Morehead-Rowan County Airport Board Minutes
April 28, 2016
Chairman Tim James called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM in the Terminal Building Conference Room at the Morehead-Rowan County Regional Airport. Other members present were Tom Fossett, Mike Gray, Bruce Mattingly, Aaron Roberts, Jim LeMaster, Charles Derrickson, Harry Clark, and Porter Dailey. Ron Oliver was absent. Guests present include Tracey Potter – FBO; Kevin Brown, Josh Clark, Jack Holley – Pilots; and Barbara Marsh – Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.
Mr. James presented the Minutes of the March 2016 Meeting. The motion to accept the March 31, 2016 Minutes was made by Mr. Gray, seconded by Dr. Derrickson, and approved unanimously.
Dr. Mattingly presented the March Financials. The report included profit and loss documents for March and for the fiscal year (July-March 2016). The motion to accept the March Financial Report was made by Mr. Dailey, seconded by Mr. Clark, and unanimously approved.
REPORTS
1. FBO.
Ms. Potter reported on current fuel sales, grounds maintenance, and hangar activities.
- Fuel sales were 1434 gallons of 100LL and 548.9 gallons of JETA fuel.
- This month’s (April) fuel sales will increase with Apache helicopters coming in for fuel. One of them became disabled. A Chinook helicopter came in with maintenance crew to work on it. Everyone bought fuel and had to stay in town several nights.
- The new LED wall packs have arrived to replace the fixtures on the outside of the first set of T-Hangars. A lift is needed to install them and to replace the bulb received last month in the community hangar ceiling. Dr. Derrickson will contact Trent Hamilton to arrange for the lift.
- Fleming Mason Energy said the proposed new security poles are LED with 23000 lumens which is equivalent to 50000 lumens in a halide light. Brandon Hunt, Assistant Engineer, was supposed to email a photometric plan which needs to be forwarded to Mr. Mittlesteadt to evaluate.
- The issue with the credit card terminal freezing in winter may be alleviated with the purchase from QT Technology of a heater/blower that circulates warm air inside the terminal. The cost is $196. The velcro cover issues still exist. Also, customers forget to pull the flap down.
- New flags were purchased and installed with a cost of $72.
- The JETA fuel truck stalled in front of the fuel farm preventing access last month. With the knowledge that the Apache helicopters were coming in, Ms. Potter received help from Mr. Aaron Roberts and Mr. Jaime Samuel who worked nearly all day helping with the issue. Mr. Doug Johnson, an auto mechanic from Flemingsburg, who is a member of our EAA chapter, found the issue (wire) and repaired it.
- The monthly Pancake and Sausage Breakfast will be on May 7.
2. GARVER. Mr. James.
2015 Emergency Runway/Taxiway Project. A re-start meeting was held on April 26, 2016, at 1pm with the contractor, ASL Excavating of Flemingsburg. They will be mobilizing on May 6 and will start on the taxiway first on the south end of the field. A NOTAM will be filed by Ms. Potter. They plan to begin on May 8. On May 16, if the weather is cooperative, the runway will be closed for one day for removal of the top layer of the failed portion of the runway and replacement with new asphalt. The Sheriff’s department trailer and Mr. Samuel’s trailer will need to be moved because that driveway will be used for heavy construction vehicles.
The Kentucky Statewide Aviation Plan. An 11-page document was completed for the KSA Plan. Mr. Zac Duvall, CDM Smith, a state contractor, commented on his Tuesday, April 26 visit, that our document was in the top 1% of documents submitted for thoroughness. He was complimentary of the fact that four board members and FBO were in attendance for the visit.
Trench Drain. Mr. Mittlesteadt and Mr. James have spent many hours on the trench drain issue. The FAA still hasn’t approved the project or how much forensic information is needed to review the failure of the original installation. The airport apron has been in use for 9 years, so it is considered new. At the 10 year mark, there may be more consideration for FAA help. After a discussion about possible internal repairs, a decision was made to leave the area alone.
KDA Funding. During the Kentucky Legislature General Assembly on the night before the final day of the session, the additional $10,000,000 proposed in the Governor’s original budget was reinstated for the Department of aviation. If the FAA doesn’t fund the trench drain project, we may be able request funding from the Kentucky Department of Aviation.
