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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-11-09 Airport Commission SummaryKENAI AIRPORT COMMISSION AGENDA November 9, 1995 City Hall Council Chambers Chairman Tom Thibodeau 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes September 14, 1995 4. Persons Present Scheduled to be Heard 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. Recap Projects 7. Airport Manager's Report 8. Commission Comments and Questions 9. Information Items a. Letter regarding UPS Property b. Commissioner Kopp's Letter of Resignation c. Letter accepting Commission Kopp's Resignation d. Airport Commission Member's List 1 0. Adjournment KENAI AIRPORT COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 1995 APPROVED 1. Roll Call Members Present: Members Absent: Others Present: Artha (Bonnie) Koerber, Tom Thibodeau, Ron Holloway, Henry Knackstedt, Barbara Edwards Robert Scott Randy Ernst, Airport Manager; Councilman Bannock; and, Marilyn Kebschull, Administrative Assistant 2. Approval of Agenda TOM THIBODEAU MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF AGENDA. MOTION SECONDED BY BARBARA EDWARDS. APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT. 3. Approval of Minutes September 14, 1995 BARBARA EDWARDS MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 14, 1995 MEETING. MOTION SECONDED BY RON HOLLOWAY. PASSED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT. 4. Persons Present Scheduled to be Heard 5. Old Business 6. New Business al Recap Projects Airport Manager Randy Ernst advised he would like to bring the Commission up to date on projects. Ernst advised he had returned two weeks ago from a month and a half leave. Ernst reported there were a few projects that had been worked on during the summer and a list of those projects had been in the September packet. Mr. Ernst reported that almost all of the keys have been changed in the terminal. He advised he carries one key now. It is a system wherein if it has to be changed the core is removed and all the locks in the terminal can all be changed in a half a day. The carport is almost complete and should be done by tomorrow. The sewer line at the south end of the terminal is complete. Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 1 Continuing, Ernst reported all the automatic flushers with the exception of the sinks in the women's restrooms are installed. The women's restroom and the men's north restroom may require some modification to the counters to make the sinks work as new sinks with automatic faucets will be installed. (Discussion as to whether or not signs were necessary to let people knew the sinks arid toilets were automatic.) Mr. 'Ernst reported the camp sites are in with gravel and next year tables and pits will be installed. Ernst advised there is an area toward the south end of the camp area that has been leveled out and built up so it may be an area that could be used for a fly in breakfast with a tent. Ernst advised he had gotten a bid for installing a park-type pump for water with water run off and filters and the bid was approximately $1 2,000. Ernst stated he decided to regroup on this idea and perhaps install a smaller, condensed version of the water pump for the camping area. Ernst reported that he had originally set aside $3,500 for the water pump. Mr. Knackstedt asked if there was any one item that made it so expensive. Mr. Ernst stated that he felt it was that he had wanted the concrete pad so that the water would flow away and that the pump would have had the necessary screens and the pump included. Ernst stated some of those things can be installed by the city and alleviate some of the costs. Mr. Holloway suggested a hand pump and Mr. Ernst advised it would have been a hand pump. Knackstedt reported that a well is typically $22 a foot and this well should have been under 30 feet. Ernst stated he thought they would have to go between 30 and 32 feet. Knackstedt stated that was necessary so it wouldn't be considered ground water. Ernst stated he would share the bid with the Commission. Mr. Ernst advised the roof had been hot mopped so there shouldn't be any leaks this winter. The sander plow truck is complete; the truck was sent a few miles away to install the blades. Ernst stated within two to three weeks the final inspection should be done and the truck should be here and ready for service by the end of November. The Master Plan is in progress. The base maps were just completed and almost all of the digitizing is complete. Ernst stated they anticipate having this complete by the end of November. Ernst advised that they felt until the digitizing done there would not be a purpose in holding a public hearing. The plan is to hold the first public hearing on the Master Plan in mid-January. The overflow parking is complete. The typar was put down and one foot gravel laid over that. 7. Airport Manager's Report Airport Manager Ernst brought the Commissioner's attention to the enplanement figures in their packets. He noted that the figures continue to increase and cited Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 2 last year's figures with a high of almost11 8,000 and the airport will easily reach that figure this year. Ernst stated he did not know what the fate of Mark Air Express