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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-03-14 Airport Commission SummaryKENAI AIRPORT COMMISSION AGENDA March 14, 1996 City Hall Council Chambers Chairman Tom Thibodeau 1. Roll Call 2. ,Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes January 11, 1995 4. Persons Present Scheduled to be Heard 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. Master Plan Informational Meeting b. RFP for Advertising Concession 7. Airport Manager's Report 8. Commission Comments and Questions 9. Information Items a. Airport Commission Roster b. Bielefeld Appointment Letter 10. Adjournment Agenda March 14.doc KENAI AIRPORT COMMISSION MINUTES March 14, '1996 Meeting called to order by Chairman Thibodeau at 7 p.m. 1. Roll Call Members present: Others present: Bonnie Koerber, Tom Thibodeau, Ron Holloway, Henry Knackstedt, Barbara Edwards, James Bielefeld Airport Manager Randy Ernst, Administrative Assistant Marilyn Kebschull Note: Sign up sheet distributed for others in attendance. Sheet attached. 2. Approval of Agenda RON HOLLOWAY MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF AGENDA. MOTION SECONDED BY HENRY KNACKSTEDT. AGENDA APPROVED. 3. Approval of Minutes January 11, 1996 BARBARA MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 11, 1996. MOTION SECONDED BY RON HOLLOWAY. MINUTES APPROVED. 4. Persons Present Scheduled to be Heard 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. Master Plan Informational Meeting Airport Manager Randy Ernst stated the meeting was an. information meeting on the Master Plan Working Paper No. 1. Ernst introduced John Sanders and Freddie Comperchio of Aries and Patty Sullivan Planning Engineer from the FAA, and Debbie Roth of FAA Financing. Patty Sullivan stated she was an airport planner/engineer for the FAA. Sullivan stated she works with Ernst to assist in the development of the Master Plan and in the incorporation of what comes out of the Master Plan in the Airport Capital Improvement Program. Sullivan stated that is what the FAA uses to secure airport improvement program funds for the airport. Sullivan explained that the Master Plan is used to guide future development of the airport and it is an important, valuable document. It is something that is used all the time in their office. Sullivan stated she wanted to encourage everyone to participate in the process. Sullivan noted it is important to get input from the users and the community. Sullivan stated it is the community's airport so what comes out of the report will hopefully benefit everyone and will be what the community wants. Sullivan encouraged those in attendance to provide comments on the working papers that Aries will present. Sullivan states those papers are the forecasts and the inventories. They are used as the basis for the rest of the Master Plan, it is important to take time to look at them and to provide input. They are the first step and are built on. John Sanders of Aries Consultants explained that Aries is updating the 1 987 Master Plan which they were also involved with. Sanders stated they are doing the airport planning portion of the work. But, there is a lot. of other work that is being done that is a part of the study. Sanders stated they are doing the preliminary engineering work and cost estimates for the study. Sanders advised that Phil Bryson and Mark'Blanning of Wince, Corthell, Bryson are in attendance and they are doing the engineering portion of the project. Sanders stated that one of the first things they did was to obtain new aerial photos of the airport and of the greater city area. These are being used as an accurate, more up-to-date basis for the work that Wince, Corthell, Bryson are doing and being used to make sure that the existing airport facilities are identified as best as possible. Also, some contours have been developed from the aerial photos that will help in making calculations that will be done during the study. Also, last summer pavement testing was done to look at the condition of the existing runway and taxiway system to find out the current conditions and what improvements need to be made in the future. Sanders stated that later some environmental assessments will be done. At least one for the improvements that will be identified in the Master Plan that will be needed before the actual development can take place. One improvement that has already been talked about is the extension of the taxiway out to the north end of the runway. Sanders noted there may be other projects that come out that are identified in the study that will also need environmental assessments. Sanders stated they are in the inventory and forecasting portion which is included in the document that everyone has a copy of. Sanders stated this document will serve as the basis for later parts of the study. After a sign off is received from the city and FAA on the forecasts, those numbers will be used to compare activity growth at the airport for the next 20 years against the existing facilities. This is how future requirements are identified, such as additional runway improvements, taxiway improvements, apron improvements, and what additional lease facilities in Airport Commission Minutes Page 2 March 14, 1996 subdivision need to be identified. That is the second phase. Sanders stated then they will be developing alternatives to see how these additional facilities can be accommodated. That information will be brought back to the city and the city will be given the opportunity to provide input on what they think should be planned or developed for the airport over the next 20 years. Sanders added that FAA and others will also be asked to provide input. After agreements are received, detailed plans will be prepared. These plans will serve as the basis for the documentation and is provided to FAA. FAA funds a lot of the improvements. Sanders stated he likes to emphasize that the money that is used by the federal government