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Town of Nantucket
NANTUCKET MEMORIAL AIRPORT
14 Airport Road
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts 02554
Thomas M. Rafter, Airport Manager Commissioners
Phone: (508) 325-5300 Daniel W. Drake, Chairman
Fax: (508) 325-5306 Arthur D. Gasbarro, Vice Chair
David C. Gray, Sr.
Sonny Raichlen
Jeannette Topham
AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING
March 26, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Chairman Daniel W. Drake with the following
Commissioners present, Vice Chair Arthur D. Gasbarro, David C. Gray, Sr., and Jeanette
Topham.
Commissioner Sonny Raichlen was absent.
The meeting took place in the 1st Floor meeting room at the Public Safety Facility, 4 Fairgrounds
Rd.
Mr. Drake announced the meeting was being recorded.
Airport employees present were Thomas M. Rafter, Airport Manager, David Sylvia, Training and
Compliance Officer, Noah Karberg, Environmental Coordinator and Janine Torres, Office
Manager.
The Commission M/S/P Unanimously approval of the Agenda.
The Commission M/S/P Unanimously approval of the 3/12/13 Minutes.
The Commission M/S/P with Mr. Gasbarro abstaining to ratify the Warrant of 3/20/13.
Public Comment
None.
Pending Leases and Contracts
Mr. Rafter presented two (2) leases for approval:
Jesse Dutra Landscaping, Inc. – A five year Lease with up to five – 5 year renewal
options for an acre parcel in the Bunker area. Mr. Rafter noted two Proposals were
received for this parcel and Mr. Dutra’s bid of 89 cents per square foot was one penny
more than the other bidder. Annual rental income for this parcel is $38,768.
The Commission M/S/P Unanimously to approve the Jesse Dutra Landscaping, Inc. Lease.
3.26.13 Airport Commission Minutes Page 2 of 6
Planet Ack, Inc. - A five year lease with zero renewal options for the gift shop space in
the terminal. Annual rental income for this space is $30,830.00. Mr. Rafter noted all
open issues from the Proposal have been addressed and are ready to move forward.
Mr. Gasbarro asked if there were any discrepancies in regards to food sales in the gift shop. Mr.
Rafter reported the restaurant has asked for a more specific list of food and beverage items.
When asked if the vote should be postponed for one more meeting, Mr. Rafter responded he
didn’t feel it was necessary to postpone indicating a letter of clarification to both parties will be
sufficient.
After brief discussion the Commission M/S/P Unanimously to approve the Planet Ack, Inc. Lease
in principle and agree to sign after the food item sales letter of clarification has been established.
Pending Matters
120412-3 Existing Bunker Lease Review – Mr. Rafter reported sending Toscana an amended
lease and its return is still pending. An amendment has not yet been sent to Atlantic Aeolus.
Mr. Rafter reported working under the guidance of John Giorgio from Legal Counsel’s office on
these amendments.
021213-1 Fee Structure – Mr. Rafter remarked on the Landing Fee for single engines noting it
has always been on the Fee Structure but not enforced. Reasons for it being waived have not
been documented. The Fee is currently being charged. Mr. Rafter is reviewing this fee as part of
the entire process. Mr. Gray would like to see some sort of accommodation made for single
engines. Mr. Gasbarro added it should not be zero.
021213-2 Supplemental Agreement to the Other Transactional Agreement (OTA) - ATCT
Mr. Rafter reported we are still waiting for comments back from the FAA Contracting Office.
Drawings of the current tower are being forwarded to FAA Engineers for their use in studying the
present structure to determine if the possibility of raising the tower height is feasible.
GA/Administration Building Project Update
Mr. Rafter reported the second payment to the Surety from the money withheld from Baybutt was
made. Construction by Fasano Acchione (FA) was set to restart today. There are people on the
job site but not much movement in the form of labor. FA has submitted their completion
schedule showing a completion date near the end of June. Mr. Rafter added being told by Mr.
McGuire of Nantucket Architecture Group, the questions on the site plan as well as the electrical
issues appear to be resolved.
Mr. Drake added the drawing for the site work has been updated but the Change Order for the site
work is still pending.
Mr. Gasbarro requests the work schedule be updated to represent the actual start date of work
noting the schedule received shows a start date of two weeks ago. Ms. Topham added the
schedule needs to reflect a more realistic timeframe other than one day for final building
inspections to be performed. Mr. Gasbarro concurred noting a week is more realistic.