would be with the ruling on Mark Air going to Chapter 7 because Mark Air Express is an asset of Mark Air. Mr. Holloway stated that Southcentral is now flying to Homer and asked if those figures will be included in future reports. (Discussion regarding Southcentral and their flights.) Mr. Ernst stated he had not heard anything regarding Southcentral and did not know that he would include them in the airport scheduling. He noted that they have indicated an interest in coming to Kenai again if Mark Air Express should leave. Ernst noted he had included a few informational items for the Commission. The DBE concession plan is working out quite well and probably one of the highest at 16 percent in the state. He noted the letter in the packet from the Civil Rights Department as a congratulatory letter and noted that Kim Howard is responsible for tracking this and has done a good job. The next item is from Paul Bowers who is the Director of Statewide Aviation inviting Ernst to a conference on PFCs. Ernst stated he had attended this conference on the 7th and 8t~ of November. Ernst stated this is an interesting concept and he had never thought of Kenai as a situation where PFCs would be something to look at. Ernst stated he had been under the impression that if Kenai did PFCs it would take away from the normal AlP entitlement money and that is not the case. Ernst advised it is basically done on a project by project situation. So, if a project is AlP eligible, it is also PFC (Passenger Facility Charge) eligible and it can be totally separate. Ernst explained that the PFC would allow a $3.00 charge per ticket for departure out of Kenai and the PFC is charged for the first two departures and the first two arrivals on the ticket. A maximum of $12 can be charged no matter how far someone is traveling within the system per round trip ticket. This would give Kenai approximately $250,000 a year of revenues that could be put toward a project. This may be a lower priority than the AlP project but it could be done and still have the AlP funds. Ernst stated that this needs to be put together and looked at. The program has some political ramifications due to the fact that people note they are being charged $3.00 per ticket. However, Ernst stated he doubted that anyone had ever not gone somewhere based on a $3 to $1 2 charge on their ticket. Ms. Edwards stated that most people don't realize it is on the ticket anyway. Mr. Holloway asked for clarification on the PFC charges and Mr. Ernst explained it is for the first two arrivals and first two departures. Ernst further noted that all stops may not be in the PFC system and if they are not they are bypassed for another airport that is in the system. This is per trip. Mr. Ernst stated that this fee is already on most tickets and the maximum that can be charged is $3.00 per stop and a total of $1 2.00 for a round trip ticket. Continuing, Ernst stated this is FAA approved and is the program implemented to take up the slack in funding from other sources that are being decreased year-by-year. Ernst stated funding is Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 3 down to $1.3 billion this year from a high of almost $2 billion four years ago. Every year the funding is cut more and more. Ernst stated this could be looked at for instance if the city wanted to do a terminal improvement. This could be funded with the PFC program and this program is faster, easier, and designed to be flexible. The biggest part of the PFC program is that it is a partnership. Air carriers must agree and it will affect air taxis. Everyone who uses the airport will be charged; there are no exemptions. Mr. Thibodeau stated that Part 1 35 will also pay. Ernst reiterated it is everyone. Thibodeau stated they don't normally buy a ticket, instead it is a charter. Ernst stated that depending on how a charter writes the ticket it could be either a $3.00 charge or a per person charge. Mr. Knackstedt asked if this operated on the honor system. Ernst stated if the city goes into the system it is required by law. It is a federal law that those people have to report; they don't have an option of not reporting. How information is reported can be scrutinized by the airport. Knackstedt stated he had heard in Seattle wherein airlines haven't been paying. Ernst stated they won't do it for long as it is a federal offense and goes directly to the board of directors or owners of the company. They would go directly to jail. This acts as an impetus to report. Ernst stated that once you get into the program you do have clout. Knackstedt asked if Mr. Ernst is contemplating the entire $3.00 or a lesser fee. Ernst stated it is almost unheard of to do anything except the $3.00 charge. There is a $1, $2, and $3 charge. The only time that they go into a lesser charge is if they are coming to the end of a project. Ernst explained the PFC is started by the Notice to Proceed and it is ended when a project is finished. Ernst further explained that when a project gets to the end and you realize that you are collecting more money than was thought would be collected, and you can't collect over, you cab obtain an amendment to collect less. Ernst stated you need to do this with enough lead time in the system because it takes two to three months to put it in the system, and get