for these projects is not money that is paid by the general tax payer. This money is paid when traveling and using the airport system and is the 10 percent passenger tax and the other fees that are paid on tickets. Sanders stated they will also develop an implementation plan and a phasing plan. This plan will show how to get to what they think the airport should look like in 20 years. Sanders stated this plan will show what is thought to be the most important projects that should be completed in the next five years, how much will they cost, where is the money going to come from, etc. The same will be projected for the ten year and twenty year plans. Sanders stated that they will come back with the costs, drawings, and the implementation plan. Sanders noted that depending upon what the top priorities are an environmental assessment will be completed for those projects. Such as, expanding the taxiway out to the north end of the runway. Sanders explained that this is the program that will be worked on over the next few months. Sanders added that they will try to schedule the public meetings to coincide with the Airport Commission meetings. Later, public hearings must be held. Sanders stated that they have talked about having a joint public hearing with the Airport and Planning and Zoning Commissions prior to the recommended plan going to City Council for a public hearing. Sanders stated this is the informational stage now but later they will have the properly noticed public hearings. Sanders stated that he would like to report on the forecasts and existing facilities as included in the document. Sanders offered background noting they have looked at available historic and forecast population information that is available for the Kenai area, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the state, and for the nation to look at growth trends that are being forecast for this area and how they compare to other areas. Sanders stated they had tried to get forecasts for economic activities but there don't seem to be any generally accepted for published forecasts that could be used. Because of this, they have talked to people involved in economic development or the airlines and other people who might have a feel for what might be happening at the airport in the future. Using the overhead, Sanders explained several charts from the Working Paper No. 1 document. Airport Commission Minutes Page 3 March 14, 1996 The first chart summarized historical passenger activity for the last 1 5 years. Sanders noted that between 1 981 and 1 989 the numbers went up and down. Kenai started at about 87,000 enplane passengers and ended at the same number. Sanders explained that an enplane passenger are the people getting on the flights in Kenai and that generally there are an equal number of people getting off the flights. In the last few years, and particularly in the last two years, the numbers have gone up. Sanders stated he felt this was primarily due to the fare war that went on for about a six or eight month period in 1994 and 1995. Kenai had 130,000 enplane passengers last year which is a record for the airport. Sanders explained that most of this activity is with commuter aircraft which range from the eight passenger craft up to the 50 passenger aircraft. In the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of passengers. The next table showed the changes in the aircraft operations over the last ten years. Sanders explained that air carrier showed a large number in 1 987 and it decreased substantially after that. Sanders stated he thought that was due to a definition change that the FAA went through in the way they counted the aircraft operations. Sanders stated that at a lot of airports they counted the cOmmuter aircraft as air carriers until the late 80's and then over time they switched and counted the commuter aircraft in the commuter air taxi category. Sanders noted that in recent years the chart shows relatively few air carrier operations. Those are primarily the large aircraft that are used for the fish hauls that are capable of carrying more than 60 passengers and the aircraft that are diverted from Anchorage are in this count. Sanders explained that the commuter air taxis which is a mixture of activity that includes the scheduled commuter flights, small packet flights such as DHL and Federal Express, and the unscheduled flights whether they be air taxis carrying passengers or freight and fixed-wing helicopters. These numbers are based on tower counts. Sanders noted that the Kenai tower is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Looking at scheduled flights, there are a lot of flights that take place outside of those areas. Aries adjusted for the forecast which makes the 33,000 become about 41,000 per year looking at a full 24 hour day. Sanders stated that future projections are made using the total number rather than just the numbers listed when the tower is open. The general aviation numbers are listed in two columns. The itinerant operations are basically the aircraft flying away from the Kenai area or back to Kenai and the local operations which are training operations. Training operations are about 55% of the general aviation total. General aviation is private flying whether for business, recreational or training activities and are typically included in this area. The military shows little activity in Kenai. Each landing and take off is counted as a separate operation. Sanders explained that when you fly to Anchorage and back that is counted as two operations. Touch and goes are also counted as two operations by the tower. Sanders stated the final count is about 78,000 operations last year as counted by the tower. When looking Airport Commission Minutes Page 4 March 14, 1996 at the full 24 hour period, Aries guesses it is closer to 86,000 to 87,000 operations in the year. Sanders stated another area that is forecast is based aircraft. These are the aircraft that are physically