022613-2 Master Plan & Sustainability Program– Mr. Rafter reported participating in a
conference call today with Jacobs to discuss future IT/Facilities Infrastructure needs including the
Master Distribution Frame Room and other electronic cabinets such as security systems, flight
display screens and fire alarm system to ensure integration and the needed infrastructure for each.
This added section to the Master Plan scope was discussed at the Client Group Meeting at which
the entire draft scope was reviewed with only a few comments received from the FAA.
The final draft of the scope is expected in two weeks.
3.26.13 Airport Commission Minutes Page 3 of 6
The next public meeting date needs to be verified but thought it was to take place in April. Mr.
Drake asked for more than one week of public notice for this meeting.
032613-1 Environmental Presentation
Mr. Rafter reported Nantucket and Barnstable have been chosen as the two finalists in the State’s
Carbon Neutral Airport Proposal. We were asked to provide supplemental information
demonstrating support of the program as well as demonstrate financial commitment towards
completing the program. Mr. Karberg is putting together the response.
Noah Karberg presented an overview on the Airport’s environmental permit status:
Nantucket Airport is the third-biggest land owner on the Island. Environmental groups as
well as the State see this as significant. Inhabited species are rare both at the State level
and nationwide.
277 acres of “Aeronautical Grasslands” able to manage/mow as needed for safety
of aviation activities
302 acres of “Natural Heritage Area Mitigation” comprised of sandplain
grasslands, a habitat that exists on Nantucket because of human involvement and
whose continued existence relies on the right amount of human involvement.
Rare habitat attracts rare plant and moth species.
The Airport is required to survey and monitor rare species. Mr. Karberg presented charts
showing both plant and moth monitoring schedules. Some plant and moth monitoring
took place in 2011and there are two areas scheduled for plant monitoring this year.
The plant habitat area completed in 2011 has entered into the second phase of the
Management Plan, the Prescribed Fire Plan. Two units of the Burn Plan were completed
in late 2012 with additional burns scheduled for 2013.
2008 NHESP Permit had several requirements that are have not been completely
complied with:
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), required to meet annually, is about to
hold its third meeting.
Only 25% has been completed on our inventory and monitoring requirements.
A Comprehensive Management Plan has yet to be developed.
Reporting updates are incomplete
Conservation Funding and Planning goals have not been achieved.
Plan is being implemented to correct discrepancies going forward starting with a Baseline
inventory scheduled for 2013.
A Comprehensive Ecological Management Plan has been drafted and will be reviewed at
the TAC meeting on April 10th.
Airport needs to consider off-site sources of land such as FAA, Coast Guard or Town
land to “bank” for future mitigation. Only eighty (80) acres of Airport land left for this
purpose.
Mr. Rafter commended Mr. Karberg for his effort in putting this together noting this work is
critical for the future planning of the Airport.
Mr. Gasbarro added Mr. Karberg’s plan will help put the Airport in a positive position with Mass.
Natural Heritage.
Conversation moved towards the “bank” concept of land and all agreed needs to be pursued.
032613-2 Rental of Space for Special Events Discussion
3.26.13 Airport Commission Minutes Page 4 of 6
Mr. Rafter reported having received two separate requests for large space to hold a special event.
Mr. Rafter pointed out the policy set by the Commission in 2004 restricts events to only aviation
related; and, wasn’t sure the present Commission felt differently.
Mr. Rafter suggested looking at it more closely with some limitations as to how many, time of
year etc. After brief discussion, the Commission asked Mr. Rafter to draft a policy for limited
events for consideration at a future meeting.
Manager’s Report
Projects Update
6/24 HIRLS project is progressing on time. The entire airport will be closed after 9:00
PM March 27th for approximately 6 to 8 hours to allow for work on the runway
intersection.
Lighting fixtures and LED bulb replacement project – The lighting fixtures are in and
operational. The LED bulb supply arrived and the Maintenance staff will be installing
them next week. The next step will be to compare the electric bills after a full month of
usage.
Taxiway Delta – We are waiting for the Independent Fee Estimate. In the meantime the
conceptual layout is in progress.
RFP/Bid Status
Still waiting to hear back from UPS regarding their new Lease.
The environmental assessments of the recently bid Bunker parcels should be completed
this week and survey work is being procured.
Restaurant HVAC work is anticipated the first week of April and we are waiting for the
contractor to confirm their schedule.
Operations Update
Operations personnel had required wildlife training today.
Lakes Region Environmental is on site performing the fuel farm annual inspection as
well as the sump pump replacement.
The State has awarded a contract to paint the striping of the runways.
A response to the Planning and Land Use office regarding the possible permit violation of
Windmill Auto is being drafted.