it to work, and to shut it down. So, if you go right up to the date of project completion, you will continue to collect money for up to three months. Ernst stated there are stringent guidelines regarding overages unless there is another project lined up which the money can be channeled into. Ernst stated that it is typical for one project to follow another and once a PFC is initiated it doesn't ever stop. Ernst stated it must be tracked carefully. For example, Haley, Idaho, had a similar problem and realized they were $200,000 over the project. Ernst stated as long as it is not blatantly collected, they will work with you. Ernst stated that before he left Anchorage he had a meeting with Mayor Williams and Mr. Manninen and a fellow from Sytron Development. Sytron does crash fire rescue centers. Ernst stated Kenai would like to get the regional aircraft fire fighting center. This would be about a $6 million project and put it in the University of Alaska site off Marathon Road. Ernst advised he had told council he would visit with Paul Bowers and also check with the people at the Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 4 FAA Airports Division and he had done that. He stated that Paul seemed receptive to having the facility located in Kenai and he basically wanted Ernst to write a formal letter requesting his support. Ernst stated that as Director of Statewide Aviation, Bowers is in charge of the majority of the airports in the State of Alaska that are run by State DOT. There are only two airports not in his jurisdiction, Anchorage and Fairbanks, and they are in the international system. Fairbanks does have a fire fighting center pit of it's own. Juneau and Kodiak also have them; however, Kodiak might be operated by the Coast Guard. Ernst reported that all of them are open pit situations and this system will be a thing of the past. EPA has not allowed Kenai or Anchorage to have an open pit center with the Clean Air Act. Ernst stated that if Kenai can get the regional fire fighting center, it would be propane and gas and it would be contained. There wouldn't be any atmospheric, environmental problems. Ernst reiterated that Mr. Bowers was receptive to this idea and he would be writing Mr. Bowers a letter and is drafting a letter to the City Council telling Mr. Bowers the city would like his consent. Ernst stated that if Mr. Bowers consent was received that it is hoped that Mort Plum at Anchorage International and Doyle Ruff at Fairbanks would fall in line. Juneau is nebulous because they have a nice facility, again, it is an open pit. Ernst stated the state has been sending their people to Juneau and that would be twice as costly as sending them to Kenai. Ernst stated Kenai would have to show the state that this would be a more logical location for the center. Plus, the University of Alaska is already set up to run that kind of a training center. Ernst stated there are 40 acres set aside on the Master Plan on Marathon Road for an Aircraft Fire Fighting Facility. In addition, Ernst said the city is hoping to get the military to support the plan and feels the city has a good chance of getting the facility in Kenai. There is a lot of work left to do. Ernst stated it would be AlP funded and it could also be PFC funded if AlP moneys fell short. Mr. Knackstedt asked what kind of time frame the city is looking at. Mr. Ernst stated he spoke with Ronnie Simpson who is the manager of the Airport's Division of the FAA and Sharon Dubois who is his second in command and they have actually put the fire fighting center on the ACIP list and put it at the five year level. They just added it on to Kenai's CIP list. Depending on whether it is discretionary moneys or entitlement moneys or PFC moneys, that probably adds flexibility of when it would start. Ernst stated if the city got everybody to sign off on the project and say yes this is a good idea, he doesn't see why it couldn't be started within the next three years or so. Ernst stated they are building facilities fairly fast in the states now, in all different regions. One stumbling block initially, the program being only five years, the first year it took them the whole year just to write the rules and regulations for it. Now, for instance in Minneapolis they have a facility that is co-owned with a university and an airport. So, the precedent has been set. So, this won't be unusual for them. Sytron is the developer of that system and as far as Ernst knows may be the only approved system. Ernst reported that Terry Haymond of Sytron has Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 5 worked with Dallas-Fort Worth with their facility, the one in Minneapolis, and throughout the different regions in the states. Ernst stated that once the city gets started he is sure the city can get a lot of help from Mr. Haymond without a charge knowing that if they get on line they know they will be the ones building the facility. Mr. Knackstedt asked if the University of Alaska would also be writing letters to Mr. Bowers showing their interest. Mr. Ernst stated yes adding that the more he can be convinced the better. Ernst reminded the group that Mr. Bowers used to be the airport manager of Juneau and now is the director of Statewide Aviation for the State of Alaska. Ernst stated that he had met Mr. Bowers