based at the Kenai airport. Aries got this information from the Borough. About 11% of the aircraft in the Borough are based at the Kenai Airport. Addresses of this 11% show that 73% of these people live in Kenai, 9% live in Soldotna, 8% in Nikiski, and the balance in other communities in the area. Sanders stated the number of based aircraft has remained steady over the past years. Sanders stated that they had also tried to break down operations between the main runway, the float pond, and the grass strip. Sanders said the tower estimates that of the general aviation numbers about 3% of the operations are on the grass strip in the summer and slightly over 3% are on the float pond. Sanders reported that the base year used was 1995. Looking at annual enplane passengers, there is modest growth. Sanders stated they believed that the last year had been a result of the price competition. Sanders stated they see the number of passengers increasing from about 1 30,000 to 1 70,000 passengers over the 20 year period. Scheduled aircraft departures show a very modest increase, from 1 2,000 in 1 995 to 14,000 in the year 201 5. Sanders stated they believed the reason for that is that there will be the same type of service as is available now, primarily the commuter service. Sanders explained that this type of service provides frequent flights with less passengers than using larger aircraft which operate less flights but hold more people and people seem to prefer the frequent flights. Sanders stated they expect to see more Dash 8 and Convair service over time and also expect the number of passengers per flight to increase. At the current time it is about a 50% load factor. Sanders reiterated they do not expect to see a tremendous increase in the number of flights but more larger aircraft over time to handle the passengers. Sanders explained that with the air cargo figures that not all of this is being reported. Sanders stated this is not unique to Kenai. This affects the projection forecasts. Sanders stated that there is a need to get a better handle on the cargo which goes through the airport whether it be cargo on passenger aircraft, cargo that is handled in the air taxi aircraft, as well as some of the bulk hauling. Sanders continued, in terms of aircraft operations, which shows 78,000 in 1 995, Aries projects about a 20 percent increase to about 105,000 operations by the year 201 5. Air carrier does not show any change. Commuter air taxi is seen as growing because of the scheduled flights and the package service. General aviation has been suffering in recent years. There are indicators that this may change in the next few years with changes in product liability law and changes in fact that people Airport Commission Minutes Page 5 March 14, 1996 will be manufacturing aircraft again. Thus, some change is shown in the general aviation activity. Sanders explained that in terms of the based aircraft, approximately 75 percent are single engine and 1 8 percent multi-engine, and the other 8 percent are helicopters. Sanders stated they see most of the growth in the multi-engine aircraft in the future. This is attributed to manufacture of this type of craft. Sanders stated he would like to talk briefly about existing facilities and then they would be open for questions. Sanders explained that they had made a comparison with previous forecasts that had been made for the airport. Using the overhead, Sanders explained a chart they had made showing these comparisons. Sanders stated they have been working to try to get an accurate inventory of existing airport facilities. Using a map, Sanders showed the airport land boundaries and stated it includes about 1 200 acres. Sanders showed the main runway that is over 7500 feet, the float pond which is 3500 feet, and the grass strip of about 1 000 feet. Sanders showed a chart of the terminal area and explained they will be looking at the forecasts to see how they relate to the existing facilities. From the passengers standpoint, is there enough space in the terminal apron to handle the commuter aircraft, is there enough space in the terminal building to handle ticketing, baggage claim and other activities that are needed to handle passengers. Based on aircraft operations forecasts and looking at other airport improvements, they will be looking at relocating the grass strip, looking to see if there is enough space in the general aviation subdivisions to the south and to the north of the terminal area and possibly lease lots for other activities that may want to come on the airport. Sanders stated the next part of the study is to relate those numbers to these existing facilities and then come up with the future requirements. Sanders, referring to a chart of the terminal, stated there is quite a bit of space with the loss of a carrier, but forecasts must be compared with current facilities. Sanders asked the audience if they had any questions. Knackstedt asked if there was an estimate on the error factor for the FAA's number of aircraft arriving or departing. Knackstedt stated the reason he asked the question is he wondered if it is a guesstimate or an exact number. Also noted that he noticed that the total aircraft of a particular category that arrived in 1 989 was 51 but for that year it was 80 for instrument. Knackstedt asked if instrument Airport Commission Minutes Page 6 March 14, 1996 operations were a missed approach which would explain the difference and wondered how that affected the other numbers. Jim Krause, FAA, explained that every time a plane takes off or lands'it is counted by a clicker. Krause explained how the FAA counts flights and feels it is fairly accurate. Krause did note that one chart shows that in 1 987 there was a fairly large number of air carriers and then it fell off to nothing. Krause stated he felt that Mr. Sanders' explanation was true and that they were not being counted correctly. For instance, they were counting a Dash 8 as an air carrier when