Morehead-Rowan County Airport Board
Special Meeting Minutes
May 7, 2016
Chairman Tim James called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. in the Terminal Building Conference Room at the Morehead-Rowan County Regional Airport. Other members present were Tom Fossett, Bruce Mattingly, Aaron Roberts, Charles Derrickson, Ron Oliver, and Porter Dailey. Mike Gray, Harry Clark and Jim LeMaster were absent. Guests present included Tracey and Mike Potter – FBO; Pilot-Tenants: Danny Mabry, Michael Osborne, Josh Clark, Jack Holley, Lisa Sargent, Dave LeQuire, Lee Lipps, and Jim Fluty.
Chairman James indicated that the principal partner with Midwest Aircraft (Mr. Mike Potter) had recently accepted a fulltime position as airport manager at the Danville Illinois Airport. Following a presentation by Tracey Potter at the April Board meeting regarding how Midwest Aircraft intended to continue to provide the services specified by contract, and Midwest Aircraft’s future intent, the Airport Board voted unanimously to reconsider the proposal from Midwest Aircraft after soliciting additional proposals. Mr. James indicated that the decision to consider additional proposals did not in any way reflect any dissatisfaction with the prior performance of Midwest Aircraft, but rather concern about the ability of Midwest Aircraft to maintain the high level of service with Mr. Potter’s weekly absence, and Ms. Potter’s occasional absence for periods of up to two weeks. Chairman James indicated that the purpose of this special meeting was to provide the opportunity for hangar tenants, pilots, and the public to provide input related to the continuation of Midwest Aircraft as the FBO/manager of the airport. At that point, Mr. James opened the floor to comment from its guests.
Those addressing the Board included Jack Holly, Danny Mabry, Michael Osborne, Dave LeQuire, Josh Clark, Lee Lipps, and Jim Fluty. All were highly complimentary of the service received over the past several years, and were satisfied that Midwest Aviation would be able to maintain this level of service despite the regular absence of Mr. and Ms. Potter. Each urged the Board to not solicit bids for the FBO until Midwest Aircraft was given the opportunity to demonstrate they could continue to manage the airport, maintain the physical infrastructure, and provide satisfactory customer service (e.g., aircraft maintenance, flight instruction). Mr. and Ms. Potter agreed with this approach and indicated that Midwest would not submit a bid if the contract was advertised. It was suggested by Mr. Holly that the Board not take any action on future contracts until the end of the current Midwest contract on September 1st . This would allow time to assess the effectiveness of the new management plan. If at that time, the level of service was not acceptable to the Board, then a 90 notice of non-renewal could be activated and the Board could solicit outside bids. The Potter’s agreed with this proposal and Mr. Potter promised the Board that if they were not awarded the bid at that time, he would assist in the transition to new management.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A motion was made by Mr. Roberts, seconded by Mr. Oliver to go into executive session to discuss the proprietary contract proposal of Midwest Aviation. The motion was approved unanimously. A motion was made by Dr. Derrickson seconded by Dr. Fossett and unanimously approved to return to open session.
OLD BUSINESS
Following discussion, the Potters’ stated their desire to remain the Airport’s FBO beyond the term of their existing contract (September 1, 2016), and stated their full confidence that they could continue to provide the quality FBO services currently provided during the remaining term of their contract. Further, the Potters’ stated that if the Board was not satisfied with their performance during the remaining term of their contract, and desired to seek proposals to replace them, that they would assist the Board’s transition to new airport management. They further stated that they would like the Board to not advertise for their replacement until the end of their contract term. A motion was made by Mr. Oliver and seconded by Mr. Roberts that based on the Potters’ stated assurances that the Board rescind its previous action to seek proposals for a new FBO. The motion was unanimously approved.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.