Legislative Conference Report
Mr. Rafter noted the one of the most discussed topic was the overall impact of air travel this year
due to sequestration. Mr. Rafter met with Congressman Keating who reiterated his support of
keeping our control tower open. Mr. Rafter also met with Congressman LoBiondo, Chair of the
House Aviation Sub-Committee.
Another topic of the conference was Homeland Security noting their top priority will be on US
border security as well as cyber security.
Mr. Drake asked what impact of local TSA staff might be. Mr. Rafter knew furlough days must
be taken by TSA staff but not sure the local impact. Mr. Drake noted Cape Air may need to
adjust their website for arrival time prior to the flight.
Mr. Rafter announced Island Airlines is adding two more Caravans to their fleet and have
requested holding a ribbon cutting ceremony prior to Daffodil Weekend. They will also be
sending out a press release and hope for a quote of support from the Airport to include.
Statistic Report
Mr. Rafter noted the report has not yet been changed to fiscal year reporting.
3.26.13 Airport Commission Minutes Page 5 of 6
Mr. Sylvia reported:
Operations for February were 5,546
Enplanements for February were 5,892
Freight for February was 121,076 lbs, up 17.20& from 2012
Three noise complaints were received in February from the mid-island and Tom Nevers
areas
For Enplanements, Mr. Sylvia was asked to provide a one year comparison on the breakdown and
a five year comparison on the combined year-to date basis.
The decline is mostly attributable to multiple storms resulting in several airport closures, most
notably in Hyannis.
Mr. Gasbarro asked when the 6/24 HIRLS project will be complete. Mr. Rafter responded the
schedule calls for a completion date of early June but all indications appear sometime in May.
Mr. Drake noted at least two grant reimbursements have been submitted for this project to date
and asked if the accounting of the reimbursements have been properly posted. Mr. Rafter
remarked Ms. Christ is working closely with the Finance Department to track the financial
transactions.
Sub-Committee Reports
None.
Commissioner’s Comments
Ms. Topham asked if Mr. Rafter has looked into the FAA parking yet which Mr. Rafter replied he
had not.
Mr. Gray commented on the well attended tenant meeting noting more held in the near future.
Mr. Rafter commented four meetings were scheduled through the year.
Mr. Gray asked if a similar meeting with the corporate jets will be scheduled. Mr. Rafted noted
the biggest user, NetJets comes and meets yearly. Mr. Rafter will try to arrange but prefers to
wait until the new building is open.
Mr. Gray remarked many of the seasonal operations staff are returning this summer. Mr. Rafter
added the same may be true for the seasonal FBO staff and is additionally is contemplating a
swing position between the FBO and a receptionist.
Mr. Gray asked about the parking lot. Mr. Rafter explained the investigation into the credit card
breach involves the secret service and is still ongoing. Mr. Wilson may have a solution going
forward but cannot implement until approved.
Mr. Gray asked about the seasonal police. Mr. Rafter responded Chief Pittman has reported
having an individual lined up.
3.26.13 Airport Commission Minutes Page 6 of 6
Mr. Gasbarro asked when the Part 139 inspection was scheduled for. Mr. Sylvia thought June 5th,
6th and 7th but will verify.
A reminder that Town Meeting begins Tuesday April 2nd and that a Commission meeting will be
posted in case any business must be enacted upon. The Moderator’s Conference is scheduled for
March 28th at 2:00. Mr. Gasbarro will attend along with Mr. Rafter.
Public Comment
None.
The Commission M/S/P to enter into Executive Session, not to reconvene in Open Session, to
review Executive Session minutes of 3/1/12, 3/13/12, 3/27/12, 4/3/12, 4/19/12, 4/26/12, 5/8/12,
5/22/12, 6/12/12, 6/26/12, 7/10/12, 7/24/12, 8/28/12, 9/18/12, 9/25/12, 10/30/12, 11/6/12,
12/4/12, 12/11/12 and 12/18/12 for possible release; and to address a matter that arose earlier
today, by the following vote:
Chairman Drake – Aye
Vice Chair Gasbarro – Aye
Commissioner David C. Gray, Sr. – Aye
Commissioner Jeanette Topham - Aye
Meeting adjourned at 6:18 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
____________________________
Janine M. Torres, Recorder
Master List of Documents Used
3/26/13 Agenda including Exhibit 1
3/12/13 Draft Minutes
3/20/13 Warrant
Jesse Dutra Landscape Draft Lease
Planet Ack Inc Draft Lease
Environmental Presentation (Power Point)
10/12/04 & 1/10/05 Commission Minute Excerpt re Public Events
February Statistics Report