as fellow airport managers. Ironically, in the FAA system, Howard Smith who used to be the Kenai cert officer for the FAA is now retired from the FAA and is now the assistant airport manager at Merrill. The system is getting intermingled. Mr. Smith is in favor of the center. And, Dave Watto who is now the Kenai cert inspector had nothing but the best of words for the Kenai firefighters and is also behind the center. Ernst stated that Kenai has a good backing for the facility in Kenai. That wasn't necessarily true when Helvi Sandvick was the head of Statewide Aviation. He was more Anchorage and Fairbanks orientated. Mr. Ernst advised that airport is preparing for winter and are ready for snow. Ernst stated there is still a computer glitch to work out in the automated fuel system but that should be taken care of shortly. Ernst advised of a project that was completed that was not on the list was plug in units at the Flight Service Station for head bolt heaters (20). That job is complete. Units will also be installed at the airport for employees. Mr. Thibodeau asked if the GPS antenna had been completed. Ernst stated he had not heard but would check on the status. He understands it is supposed to be near Cabin Lake. Mr. Thibodeau stated if it is installed a lot of people would probably be interested in knowing the baud rate. Thibodeau stated he had heard a weather report regarding snow and the weather may not change. Ernst commented that the one year that the weather was similar to the current weather it affected the barometric pressure. He noted that Howard Smith suggested that Kenai should have the Vassey approach on 1-9 because if Kenai had had the Vassey they could have landed in Kenai even though the barometric pressure was high. Now, Kenai has this so it will be interesting to see what happens. 8. Commission Comments and Questions Mr. Knackstedt commented that he had been talking to the people at UPS about an airplane that was between the UPS building and the CAP lot and he found out that two or three rows of aircraft to the north side of the UPS building were Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 6 parked on the UPS lot without permission. Since then, UPS have written letters and they have been moving. Some have moved to Bielefeld's lot and some are still there. Ernst commented that some have moved to the airport's long term parking. Continuing, Ernst advised that that property was originally owned by Kenai Aviation Services and they allowed them to be there even though they didn't particularly want them to be there. Three to four years ago, they wrote letters to everyone telling them to get off. They didn't have any luck but Ernst noted that he feels UPS is being a little more forceful. Ernst noted that he didn't realize that UPS had leased that property too because the building is on a separate lot. Knackstedt asked if the cracks in the apron got filled this fall and those in the long term parking area. Ernst stated he did not feel that they were done this year. Ernst noted these had been put on the list for the Public Works Department but felt they had been prioritized somewhat Iow. Mr. Knackstedt stated he had reminded Public Works also but there were apparently a lot of streets that needed work and the wet summer may have affected the work. 9. Information Items a. Letter regarding UPS Property Knackstedt advised he had been in the area looking at the aircraft he had previously mentioned and had a camera with him. Noting the drums he had taken pictures of the drums. There were 55 gallon drums laying on their sides and oil on the ground. Knackstedt noted he had called the city attorney and found out that a letter had been generated and a copy of the letter is in the packet. Mr. Ernst stated this is just the starting of the legal action. If nothing is done to the city's satisfaction, the city will take care of the problem and charge the property owners. Mr. Holloway questioned if the drums are definitely on the UPS property or is there also some on other property. Ernst stated that a survey may be required to determine exactly where the line is. Ernst advised he is fairly sure he knows who the drums belong to but doesn't feel that will help. Knackstedt stated he did not know how the city selected a surveyor but noted that he and Roy Whitford and himself had done a survey to the CAP lot. So, Whitford Surveying may have some information that could reduce costs. Knackstedt asked if there are underground fuel tanks on this lot. Ernst stated there are tanks there. The city determined that with the Kenai Aviation fuel services system, they also had the jet fuel system at the airport terminal, and have since relinquished their lease. Ernst noted that the Commission may have read in the newspaper that this had been brought to the council's attention and had a method for getting to the bottom of it. Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 7 However, the council has chosen to take no action. Ernst stated the council had decided to crack the lids and throw sand in them and forget them. Knackstedt questioned if this was for the UPS site; Ernst stated no for the airport site. Ernst noted that with that site there were two other tanks identified which were finally determined to be the ones at the UPS. These had been put in at the same time by Standard Oil as the ones at the airport. Subsequently, UPS has been written to clean these up and take care of the problem. Mr. Holloway asked if the letters were sent the same time as the one in the packet. Mr. Ernst stated he would have to check but it was sent at approximately the same time that it was brought before the council. Ernst stated that subsequently, approximately two days later, he had received a call from DEC wanting to know who the contact person was at UPS and Kenai Aviation Services. Ernst stated he had supplied the information. Ms. Edwards asked if the tanks were being utilized. Ernst stated they have but were shut down before the city's tanks. Ernst stated he did not know what the situation was there. The city's tanks had had minimal fuel in them and the city had had them pumped last year. Ernst stated that because there was fuel left in them he doesn't think they were leaking; however, someone could disagree with this. Ernst advised he thought the tanks may have been in use the first year he was with the city in 1 984. He remembers in 1 982 when managing the fish hauls for Alaska International Air that they fueled out of those pits. So, somewhere in between those times, they ceased to use them. Ernst advised that each of the fuel ports on the terminal apron had been checked and the very last one had a very strong smell of jet fuel so he is sure that the line at one point was probably full. b. Commissioner Kopp's Letter of Resignation Mr. Thibodeau asked if Mr. Kopp had been the Commission representative for the master plan. Discussion determined that Mr. Kopp may have been the representative. Thibodeau asked if he had been active in the process. Ernst stated he didn't think so. Ernst advised that to date only facilities have been checked. The main focus to date has been the mapping so that environmental work can be started. No forecasting or anything like that has been done yet. That probably will happen next year. Ms. Koerber noted that he did mention at one meeting that he had attended a meeting. Mr. Ernst stated he and Mr. Kopp had gone to the EDD office and discussed the economic aspect of the airport and what the implications were and how it would affect the master plan. Mr. Ernst stated a public hearing will be held which will include the Airport Commission and possibly a joint Airport Commission/Council meeting and the general public. This would be to outline how they are approaching the master plan and where the direction Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 8 they expect to go. Mr. Thibodeau stated he felt there should be someone from the Commission to keep tabs on that process and the Commission should think of who might want to participate. Mr. Knackstedt stated he may want to do that. He noted that he had not been able to do so in the past as he had been proposing on the project and in the past part of Mr. Kopp's position was to make the selection. However, they are beyond the selection process. c. Letter accepting Commission Kopp's Resignation Mr. Thibodeau asked if there has been any word if the city is looking for another member. Mr. Ernst stated that it had been mentioned at the last two council meetings and the mayor is aware of the situation. Ernst stated that if any members knew anyone who may be interested, they should encourage them to fill out an application. d. Airport Commission Member's List Mr. Thibodeau asked members to check the list and verify the information as being correct. Ms. Edwards noted her work number was incorrect. The correct number is 283-7551. Mr. Thibodeau asked if there was any other items that needed to be discussed before adjournment. Mr. Knackstedt stated that in July Mr. Ernst had asked the Commission to peruse the airport regulations and the plan had been to put this off until winter. Knackstedt stated he wanted to put this on the table for the Commission to decide how they wanted to handle this. Knackstedt stated he would be interested in going through the document but he would need some help. Mr. Ernst stated the original intent was to start from the beginning and to read through it and see what may be obsolete and may need changes or deletions. Ernst suggested the Commission may be able to start this at the next meeting. Mr. Thibodeau stated he felt each Commissioner should go through the document individually highlighting areas that may need correcting. Thibodeau noted that he felt this may be handled better at a work session which is more informal. Ernst stated the work session could follow the regular meeting. Thibodeau stated that should be done at the next meeting unless there is something pressing. Mr. Knackstedt asked if chapters should be assigned and Mr. Thibodeau stated they could just go as far as time allowed. Ernst stated he felt most of it was straight forward. There is some obvious awkward wording that should be changed. Knackstedt stated he remembers someone mentioning that the numbering of the chapters were off. Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 9 10. Adjournment Mr. Holloway moved for adjournment. Motion seconded by Mr. Knackstedt. Meeting adjourned at approximately 8 p.m. Respectfully submitted: ! M~rilyh Kebschull Administrative Assistant Airport Commission- Minutes 11/9/95 Page 1 0