it should have been an air taxi aircraft. Krause stated that the difference in the numbers in 1 989 could be accounted for by multiple approaches, such as practice approaches. This would be an instrument count and not necessarily an operation. Krause noted he felt the numbers shown represented fairly what was occurring at the airport. Krause explained what he felt accounted for the numbers given, the decline occurring when Southcentral pulled out in 1 992. Now they are back again but they don't have as many flights as before. Krause said he expects the numbers to level out and maybe start a slow growth upward. Ernst stated some of this may be attributed to a more efficient loading of planes, less operations but higher enplanements. Basically what is happening is that they are filling the planes more efficiently. Krause added there has been a subtle change'in the last year and a half or so with ERA coming in with the bigger planes; however, the frequency of the flights don't seem to have changed. But, instead of coming in with a twin otter, every once in a while they come in with a Dash 8. Thus, operations are not increasing but enplanements are increasing. Krause stated that he wanted to mention that the military numbers were fairly stagnant over the years. One of the reasons for the military using Kenai was they were being chased out of the Anchorage area and Anchorage Airport and because of this these numbers may increase. Sanders stated it is very difficult to get any kind of handle on what the military is going to do. (Discussion on how the numbers had varied over the years.) Mayor Williams stated that Kenai had picked up the air rescue crew three or four years ago and picked up a couple new C1 30's along with this. Williams stated the Air Guard is more frequent with practice missions than the Air Force was. This could be the reason for the increase in figures. Sanders reiterated it is difficult to obtain information from the military because they don't know what they are doing. Knackstedt questioned the figure of 73 percent of the aircraft on the peninsula being owned by people who live in Kenai. Sanders clarified that the 73 percent was for aircraft based at the Kenai Airport whose owners have a city of Kenai address. Sanders explained further that out of 900 aircraft that are registered according to the Borough Assessor's Office, 100 are based at the Kenai Airport. Airport Commission Minutes Page 7 March 14, 1996 Sanders told the group that they would like to talk to Flight Service after the meeting to assure they are getting as good an estimate as possible for the study. Sanders stated that Aries would like any comments or questions to Ernst in the next couple weeks so the next phase of the study could move forward. Sanders added that the next meeting on the evaluation, the requirements, and the alternatives would be scheduled to coincide with one of the meetings in the late spring or early summer. Sanders noted the other thing they needed was a sign off from the FAA on the forecasts and were looking forward to FAA's (Sullivan's) response to that document. Ernst commented that when looking at the float plane facility as far as forecasts and the considering the possibility of extending the runway 500 feet, he wondered if the tower's help could be received to get a count on the usage. FAA tower representative stated that they don't keep a count for that facility but they did one summer. Mayor Williams stated that a lot of thought went into the facility before it was built. Since that time a lot of complaints have been made that the runway isn't long enough and it should be extended another 500 feet. Williams stated he felt that the question the council would look at is the number of float plane operations declining, can an increase be expected, and would an increase be expected if the runway was extended. Williams stated that without accurate counts not much can be done and asked if there was any way possible the city could get counts on the float planes over the next couple years. The FAA representative stated that it was done that one year and didn't see why it couldn't be done again. Sanders stated they have been able to do that in other situations and gave an example of another .place where a count was needed for helicopters. Ernst asked if they could donate an eXtra clicker for the counts. Sanders~'noted that they had received quite a few comments on the float plane operations in terms of people preferring to use area lakes because it was more convenient. Aries representative Comperchio stated that the people she talked to stated it was easier to use their own lakes and docks rather than to come into the airport. The only thing that they needed was some type of fueling facility. In terms of basing, Comperchio stated that is probably why the airport doesn't have a lot of basing for float planes in the summer because people are basing at their homes. Ernst stated that this year there may be an increase because the automatic fuel system will be on line. Knackstedt added that a camping area was being created at the south end of the float plane basin which is not shown on the inventory. Sanders questioned the location of this facility and was shown on the map. Ernst stated it would be a small area and they are starting with six spaces with picnic tables, grills, and water may be available. Sanders stated another reason people cited was that they don't want to get into the air traffic control system. The FAA spokesman stated that would not surprise him and that is the reason for Soldotna Airport's popularity. In addition, people being able to use their Airport Commission Minutes Page 8 March 14, 1996 own lake and parking at home plus not having to deal with ATC added to the float plane facility's problems. He commented that it was a great facility in comparison with that at Lake Hood which is over crowded. Ernst stated the facility has been advertised. Thibodeau stated that he feels that