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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-6-12Town of Nantucket NANTUCKET MEMORIAL AIRPORT 14 Airport Road Nantucket Island, Massachusetts 02554 Thomas M. Rafter, Airport Manager J _ Commissioners Phone: (508) 325 -5300 Daniel W. Drake, Chairman Fax: (508) 325 -5306 Arthur D. Gasbarro, Vice Chair Sheila O'Brien Egan David C. Gray, Sr. AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING June 12, 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 and Sheila O'Brien Egan. Commissioner David C. Gray, Sr. was absent. Also present were Thomas M. Rafter, Airport Manager, Jeff Marks, Airfield Supervisor, William F. McGrath, Jr., Compliance Officer, David Sylvia, Training /Compliance Coordinator and Janine M. Torres, Administrative Assistant to the Airport Manager. y ;� The meeting took place in the 1St Floor Community Meeting Room at the Public Sty &-Eility, 4 Fairgrounds Road. rn rn rn Chairman Drake announced the meeting was being recorded. a The Commission M /S /P Unanimously approval of the Agenda. g : M o The Commission M /S /P Unanimously approval of the May 11, 2012 Minutes. r M �:o CD o Mr. Drake announced the minutes from the May 22, 2012 and May 30, 2012 are still pending. The Commission M /S /P Unanimously to ratify the June 6, 2012 Warrant. Public Comment None. Gift Shop Mr. Gasbarro reported he had met with Ms. Kotalac. She is concerned the timing of her extension and the deadline to place orders for fall merchandise. She is also concerned over the status of the RFP as well as what will be offered as a new lease term and per square foot charge for rent. Would we consider an off season shut down, for example? They also talked about a small display case being added in the FBO to attract GA passengers. As far as the present Lease, Mr. Gasbarro felt the Commission didn't have much choice but to charge the original Lease terms going forward. Mr. Rafter agreed with Mr. Gasbarro on returning to the original rental rate provided by the current lease and offered a first draft of the RFP ready by the end of next week, asking Ms. Kotalac to put her thoughts in writing. Mr. Rafter welcomes the idea of a display case in the FBO. Mr. Drake asked if it was feasible to split the rent payments out seasonally noting he would rather see that than an off season shut down. It is believed the rent payments could be adjusted seasonally. Ms. Kotalac shared her inquiry into mid island retail rents with an average of $31.50 per square foot. Mr. Drake noted there is somewhat of a captive audience in the terminal and that besides the rate, there was a lot to consider when putting the RFP together and welcomed as much input as possible. Discussion moved to the present Lease in regards to the rent and expiration taking into consideration the timing of the RFP between advertising and award. After brief discussion the Commission M /S /P Unanimously to extend the present Lease term to 10/31/12 at the original lease rate of $2,667 monthly and allow a 1x1x4 display case inside the FBO at a mutually agreed upon location. Fuel Pipeline Mr. Drake announced Mr. Creese of the Great Harbor Yacht Club was unable to attend the meeting and would like to table this discussion until the next meeting when both Mr. Creese and Mr. Gray would be in attendance. July 4th Preparation Mr. Rafter reported he and Mr. Sylvia attended a meeting with other Town Officials regarding July 4tn preparations. A request was made to the Airport to supply twelve port -a- potties for Nobadeer Beach; and, due to the 4th falling on a Wednesday, it is expected there will be a lot of activity both the weekend before and the weekend after. The issues are the number of port -a- potties requested is significantly higher than what has been done in previous years as well as the weekend prior falling into this fiscal year, adding to the budgetary concerns. The Airport has offered EMS access to the beach from an airfield gate rather than through congested street, donation a boat reservation, normally used for fuel delivery, for the off - island police support being considered and housing for any off - island support. Catering Agreement Mr. Drake announced the question of the legality of the Airport's Business Fee and catering charge were raised by the Town's Finance Director to Legal Counsel on the inquiry of a catering company. Mr. Drake pointed out Legal Counsel's opinion that the charges are legal is provided in the packets. Mr. Drake does question whether the Airport's process of handling the monetary side of the catering can be done differently. Kim Reed, Owner of A Taste of Nantucket, was asked for her comments. Ms. Reed did state she is satisfied with the current process but does believe Nantucket is the only FBO that doesn't allow direct billing through NetJets. 