City Council

Kentland Airport Board MINUTES To: Jim, Debby, Mike, Pat, IN Dept. of Aviation From: Jim Butler Subject: Airport Board Meeting, Monday, March 7, 2022 The Airport Board met on the date shown above, at 6:30 PM at the airport. The first Monday of the month is our regular meeting time and we have posted this on the bulletin board at the airport as well as notified the newspaper. Board members present were Jim Butler, Terry Deiter, Jake Shufflebarger and Terry Hafstrom, Chuck Classen and Joe Worley were also present. Old business: At the May meeting Terry Hafstrom pointed out the skirt boards around the bottoms of several hangars have rotted and need to be replaced. Chuck has received a per foot and per pole cost and will measure and tabulate them to arrive at a budgetary figure. In the May meeting Chuck submitted bids for replacing the roof on Hangar 4. JAGG Premium Roof Systems submitted the lowest bid for the desired roofing thickness of 26 gauge and 6” downspouts at $20.842.63. Jim reported that he discussed this with the Town Council and it was their desire to retain our Covid grant money in case it is needed in 2022 as matching funds for phase 3 of the Stormwater/West Ramp project. At the May July meeting Ken Ross reported that the FAA has advised us that the corn that has been grown in previous years off the west end of the runway is too close and impinges on the safety area. Ken stated that after the soybeans are removed this area will be staked off and planted in grass so that it is protected and kept within FAA regulations. We can probably sell hay from this area as it is a low growing crop. At the December meeting Chuck reported there are several joints in the runway that need to be resealed. Jim contacted two contractors, whose names were provided by Joe Worley, and the quotes from both were approximately $100,000. The problem is much more severe than originally thought. At the December meeting Jim reported he had been asked by the Kentland Fire Page !1 of ! 4 Department to install a helipad for medivac access to the airport. After discussion it was decided to discuss this with the engineers and if feasible, install the cabling for lighting under the west ramp prior to paving in the spring. A result of that discussion was to place an illuminated area on the northwest corner of the new west ramp and to make permanent and pave the existing haul road from the entrance drive of the airport to the west ramp. This will allow ready access by ambulance, fire and police department personnel to be in close proximity to where the helicopters will park while not being hindered by general or aerial applicator aircraft traffic. This will be worked into the paving of the west ramp when we are awarded that grant, hopefully in 2022. At the January meeting, Joe Worley presented the board with an application to INDOT for the Motion Information System traffic monitoring system. This system will be provided at no cost and the yearly fee to process the information will be paid by a State of Indiana grant, thereby costing the airport nothing for five years. This system has been received and needs to be installed once the weather warms. At the January meeting, Chuck reported the weather computer in the pilot’s lounge stopped working. Terry Deiter made a motion to authorize Chuck to spend up to $700.00 to purchase a new computer. The motion was seconded by Jake and passed unamiously. In an effort to streamline the process of preparing the monthly reports, Chuck and Jim are working together to create a spreadsheet that includes all of the information on various tabs with the Report tab being the only one being printed and presented at the town council meeting. The entire spreadsheet will be emailed to Judy and the Council members prior to the council meeting so they can see all of the supporting documentation for the data on the Report. As we work to perfect this spreadsheet we hope that Judy and/or the council will let us know if they want to see something on the report that isn’t there or if there is something on the report that isn’t needed. At the February meeting, Jim reported that we have quite a list of things that need to be accomplished to assure the longevity of the hangars and runway. The joints need to be re-sealed at a cost of approximately $100,000. New skirt boards and pole supports need to be installed around the hangars. The existing poles have rotted below ground level. Steel posts made for this purpose can be installed to give the poles support, extending the hangar life by approximately 30 years. The cost for this is approximately $20,000. Hangar 4 needs a new roof at a cost of approximately $22,000. The local match for the final phase of the West Ramp/Stormwater project is approximately $55,000, and we are still finalizing the costs for the helipad for Medivac operations. Page !2 of ! 4 Many of the tee hangars don’t have complete concrete floors and if installed they would allow the building to be stabilized and additional rent to be realized. The cost for these floors is approximately $30,000. Jim requested a resolution to first discuss with the Town, and if they approve, to solicit a grant from the county to cover these expenses. This grant request will be approximately $227,000. Terry Deiter made a motion to adopt this resolution, seconded by Jake, and the motion passed unanimously. Jim reported the town is in favor of this and he will work on the letter of request and meet with the county. New Business: 1) Fuel sales for February were $473.82 for AvGas and $0.00 for JetA. The amount of AvGas on hand at the end of February was 4,639 gallons. The amount of JetA on hand at the end of February was 2,188 gallons. The Board would like to remind all pilots to please register their flights on the form next to the weather computer. These numbers are shown monthly to the Kentland Town Council as well as the people of Kentland so they will know how much their airport is being used and what it means to the economy of the surrounding area. Please indicate if your flight is for business, pleasure, training, etc. Chuck submitted documentation indicating the expenses for February totaled $591.49, $521.50 to PEMCO to install a new JetA fuel filter and $69.99 for MicroSoft 365 software. Jake made a motion to approve the expenses, Terry Deiter seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Jim reported that with Joe Worley’s help a letter was submitted advising the FAA that we intend to use our Non Primary Entitlement Funds this year as part of the Storm Water/ West Ramp project. Terry Hafstrom reported the #2 heater in Hangar #1 will not function properly even though it has been worked on numerous times. A new furnace will cost less than $2,500.00. It is important we have a backup heater so that if the #1 heater should fail we will not have a repeat of the frozen water lines. Terry Deiter made a motion to authorize Terry Hafstrom to spend up to $2,500 to have this heater replaced. Terry Hafstrom seconded the motion which passed unanimously. The board discussed placing the electrical meter for Tom Suiter’s hangar into the Page !3 of ! 4 airport’s name and increasing Tom’s rent to be commensurate with the rest of the hangars. Terry Deiter made a motion to authorize Chuck to work with Judy to accomplish this. Terry Hafstrom seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Chuck will investigate changing the security lights to LED to help reduce expenses. After much discussion, Terry Hafstrom made a motion to add a 5000 foot long north/ south runway to the outer years (approximately 2030 or later) of the Airport Improvement Plan and to also replace the wiring and lights in the existing runway and convert them to LED. Jake seconded the motion which passed unanimously. There being no further business, Terry Hafstrom motioned to adjourn, seconded by Jake. Motion carried unanimously. Sincerely, Jim Page !4 of ! 4