Airport Commission

1 Taunton Municipal Airport Commission MINUTES OF MEETING September 27, 2023 Commissioners: Steve Turner- Chairman Steve Rogers- Vice Chairman Kenneth Gibson Jonathan LeMaire Burton Schriber Zena Shivers John Paul Thomas Airport Manager: Vacant Treasurer/Secretary Zena Shivers Meeting called to order at 5:00 P.M. 1. Roll call taken: Steve Turner - present Steve Rogers - present Jonathan LeMaire - present Burton Schriber - present Zena Shivers - present John Paul Thomas – present 2. Welcome New Commissioner – John Paul Thomas Chairman Turner welcomes new Commissioner John Paul Thomas to the board. 3. Approval of Minutes a) July 26, 2023 b) August 10, 2023 c) August 23, 2023 Motion made by Vice Chair Steve Rogers to accept minutes Commissioner Thomas Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. The above represents the author’s recollection of the meeting discussed and agreements made. Please notify the author of any errors or omissions within one week of issuance, otherwise this record shall stand as an accurate Representation of the meeting.  4. Engineers Report Craig Schuster, Airport Solutions Group  Fuel Farm Permitting (ASMP) – Will talk about at upcoming CIP Pre-Meeting  Aeronautical Study for Runway 12-30 – Ongoing, Blue sky will be onsite.  Pre- CIP meeting, CIP Meeting will be coming up.  Environmental assessment for taxiway Alpha permitting 2024  Drones will be flying approaches coming up in the next weeks. 5. Secretaries Report - Approval of Minutes 6. Treasurer Report - a) FY23 June Income $26,502.60 Expenses $19,007.50 Cash Flow $7,495.10 b) FY24 July Income $40,430.62 Expenses $66,627.22 Cash Flow $(26,196.60) c) FY24 August Income $43,835.75 Expenses $10,579.09 Cash Flow $32,256.66 Motion made by Vice Chair Steve Rogers to accept The Treasures Report Commissioner LeMaire Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. 7. Management Report - a) Avgas $6.50 b) Jet-A $6.20 c) Gate 3 Repaired, pin reader and badge now works d) Linesmen continued to cut grass, calibrate fuel master with the City’s weight and measures employee. They are also restoring the old light beacon. e) Rubicon completed ADA issues with the Pilot’s door ramp, companion seating and walkway. f) Pilot’s door keypad should be installed in October g) Continued Reviewing Current Leases and starting to sending out invoices along with Business Registration Invoices Motion made by Commissioner LeMaire to accept The Management Report Vice Chair Steve Rogers Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. 2|P age The above represents the author’s recollection of the meeting discussed and agreements made. Please notify the author of any errors or omissions within one week of issuance, otherwise this record shall stand as an accurate representation of the meeting.  8. Old Business a) Ribbon Cutting / Open House Discussion Ribbon Cutting/ Open House on October 28th. Chairman Turner passed out flyers, Asked to help put flyers on Facebook, Event will be 11AM to 4PM. b) Gate / Pressure Pad Update Mr. Foley explains that another detection loop is highly recommended to be installed so that auto open on the gates to happen on exit. The cost should be between 3 and 4 Thousand dollars for all three gates. Mr. Foley also recommends along with a vote of the gate, to vote to modify SOPPs and Security plan to reflect changes. Motion made by Vice Chair Steve Rogers to accept proposal, and not to exceed $4500.00 Commissioner LeMaire Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. Motion made by Commissioner LeMaire to change SOPPs and Security plans to allow auto exit on gates. Vice Chair Steve Rogers Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. c) List of Individuals with Keys / Swipe Cards Mr. Foley provided commissioners with of individuals with keys and swipe cards. Discussion was held on who should have keys, verify any keys, and add Commissioners LeMaire and Thomas to the list of Admin Sub keys. d) Hiring New Manager Discussed interviewing 4 candidates for Manager, all commissioners were in interviews. e) Leasing / Restaurant Update Restaurant Update, potential restaurant owner getting close to be financed. The Chef will also do catering out of the restaurant. The Plan is for him to do Breakfast, Lunch and some Evenings. Leasing Update, all other calls to airports have been 20 year lease. On discussion Commissioner Schriber was under the understanding that the extension had 10, then 5/5 because of grant assurances. Commissioner LeMaire states that is not accurate, that the grant assurances do not dictate terms of leases. The only term that the FAA does not accept is 50 Years. The 20 years lease is for Aviation leases, Non-Aviation leases fall under a different Category. Discussion that bigger airports do 10 Year leases, however small GA airports are all 20. Commissioner Thomas reads chapter 90, which states that an airport may lease for a period not to exceed 20 Years which are used for airport purposes. The commission still may force the lessee to come into compliance no matter what the number of years are. 3|P age The above represents the author’s recollection of the meeting discussed and agreements made. Please notify the author of any errors or omissions within one week of issuance, otherwise this record shall stand as an accurate representation of the meeting.  Motion made by Vice Chair Steve Rogers to move to 20 year lease compared to the 10/5/5 Commissioner LeMaire Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, Opposed- No So voted. Revise terms for Crosswinds Lease 9. New Business a) Sub – Committees Tabled until new Manager is hired. b) Inquiry from the City of Taunton regarding parcel #96-82-0 on Middleboro Ave. Currently is owned by the airport, and the City would like to develop it for some type of Youth recreational area, i.e. Splash Pad or Skate park. Mr. Schuster explains that it owned by the airport, however any done on that land would have to through the FAA. This land is for the approach zone for the Turf runway. Will have further discussions down the road. 10. Public Input a) Mr. Norman LeMaire, 22 Freemont Street Taunton reserved his time to discuss the parcel on Middleboro Ave. that is the clear and approach zone and that the airport users spent thousands of dollars to remove trees so that they can use the runway safely. b) Mr. Doug Cooper, 11 Pawtucket Avenue, Bristol RI. reserved his time to commend the commission on the openness that they are showing. Mr. Cooper questioned that if the MassDOT meetings will be open to the public. Mr. Schuster explains that they are not. c) Charles Wright, 20 Chestnut Street, Taunton reserved his time to compliment the board on getting things done, did have another letter to discuss but will address at a later time. 11. Next Meeting 10/25/2023 12. Adjourn Motion made by Commissioner Thomas to Adjourn Commissioner LeMaire Seconded the Motion All in Favor – Yes, so voted. 4|P age The above represents the author’s recollection of the meeting discussed and agreements made. Please notify the author of any errors or omissions within one week of issuance, otherwise this record shall stand as an accurate representation of the meeting.