as tourism grows and the people who live on lakes get tired of the air taxis, there will be an interest by air taxis to use the facility to avoid problems with the residents who live around the lakes. Depending on how the float plane basin is developed and how friendly it is for air taxis to operate out of, it makes sense that they will move there as tourism grows. Thibodeau stated there are some things that could be addressed to improve the float plane facility so that it would attract those air taxis. Thibodeau commented with tourism growing it seemed to him that the float plane facility would be a natural outgrowth of tourism. Holloway added that his store has been selected as the Alaskan stopping place for the largest west coast travel agency for hunting and fishing. Holloway noted they had just signed an agreement in the last few days. This .will be with Reno Air who will have three.flights a day into Anchorage. Holloway stated it will affect them because they have a tremendous amount of fly outs from their shop. Holloway stated that he feels this will be a stimulus to growth in this area. Holloway added that he felt if there was lighting on the basin it may look more attractive to night flights. Sanders questioned how people would be brought to the Peninsula. Holloway stated they would either be flown in or renting cars in Anchorage. Sanders noted this would be an added benefit to the airport. Knackstedt stated he felt an advantage that International and Lake Hood have is that you can taxi on wheels anywhere on the airport. You cannot do that in Kenai. Knackstedt noted that the previous airport plan showed FBO's on the west side of the float plane basin. Knackstedt stated he doesn't see that happening unless planes can taxi over there. Knackstedt explained how an extension of Alpha runway could allow access to the area for future FBO's and the float plane camping area. Sanders questioned how they saw the camping area being used. Ernst stated people could tie down in the itinerant slips and then have an area to spend the night. Thibodeau stated that a lot of people fly up from the states and are looking for a friendly place to go to and this could bring in more tourism into the area. Knackstedt asked if there was a place they were thinking of moving the grass strip to? Sanders stated one place has been considered on the northeast side. Ernst stated that once the taxiway extension is done which is on the books to start construction in 1 997, the stockpile on the east side would be used. That area is approximately 1 200 feet long by 400 feet wide which would make an ideal place to put in a grass strip. It doesn't circumnavigate the taxiways and it is wide enough you could have a tie down parking area. There would be road access off of Marathon Road. That would entail bringing the road in. Ernst showed the audience Airport Commission Minutes Page 9 March 14, 1996 on the map how this would be accomplished. Holland added that it could also be used for skis. Ernst stated right now people are allowed to use the parking area at the basin as a ski landing area at their own risk. Ernst added the airport does not have the time or the equipment to maintain the area. FAA spokesman stated that would be good potential to bring in more operations with a dedicated area away from the taxiways that can be used for skis. He added there is a demand for an area for people who want to use skis. Sanders thanked everyone for coming and the input. Sanders reminded everyone to get their comments to Ernst in the next couple weeks. Ernst commented that this is the first informational meeting for the Master Plan and as it progresses advertisements will be in the paper. There will be more information meetings and then there will be public hearings. Ernst noted this is about a three year process. Ernst noted that the Working Document No. 1 must be signed off by the FAA as far as the forecast information. Once the forecasts are accepted, they can start on the pavement management plan. Ernst noted that they have all the data but until the forecasts are approved, they cannot finish that plan. a. RFP for Advertising Concession Ernst explained that at the last meeting he had presented information about an advertising plan for the airport. However, because there was not a quorum, it could not be voted on. The information was presented to Council and they recommended an RFP be put out. Ernst explained that in the Commission packets is a copy of the proposed RFP which requests a statement of interests and qualifications. The advertising will be more expensive for the general public but will generate more money for the airport. The airport currently makes approximately $8,400 per year and under the proposed plan would make about $30,000 per year. Ernst advised he knew of two firms he would send the RFP to directly and it would also be advertised locally and in Anchorage. Ernst stated he would like the Commission to se~ up a committee to review the RFP's that are received. Then, after a decision is made, it would be taken back to Council for their approval. RON HOLLOWAY MOVED TO ADVERTISE THE RFP AS PRESENTED BY ERNST. MOTION SECONDED BY TOM THIBODEAU. UNANIMOUS. Ernst stated that he would proceed and hopes to get a contract before June 30th as that is when the current contracts end. Ron Holloway and Barbara Edwards volunteered to serve on the committee to review the RFP's that are received. Airport Commission March 14, 1996 Minutes Page 10 7. Airport Manager's Report Ernst asked that any comments on the presentation be given to him and preferably in writing. 8. Commission Comments and Questions 9. Information Items a. Airport Commission Roster Ron Holloway noted his home number is incorrect. It should read 283-2639. b. Bielefeld Appointment Letter 10. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 8 p.m. Respe~,tfully,, submitted' Ma~ril~ Kebschull Administrative Assistant Airport Commission March 14, 1996 Minutes Page 11