Airport Advisory Commission

Regular Meeting of the Airport Advisory Commission Roswell Air Center Conference Room Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM Notice of this meeting was given to the public in compliance with Section 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 24-23. B. Roll Call The meeting convened at 2:07 p.m. with Chair Kunkel presiding; Vice-chair Espiritu, Commissioner McDonald, Commissioner Powell present, and Commissioner Hitchcock being absent. Staff present: Bobbi Thompson, RAC Director; Michelle Sanchez, Property and Contracts Coordinator; and Della Andazola, Deputy City Clerk Guests present: Tim Archibeque, Michael Garcia, Mayor Tim Jennings, and Robert Sherman Guests via GoToMeeting: Matt Tomasson, Mike Provine, Vincent Payne, Gary Foss, Terri Harbor- RDR, and two guests C. Approval of Agenda Commissioner McDonald made a motion to approve the agenda for the Airport Advisory meeting on March 11, 2025. Vice-chair Espiritu was the second. A voice vote was unanimous and the motion passed 4-0, with Commissioner Hitchcock being absent. D. Approval of minutes from the February 4, 2025 Regular Meeting Vice Chair Espiritu made a motion to table the minutes from the February 4, 2025 regular meeting to be heard at the next meeting. Commissioner Powell was the second. A voice vote was unanimous and the motion passed 4-0, with Commissioner Hitchcock being absent. NON-ACTION ITEMS 2. Air Center Operations Report- Bobbi Thompson For The Record: Commission Hitchcock joined the meeting via GoToMeeting at 2:12 pm. a. Revenue I Expense Bobbi Thompson reported revenue and expenses for the Air Center. Operating revenue is $1,350,799.71, operating expense is $652,464.67, building insurance revenue is $237,187.44. b. Strategic Plan Updates Bobbi Thompson presented updates. Creating an Airport Facility Assessment is ongoing, with a delay due to flood issues; conduct of an FBO option analysis is ongoing; conduct a comprehensive search for funding sources is ongoing at all times; initiate a facilities maintenance plan is in process and includes all rolling stock; develop leasing, rents, and fee policy has been sent to Legal; and update True Visitation study is ongoing, a new state program. 3. Air Operations Report - Omar Gonzalez a. Passenger Boarding Bobbi Thompson reported passenger boardings for February 2025 as 4817, compared to 2794 in February 2024. b. Airport Flight Operations Bobbi Thompson reported airport flight operations for February 2025 as 3433, compared to 4395 in February 2024. c. Aircraft Parking Bobbi Thompson reported aircraft parking for February 2025 as 204, compared to 273 in February 2024. 4. 2023 Wind Damage Claim Construction Update - Omar Gonzalez Omar was unavailable to present this update; Mac Rogers provided some information. His main concern is with Hangar 85, where the metal siding box is still attached but is moving significantly. There are no immediate concerns regarding the roofing. 5. Project List a) ADB Lighting & Electrical Vault, Lochner 95% done with design on the electrical vault. Waiting on a response from ADB for new equipment. Anticipated to BID the project out within the next month and then begin work on construction. b) Master Plan & ALP Update, Lochner There was a meeting with the technical advisory committee in February for the alternatives and those have been decided. There’s been an ALP that’s been submitted to FAA and is currently going through airspace review by the far right now for the development. c) BLM Loading Pit, Lochner The Delta taxiway has been pushed back until they get all the funding in place, as it is a state funded project. They are also trying to get additional funds through the state for the lighting. Due to the push back, BLM has agreed to wait until after fire season they will do both the taxiway and the pit at the same time. d) BLM Taxiway, Lochner BLM Taxiway was discussed in item c. e) MAP Apron Rehabilitation, Phase I, Lochner We anticipate receiving a notice to proceed by the end of the week, with an anticipated start in April. There should be no impact on daily flights once this project begins. f) Taxiway Charlie, Lochner The design is now complete. We are currently waiting for FAA review and feedback from the lead engineer for the ADO Texas region. g) Terminal Improvement, Molzen Corbin They have completed 90% of the review drawings. During the review, they spoke with Mac Rogers about the possibility of exploring different procurement methods. The goal is to find a current on-call contractor who has a contract with the City of Roswell to help expedite the process. h) SE Waterline, Mac Rogers Construction on the waterline is currently paused due to flood damage repairs. We hope to resume work on that project by next month. Meanwhile, we are making progress on the BID documents for the sewer line and expect to issue those bids later this month. Additionally, we have reached an agreement with NM Gas Company to begin installing gas lines along the perimeter road. Sparklight and Plateau are in the process of laying conduits in the same trench as the waterline, and they will return to complete the fiber installation once that work is finished. i) Grandstand Construction, Mac Rogers Construction crews