6/12/12 Airport Commission Minutes Page 2 of 6 Mr. Drake pointed out Ms. Reed, along with another caterer, was among the vendors that had to wait nine months to get paid due to the present billing system and end of fiscal year processing last year, noting the need for a better structure. Jeanette Topham, an audience member, added she provided catering to the airport for years without Town involvement and asks if the time and effort required for the bookkeeping is worthwhile. Mr. Drake agreed that is part of what needs to be examined, whether the 25% fee the Airport collects covers both the expense of handling the catering and the time and effort on the accounting side. After brief discussion, Mr. Drake asked Mr. Rafter to reach out to NetJets on alternative billing methods. FY2012 Budget Review Mr. Rafter reviewed the report prepared by the Ms. Smith shows a projection of approximately $7K over budget. Mr. Drake noted this is not the official record and was not able to obtain the Finance Department's most recent projection. Mr. Rafter added Ms. Smith did send her information downtown but did not hear back. Mr. Gasbarro asked for and received confirmation the $7K overage was for the budget in its entirety, not just fuel. Mr. Drake added the Finance Committee had on their Agenda last week, $117K transfer from our operating expense budget to payroll expense to cover recent payouts as well as some other items. This item did appear on the BOS Agenda as well but has since been removed due to the transfer not being discussed with the Airport. Airport projects approximately $33K transfer needed. Mr. Gasbarro expressed his frustration that the two departments' numbers are so different and there continues to be a lack of communication. Mr. Drake agrees and hopes they have their answers next week. General Aviation /Administration Building Costs Mr. Drake reported he has not yet received from the Finance Department the detail on the $300K journal entries they made. This amount is part of the $400K over - budget projection made by Town Counsel at a recent Board of Selectmen's meeting. A portion of this amount is valid for 'soft costs', architectural, OPM and engineering testing. It appears $150K in entries is unrelated costs and $170K is still unknown. All parties are still working on ways to cut costs. An appropriation at a future Town Meeting will most likely still be needed. ATCT Mr. McGrath reported a meeting with the FAA is scheduled for 6/26/12 to hear their presentation of the case study comparing a new tower, keeping the tower as is, or rehabbing the existing tower. Mr. McGrath reported he, Mr. Rafter and Mr. Drake visited with the Hyannis Airport Manager today and toured their new tower. Mr. Rafter added Hyannis is a'contract tower' run by a private operator under agreement with the FAA, as opposed to our tower which is staffed by FAA personnel. Security requirements are less stringent for a contract tower. Mr. Drake added the cost of the Hyannis tower was roughly $7.6M and was partially by the FAA, stimulus money and an earmark of $3M. Mr. Gasbarro confirmed that Site 2 has been taken off the table as an unacceptable site by the FAA. 6/12/12 Airport Commission Minutes Page 3 of 6 Noise Monitoring Mr. Rafter reported the process of changing over to the new system requires keeping the Passur system running concurrently for a brief period. Ms. Torres noted the contract with the new company has not yet been drafted. Mr. Drake mentioned Hyannis recently installed a system where noise monitoring sites were established at a cost of $94K per year. Mr. Rafter added the system we are moving to offers a similar module that can be added. Pending Contract /Leases After brief discussion the Commission M /S /P Unanimously to approve the Professional Services contract with Jacobs Engineering for the RW 6/24 HIRLS project in the amount of $268,424 subject to confirmation of all reimbursements. Mr. Gasbarro noticed the parallel taxiway was mentioned in the contract heading and needs to be removed. Mr. Rafter reported Fresh Air Services would like to renew their Agreement to provide plane detailing services however has asked for waiver to pay the Business Fee in installments. Additionally, it is recommended we obtain a waiver of liability document to replace the Workers Comp insurance requirement they are not legally required to obtain as an LLC. Upon the recommendation on Mr. Rafter, this item is tabled until the Business Fee is paid in full and the liability waiver is resolved. The Commission M /S /P Unanimously to approve the Seasonal Lease Agreement with US Airways for Terminal office space. Operations Report Mr. Rafter reported: • Jacobs Engineering has provided a bid recommendation be awarded to KOBO Utility Construction Corp, the sole bidder on the RW 6/24 HIRLS project. Mr. Flecchia of Jacobs added the next step would be to award the Contract and issue a Notice to Proceed. Mr. Flecchia confirmed Mr. Gasbarro's question regarding the inclusion of the bid alternate for the LED fixtures but noted the FAA had yet to make a decision on the LED eligibility for funding. • The final inspection of the RW 15/33 project is scheduled for tomorrow • A meeting to cut costs from the electronics package of the GA /Admin Building took place and a new plan has been given to the Architect to update the plan to allow pricing to occur. The project itself is back on schedule. Mr. Rafter requested permission to attend the Massachusetts Airport Manager's Association meeting being held in Hyannis in October as well as an AAAE Past President's meeting, also on the Cape, later this month. The Commission M /S /P Unanimously to approve Mr. Rafter's attendance at both conferences. Mr. Rafter's reported the interviews for both the Business Manager and Administrative Assistant have been completed and job offers have been verbally accepted. Steve McCluskey has been offered the Business Manager position at an annual salary of $70K and Ashley Christ has been offered the Administrative Assistant position at an annual salary of $55K. Mr. McCluskey may be available to start by week's end and Ms. Christ is expected to start in two weeks. 6/12/12 Airport Commission Minutes Page 4 of 6 After brief discussion the Commission M /S /P Unanimously to accept Mr. Rafter recommendations to hire Mr. McCluskey as the Business Manager at an annual salary of $70K and Ms. Christ as the Administrative Assistant at an annual salary of $55K. Mr. Drake added he has received an opinion from Legal Counsel on the role the Commission should play in the hiring process and will be added to a future agenda. The opinion provides three options: 1) The Commission participates fully in the interviews and hiring process, 2) Delegate to the Manager full authority to do the hiring, or 3) Delegate to the Manager authority to do the hiring with ratification by the Commission. The termination process will also need to be discussed. When asked by Ms. Egan, Mr. Rafter reported a new organizational chart will be forthcoming. Sub - Committee Reports None. Commissioner's Comments Mr. Gasbarro asked the Forensic Audit be placed on the next Agenda. Mr. Drake concurred and formally announced the Forensic Audit has been released and commented that he report is good, clears the air and allows us to move forward. Mr. Drake asked if the July 24th meeting could start earlier due to some travel plans. Ms. Torres will check with Mr. Gray and the meeting room availability for a 4:00 start. Mr. Drake thanked Mr. McGrath for his assistance over the past 7 months. Mr. Rafter added the community is extremely lucky to have Mr. McGrath. Mr. Gasbarro asked the Jacobs representatives had any news to report. Mr. Bill Richardson only requested an Environmental Sub - Committee meeting to discuss pending issues. Public Comment Bob Walsh, owner of Nantucket Express approached the Commission regarding the relocation of his charter operation to the North Ramp. Mr. Walsh gave a brief history of his operation since 2000. Mr. Drake noted this is an operational issue and asked Mr. Walsh to meet with the Airport Manager to resolve his issue and shouldn't involve the Commission unless the situation cannot be resolved. Jeannette Topham asked if the $55K offered to the new Administrative Assistant is the going starting rate for Town employees and does it include the benefits. Mr. Drake responded the salaries offered for both positions was passed by Human Resources who did mention the $55K for the Administrative Assistant position was on the high end, but the qualifications of the individual offered the position warranted the higher rate. There are no comparable positions currently in the Town so it's hard to measure. The salary does not include the cost of the benefits. Having no other business, the Commission M /S /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, 3/27/12, 4/3/12, 4/19/12, 4/26/12, 5/8/12 and 5/22/12 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. 6/12/12 Airport Commission Minutes Page 5 of 6 Chairman Daniel W. Drake —Aye Vice Chair Arthur D. Gasbarro —Aye Sheila O'Brien Egan —Aye Meeting adjourned 6:25 PM Resp ctfully submitted, Janine . Torres, Recorder Master List of Documents Used 6/12/12 Agenda 5/11/12 Meeting Minutes 6/7/12 Email from Arthur Gasbarro to Dan Drake, Bill McGrath and Tom Rafter re the Gift Shop 5/25/12 Email from Janine Torres to the Commission re Gift Shop RFP Nantucket Airport Gifts Chron History Denby Real Estate 5/25/12 Opinion on terminal rental rate Marsha Kotalac's mid - island rental rate survey 5/31/12 Email from GHYC to Dan Drake re fuel pipeline 6/4/12 email string from Dan Drake to John Giorgio re catering fees Master Catering License Agreement Airport's Projected FY2012 Budget (Handout) Jacobs Professional Services Agreement: RW 6/24 HIRLS Fresh Air Services License Agreement US Airway's Lease Agreement Jacobs Bid Recommendation RW 6/24 HIRLS MAMA Annual Conference Announcement 6/12/12 Airport Commission Minutes Page 6 of 6