Airport Advisory Committee

Airport Advisory Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 16th 2024 Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport___ Call to Order Meeting called to Order by Wendy Harris. 1. Roll Call by Wendy Harris: Present 4 – Scott Lauck, Trent Foreman, Mike Abram, Darrin Clark Absent – Alex Mouton. Also present, Don Rowlett, Kent Trice, Michael Norris, Wendy Harris and Lance Spicer Guest – Randy Wood and Jacob from Alpha 10 Aviation. 2. Consider Approval of the Agenda: Motion to Adopt the Agenda Mr. Lauck made a motion, duly seconded by Mr. Abram to adopt the agenda as presented. All in Favor 3. Consider Minutes of the Airport Advisory Committee:  Regular Meeting held on December 5, 2023 Motion to Approve the Minutes as Presented: Mr. Abram made a motion, duly seconded by Mr. Foreman to approve the minutes as presented. All in Favor 4. Discussion of Airport Finance: Mr. Rowlett stated the budget has taken a hit lately with several HVAC expenses for the Terminal and a couple of Hangars. We replaced the HVAC on part of A-14 and are in process of replacing some components for the Terminal. Hangar A-6, we have estimates for replacement or repair for the HVAC unit. The replacement cost for is almost $14,000.00. This is a very old unit and the repair would just over $3700.00. We are looking at doing the repair versus replace until go through some of the other hangars so we know where we are over all. We have a big expenditure on the operations side due to a vehicle down. The Ops Truck got stuck out on the field and there was a grass fire underneath the truck. Damage consisted of burnt wiring and hoses. Truck is at Fleet and is going to insurance to make a determination of what’s next. We had a Line Truck that had been in maintenance getting engine work done. The day it was picked up from Fleet, the heater coil blew out and the truck had to go back to Fleet. An old van was  taken out of reserve that is supposed to be traded for a new Ford Explorer, that we have not received yet. Fuel sales have been down. Races at Oaklawn will start on December 8, 2023 we anticipate having decent traffic and more fuel sales. Currently Runway 5-23 is closed for core samples being taken every 200ft. This is part of 2027 rehab of runway. In 2024 we will be doing crack sealing on the runway. 5. Airport Staff Items for Discussion and Announcements: Kent Trice is our new Operations Manager. He is taking Ruthie Murphy’s place. Kent started on 11/27/2023 . Leases are being updated on tenants for all tenants. This included having a current signed lease with current pricing. Some tenants thar are behind in hangar payments are being urged to get caught up. Airborne is in arrears $58,000.00. Don is working with the President to come up with a plan for repayment. Don suggested that when hangar payments reach 30 days late a 10% late fee be added to the tenant’s bill. Finance is on board with this. Mr. Lauck asked if the city has an eviction process, and mentioned that Mr. Albright (City Attorney) be asked about it. Randy Wood from Alpha 10 Aviation discussed his concerns and the improvements that he has made to the hangars that he occupies. Randy has receipts totaling $15,000.00 and the reimbursements don’t show on his account. Mr. Wood had visual aids to show before and after views of improvements made to the hangars for Alpha 10 Aviation. Don stated that there are 4 to 5 hangars off the top that have roof problems. Also is a lot of maintenance on this airport that has not been done in years. We want to get to a point where we are being proactive instead of reactive about any maintenance on the airfield. The plan is to have maintenance and systems on a regular schedule. At present everybody needs something and there’s a limited amount of money to go around. Mr. Abram asked are all these things in the new budget for 2024? Don responded yes, we do have money for maintenance and we did raise it up. Mr. Abram stated, the statement is true, that maintenance has not been taken care of for years, and perhaps this should be addressed right now with the City Board Mr. Foreman commented that the airport is part of a larger organization and this is may be the year that the airport may be the red part of the budget for maintenance and not the black area of the budget. Kent asked if anyone had any other questions for Randy, and Randy went on to voice some of his concerns about being on the hangar waiting list, other tenants receiving hangars before him, terms of lease, CPI and revisions. Randy stated that the people who generate revenue for the City of Hot Springs are being penalized. Mr. Lauck asked are there anymore questions for Randy. Mr. Foreman commented that Randy brought up some good points and thanked him for coming. Mr. Abram said that there was little that can be done about what Glen did but we can figure something out going forward.  Mr. Spicer stated that the city manager has approved the lease hold improvements that were done by Randy. After this meeting a notice will be sent to finance department to apply the monies spent for the improvements. The airport needs to have a critical repair list. The airport has a commitment for all hangars to be safe, sanitary and secure. 6. Advisory Committee Items for Discussion and Announcements: Mr. Foreman asked about the possibility of remote tower Monitoring, that can be controlled by 7. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the committee, Mr. Abram, duly seconded by Mr. Foreman, that the meeting be adjourned; all in favor, made a motion. DATE: _____________ Approved: Mr. Scott Lauck, Chairperson