3. Buildings & Grounds. Dr. Derrickson and Mr. Oliver, Co-Chairmen.
Dr. Derrickson reported that Mr. Oliver had been unable to meet due to illness in his family. Consequently, they have not been able to assess possible locations for a lot to park trailers and airport equipment. Based upon this delay, a motion was made by Dr. Mattingly, seconded by Mr. Roberts, to delay implementation of the parking policy for tenants for an additional 30 days. The motion was approved unanimously. Dr. Derrickson indicated that he has been monitoring the growth of forage material on the airport grounds. He noted that MSU has a sufficient supply of manure, and we need to obtain ASAP. Dr. Derrickson will contact the Rowan County road department about hauling. Their other priority is the inspection of all buildings for maintenance issues.
4. Communications and Security. Mr. Roberts, Chairman.
a. Website Update. Mr. Roberts began a Facebook page for the Airport. The community will be able to communicate with pictures and comments in this social friendly venue. Information about the Airport will be interactive with posts of pictures and comments by the public. He posted pictures of helicopters on the page.
b. Security Lighting Update. The consideration of adding two security lighting poles has been delayed until FMRECC provides a photometric plan to the FBO.
There are two pedestrian gates at the airport which may benefit from being spring loaded or clamp stop mechanisms. This would help with keeping out animals. Mr. Roberts indicated he would be willing to assist the Buildings and Grounds Committee in finding a solution.
5. Chair Report. Mr. James reporting.
a. Fun Runs. There will be a Unite 5K Run on May 21 and a Rowan County Christmas 5K Run on June 25.
b. Airport Parking during Construction Project. Two trailers need to be moved during the upcoming runway/taxiway repair project. The trailers are parked on a driveway that will be used to move heavy equipment.
c. FY17 Budget Request to City and County Governments. The Executive Committee has been busy this month. Separate PowerPoint presentations were made to the Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Morehead City Council, and Rowan County Fiscal Court. There has been a lot of work behind the scenes and the administrators, councilmen, and magistrates need to be thanked for their support of the Airport. Additional funding was requested from the City Council from $15,000 to $30,000 per year and from the Fiscal Court from $10,000 to $30,000 per year. Mr. Dailey commended Mr. James for the excellent job he is doing in representing the airport, and for his excellent PowerPoint presentations. Mr. James commented that a group effort has been the key to making the presentations effective.
d. Future Airport Improvement Plan. Mr. Dailey indicated that we are often ask by local governmental and economic officials the maximum size of aircraft that can land on our runway, and whether we could lengthen the runway, if needed, and at what cost. Higher weight limits and a longer runway that could handle larger aircraft may attract additional industry to our area. Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer to this question. Consequently, Mr. James has requested Mr. Mittlesteadt to provide us with estimate of the cost of such a planning analysis. Such information will be valuable to our economic development folks and further justify local support for the airport.
NEW BUSINESS
Appointment of Nominating Committee for 2016-2017 Board Officers. Mr. James reported that new officers need to be nominated for the May meeting and approved by the Board at the June meeting which is also the annual meeting. Mr. James appointed Dr. Derrickson as Chair of the Nominating Committee. He also appointed Dr. Fossett and Mr. Gray as committee members, and requested that they report at the next meeting. The new officers will take their positions on July 1, 2016.
It was also suggested that we invite local and KDA officials who have helped us in the past to our Annual meeting in June to show our appreciation for their efforts. Mr. James indicated that he would send the invitations.
Executive Session
A motion to go into Executive Session for the purpose of proprietary contract review and discussion with Midwest Aviation at 7:23pm was made by Mr. Clark, seconded by Dr. Derrickson, and approved unanimously.
The motion to go back into regular session of the board meeting at 8:26pm was made by Dr. Derrickson, seconded by Mr. Dailey, and approved unanimously.
FBO Contract
Mr. James thanked Ms. Potter for her proposal presentation on behalf of Midwest Aviation in Executive session, and commended her for her company’s previous performance. A motion to advertise for additional management proposals before considering the contract extension proposal by Midwest Aviation was made by Dr. Mattingly, seconded by Dr. Fossett, and approved unanimously. The timeframe for receiving proposals for Airport Manager/FBO will be the end of May. The Board hopes to make a decision by end of June.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm.