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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-4-19z N n ° z ^� Town of Nantucket NANTUCKET MEMORIAL AIRPM'C 14 Airport Road Nantucket Island, Massachusetts 02554 0 -� William F. McGrath, Jr., Airport Manager Phone: (508) 325 -5300 Fax: (508) 325 -5306 z M n rn_ M Conzmissmnersv Daniel V9)raQ;Chainnan Arthur DpCasbarro, Vice Chair Sheila O'Brien Egan David C. Gray, Sr. AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING April 19, 2012 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, Sheila O'Brien Egan, and David C. Gray, Sr. Also present were William F. McGrath, Jr., Interim Airport Manager, Jeff Marks, Airfield Supervisor, David Sylvia, Training /Compliance Officer, Yolanda Taylor, Administrative Coordinator and Janine Torres, Administrative Assistant. The meeting took place in the 1st Floor Community Meeting Room at the Public Safety Facility, 4 Fairgrounds Road. Chairman Drake announced the meeting was being recorded. The Commission Unanimously MISIP approval of the Agenda. Public Comment None. Manager Search Update /Discuss Compensation Package A draft employment offer letter to Mr. Rafter was reviewed. Mr. Drake commented Mr. Rafter would waive participation in the Town's health plan, at a saving to the Airport of about $18,000 per year and therefore proposes an increase of $1 OK, requiring a revote of the April 16, 2012 salary of $130K. After brief review of the remainder of the letter, the Commission MISIP Unanimously to approve the employment offer set forth in the letter to Mr. Rafter. Mr. Gasbarro added he has a draft of an evaluation form. Energy Audit Discussion Tabled to next meeting. VALE Project Update Mr. McGrath reported the FAA is still reviewing. Pending ContractslLeases • MISIP Unanimously a contract with Oshkosh Corp for $5,611.96 for parts to repair the roof turret on Airport 2. • MISIP Unanimously a contract with Schmidt Equipment for $8,824.87 for parts and labor to repair loader. • MISIP Unanimously a seasonal airline lease with Air Wisconsin • MISIP Unanimously a seasonal airline lease with Delta Air Lines • MISIP Unanimously a 5 year lease with the FAA for the Air Traffic Control Tower retroactive back to 10/1/2010 Mr. Drake clarified it is the Town's Finance Director, not the airport's finance person that needs to approve contracts as to the funds availability. Sub - Committee Reports Financial Mr. Drake shared a debt service packet that was prepared by the Town Finance Director. The major comments were: • Long Term Debt: of the 10 projects listed, 3 have been identified as reimbursable, reducing principal by $3.5M • There are 2 pieces to the GA building project, $1.5M has already been spent leaving $3M unfunded • The Board of Selectman (BOS) are concerned about any additional spending • Short term borrowing for 1 more year is a slight possibility. • Mr. Drake made an independent decision to remove the fence portion out of the Runway 6124 HIRLS project. The remaining portion of the project is a safety issue and will be 97'/2% reimbursed by grants. Mr. Drake urged the need to re- examine the fee schedule suggesting two options: • Increase the landing fees for the heavier jets • Institute a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) - $4.50 per passenger is the max allowed. Nantucket would seek a $2 to $3 dollar PFC. Mr. Drake would like to explore use of a consultant to assist in the application process with the goal being to submit an application to the FAA in July. After brief discussion the Commission M /SIP Unanimously for Mr. Drake to further explore the option of instituting a PFC. Mr. Gasbarro distributed a draft memo recommending the airport's transition from its current accounting software to the Town's MUNIS accounting software beginning November 1, 2012 noting it will require some resources, estimating a cost of $20K. Estimated date of completion is May, 2013. The Commission agreed to move forward. Mr. Drake requested a Finance Sub - Committee meeting to be posted for 5/2/12, 8:00 AM at the SRE building with the topic being 'Review Engineering Projects'. Environmental Mr. Gasbarro reported the topics discussed at an Environmental Sub - Committee meeting held earlier in the day with Bill Richardson of Jacobs Engineering and Peggy Fantozzi, environmental consultant to the Airport: • The Spill Prevention Plan requires updated every five years. A letter will be drafted to the EPA • 15t round results of the Air Quality Monitoring station do not show any significant issues; however there has been limited use of the runways and have yet to test during summertime prevailing southwest winds • Two projects are related to our 1995 National Heritage (NH) Permit relating to land management activities /grassland mow schedule: 1) the control burn, and 2) plant monitoring. Due to budgetary restrictions, one must be postponed. It was determined the control burn must take precedence over the plant monitoring. Ms. Fantozzi will approach NH about the airport's plans and get their feedback. • Discussed instituting an education program for ground operations for APU use and the ramp. • Discussed SW Ramp Expansion project and the possibility of starting public awareness this summer. Sub - Committee Assignments On Mr. Drake's suggestion, it was decided to wait until the new Commission was appointed to update the sub - committee assignments. Operations Report Projects Update — Mr. McGrath reported: • RW 15/33 Extension - Paving of the runway intersection going well with minimal impact to aircraft operations. Markings should be complete by mid -day tomorrow allowing RW 15/33 to be open 24/7. RW 6/24 is scheduled to be open by Daffodil Weekend. • RW 6/24 HIRLS /Signs /Fencing — Met with FAA regarding postponement of project. FAA made it clear deficiency is in place. Failure to move forward will initiate a 'Letter of Investigation' and could lead to a civil penalty of up to $100K and decertification of the airport. Mr. McGrath reported the runway lights are extremely fragile and at risk of falling over. Their failure would force the airport to close its main runway during IFR operations and at night.. The fence is also very fragile and could create a security and safety issues should it be no longer able to be patched. Mr. Gray asked if the signs had to be replaced right away. Mr. Marks responded yes, they are also in bad shape. Mr. Drake interjected the issue is the timing of the borrowing. Without the funding in place, the contract will not be approved. We are hoping for a quick grant award from the FAA to allow the borrowing process to commence for June bonding. Otherwise, the project won't have to go back out to bid. Airport Commission Minutes 4/19/12 Page 2 of 4 Operations — Mr. McGrath reported FAA Inspector has raised the issue of our commercial ramp layout addressing compliance with the Taxiway Obstruction Free Area for the larger aircraft. This will mean reconfiguring the ramp to comply. Airlines will need to have additional ground equipment on hand to handle push backs. The new layout is still in draft form and will be shared with the Commission. The contract for the new noise monitoring has yet to be drafted. Budget concerns have not made it a high priority. The two contracts being approved tonight appears to bring the line item for equipment maintenance to its budgeted limit. The airport still needs to get the ARFF trucks inspected as required. The first inspection is typically done in May so we aren't sure how that will play out. There is no new information from the FAA on the ATCT Business Plan or Parallel Taxiway. Mr. Gray asked if Operations had been turning the jets on the South Ramp. Mr. McGrath responded the ramp hasn't been busy enough yet to try it. Statictics /Noise — David Sylvia reported: • Operations through March were 18,997. Down 38.1 % over base year (1986) and down 21.76% from last year. • Enplanements through March were 21,403. Up 3.36% from base year and down 19.37% from last year. • Freight through march was 385,169 lbs. Up 5.48% from last year. • There was 1 noise complaint for March towards the helicopter. 11 total complaints through March. Total flights observed for the noise abatement was 359 of which 5 were non - compliant. Two for Cape Air, one for Island Air and 2 were GA, single engine flights. Both airlines were over 85% compliant and will receive a discount on their landing fees. Island Air was the overall winner with 99.32% compliance compared to Cape Air at 98.63°/x. Commissioners Comments Mr. Gray commented on the continued problems with the parking lot entrance and suggested we leave the gate open or go back to taking pictures until we can get it fixed. Mr. McGrath stated leaving the gate open risks loss in revenue and reverting to the old way is labor intensive. The delay on getting the vendor on site has been procurement. Mr. Drake asked Ms. Torres to recheck with the Procurement Officer on the 3 Year spending history when determining if procurement is needed. Ms. Egan suggested selling advertising on the website to increase revenue. Without a dedicated person for the website, it would just be another burden right now. Mr. Drake reported the #$1,000.00 donation to the Chamber of Commerce to sponsor Daffodil Weekend has been rejected at the Town level as a "charitable grant ".whiuch ios p[rohibited by the State Constittuion. While pointing out that the Commonwealth supports the Chamber of Commerce, he didn't feel it fiscally responsible to spend more money with Legal Counsel to resolve the issue. Mr. Drake recommended suspending filming of the Commission Meetings to help with the budget. The Commission M /S /P to discontinue paying for filming services. Mr. Drake recommends a sign in the FBO do educate the GA passengers and pilots of the no tipping policy. Public Comment Jeannette Topham asked if the Madequecham House was suitable for the new manager. Mr. Drake noted they did consider it but the house is not winterized. Mr. Drake did ask for anyone with any leads on housing, specifically short term housing to please call the airport office. It was MIS /P by the following vote to enter into Executive Session, not to reconvene in open session, to review the Executive Session minutes of 3/1/12, 3/13/12 and 3/27/12 for possible release and to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation, which if held in open session, may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigation. Airport Commission Minutes 4/19/12 Page 3 of 4 Chairman Daniel W. Drake — Aye Vice Chair Arthur D. Gasbarro — Aye Sheila O'Brien Egan — Aye David C. Gray, Sr. —Aye Meeting adjourned 7:03 PM. Res ectfully submitted, Janin M. Torres, Recorder Master List of Documents 4/19/12 Agenda 3/27/12 Meeting Minutes 3/31/12 Meeting Minutes 4/3/12 Meeting Minutes Draft Employment Offer Letter to Mr. Rafter (Handout) 4/13/12 E -mail from Diane O'Neil re Energy Audit Procurement Oshkosh Contract Schmidt Equipment Contract Air Wisconsin Lease Delta Air Lines Lease FAA ATCT Lease Finance Dept spreadsheet on Airport Capital Project Funding dtd 4/18/12 Financial Policy Sub -Cttee Draft Memo re MUNIS (Handout) Airport Commission Sub - Committee Assignments dtd 10/25/11 GA/Admin Building Construction Summary Report for March March 2012 Statistic /Noise Report Airport Commission Minutes 4/19/12 Page 4 of 4