are currently working on the foundations for the grandstands. They are excavating and tying rebar, and we hope to finish the concrete for the foundations in the next two to three weeks. Once the concrete is completed, we expect to receive the steel delivery on site, which will give us a 16-week window to erect the steel and assemble the bleachers in time for the air races in September. The survey for the grandstands has been submitted to CSPP, and we are still awaiting approval from the FAA. j) Air Service Development, Gary Foss Gary Foss presented on Air Service Development. Charter flights with 30-seat Regional Jets operated by SkyWest Charters (SWC) are in process of being priced out for the National Air Races to/from Reno and Los Angeles Metro Area (Ontario, CA). Seat Capacity increased 30% year-over-year while Outbound load factor (percentage of seats filled) fell only 11 pts year-over- year in February, with 24 additional departures. Roswell’s third quarter 2025 average one-way fare was 27% higher than Albuquerque and 30% higher than El Paso. 73% of all flights in February were on-time or within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival in line with winter-weather expectations. k) Auto Parking Options - Bobbi Thompson Bobbi presented two parking options to the commission. The first option is an electronic system that uses a QR code for customers to scan and make payments. This system would not require the installation of gates or the presence of on-site staff. The second option involves a business that is interested in repairing our parking lot and installing gates. In this case, the business would provide us with a portion of the revenue from each paid parking spot. 6. 2024 Flood Damage Report - Mac Rogers For The Record: Vice-chair Espiritu left the meeting at 3:52 pm. Mac Rogers presented a report outlining our ongoing projects for building debris removal, which are in the FEMA system for reimbursement. Last week, we received our final global settlement payment from the insurance company. The funding is currently being processed through the council this week, and we will soon have a more definitive timeline for the terminal repairs. Repairs on the Walker Museum are expected to begin in about a week and should take approximately one month to complete. The terminal repairs will start shortly after the Walker Museum work is finished, with an estimated completion time of six to eight weeks. 7. Airport Security Report, Don Fisher Don Fisher provided a report detailing his recent meeting with the team leads at Boeing. Together, they developed a schedule that aims to triple the number of individuals needed for their operations, instead of relying on the current staffing levels. He has also contacted the contract security company to arrange for 24-hour coverage at the airport. They have created a schedule that adds five additional hours to our staff's current coverage in a 24-hour period. The cost-benefit analysis suggests that having 24-hour coverage would be very worthwhile. 8. Airfield Conditions Report, Paul Vigil Paul was unavailable to give a report. Bobbi reported that they brought in equipment to remove the rubber from the main runway. That has been accomplished. 9. Air Center Property Report, Michelle Sanchez Michelle presented a report on vacant properties and lease summaries. We have re-listed Building 92 and T-Hangar 120, Space 5 back on the market. There is a showing scheduled for Building 117. AVEX has upcoming leases expiring at the end of the month. Some expired leases include CAVU, which is currently in negotiations; Summit, which is awaiting signatures; AerSale, which is also awaiting signatures; negotiations are ongoing with Red Mountain; and Bravo3, which is awaiting signatures. 10. ENMUR, Dr. Shawn Powell Bobbi will be providing an update on NCAR to the ENMU-R board tomorrow. They have a signed agreement with RARA, and will host the pilot qualification courses in May. Health science students will be involved in the event scheduled for September, and they will also play a significant role in the STEM program. Additionally, negotiations for campus parking rates are currently underway. 11. NCAR Update, Mike Espiritu, Jon Hitchcock, and Bobbi Thompson Bobbi provided an update on the NCAR events. Mac Rogers is currently assessing pylon locations to determine the best setup for the upcoming events scheduled from May 18 to May 23. Tickets for the general public are now available for purchase. Currently, a reserved seat costs $35, and ticket prices will increase as they sell out. Volunteer forms have been added to the website, and we encourage everyone to purchase tickets only from airrace.org. We are still expecting an attendance of 50,000 to 60,000 people. Lodging remains a significant concern, and there have been discussions about grants to improve RV parking areas. F. Commission comments for future agenda items None. G. Reports/Announcements - Members, Commission, Staff None. H. Public Participation None. I. Adjourn Commissioner Powell made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Commissioner McDonald was the second. The voice vote was unanimous and the motion passed 4-0 with Vice Chair Espiritu being absent. The meeting was adjourned at 4:16 PM.