbaugh Jr. P.E. provided the IFE to the Airport free of charge. The IFE was completed and Gale's contract has been finalized. Design of this project is ongoing. We anticipate providing the bid documents to Mary Delaney for bidding by the end of this week. A pre-bid video call will be held on April 17, 2024 at 10AM. Construction of this project is expected to begin sometime in May. There will be a temporary closure of the Runway while this work is completed. During grooving operations the Runway may be reopened when required and requested by businesses on the Airport. It is anticipated that the Runway will be closed for approximately 10 days, with with small openings for the businesses to get their planes in and out of the Airport. Gale is looking for a motion to authorize the Chair to enter into an agreement with Gale in the amount of $110,600.00. Chair Raymond went ahead and made a motion to execute a contract with Gale for the amount of $110,600.00 and to have the contract circulate within the City for appropriate signatures. The motion was 2nd by Commissioner Liberatore. All in favor, 3-0. 24-03-04 Action- Gale Other Items: The Airport and MassDot are still working towards funding solutions for the Backup Generator that will power the entire Airport. Medstar Legal- FAA will issue funds to cover the legal cost associated with the Medstar easement taking. We're currently waiting for further instructions from the FAA on how to proceed with the grant application for this funding. Fitchburg Pilots Association (FPA): Mr. Glen Reinhardt of the Fitchburg Pilots Association (FPA) spoke in regards to the Aero Fair Event sponsored by the FPA. The Aero Fair is scheduled for June 16th, 2024. The event is open to the general public to educate and familiarize the local population on airport operations, safety, and the types of service offered at the Airport. There will be a lot of things to see and do. Packaged food service will be available. Attendance historically has been between 300 and 400 visitors. This event has been approved by the FAA and MassDot by the application of a FAA 7460 form and an Airspace Review. New Business: Runway 14/32 Grooving: This project was covered by Gale Associate Matt Caron in the Gale Updates. FAA – Doctor: Airport Mgr. Kettle reported that the FAA has approved medical Dr. Jen Kin to work out of the Administration Building here at the Fitchburg Airport to provide Class 1, 2, and 3 physical examinations to pilots. It is anticipated that Dr. Jen Kin will start as soon as Air Mehtods vacates their room in the Administration Building, hopefully prior to June 18th, 2024. Old Business: Aero Fair: Sponsored by the FPA. Mr. Glen Reinhardt gave a presentation about the upcoming event. RFP for Non-Aviation Land Lease Update: Airport Mgr. Kettle explained that a team of City Officials are looking into what is the best potential use for the 16.5 acres of Non-aviation Land at the Airport. An RFEI, Request For Expression of Interest was sent out on February 15, 2024 and it has only produced 9 interested individuals. The process is a lot slower than the City had anticipated. The RFEI has been extended till May of this year. Action- Airport Mgr. Kettle / Mary Delaney Veregy Solar Farm Update: The Airport Mgr. Kettle reported back to the Commission that Veregy was hoping to supply the East Wastewater Treatment Plant in South Fitchburg with power from the Solar Farm proposed for the Airport but because the plant is unable to use the extra solar energy, Veregy has decided not to move forward on a Solar Project for the Airport. This venture has been dismissed. Land Lease N Number Holdings Update: Airport Mgr. Kettle, reported that construction on the hangar that will house the Life Flight Helicopter is almost completed. Both the Contractor and Air Methods are looking at a move in date of June 18th. The Life Flight crews will then be able to operate out of their new Hangar space here at the Fitchburg Airport. Action- Airport Mgr. Kettle / N Number Holdings Minimum Standards – Item 2.3 Chair Raymond lead this discussion earlier under Action Items. Action – Chair Raymond and Commission Crawford Street Safety- Nick Erickson: Airport Mgr. Kettle spoke on the Crawford Street issues. Airport Mgr. Kettle stated that Commissioner Erickson is still waiting to get a report from the MassDot Road Division. What will happen now is that the City DPW Commissioner will pay a fee of $10,000.00 to have the MassDot Road Division come to our Crawford Street location and do a structured evaluation of the roadway the length of Airport property. The funds for this assessment by the MassDot people will be paid by the MassDot budget within the City DPW. Action- Commissioner Erickson / Mgr. Kettle Financial Review: Approval of Commitments and Abatement's: There were none. Executive Session: There is no Executive Session scheduled. Next Regular Meeting: April 17, 2024 at 6pm. Regular Meeting Adjourned: Chair Raymond made a motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:34 pm. All were in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Richard Liberatore Recorder