Back to Homepage

Learn about the City's plan to construct and move the water treatment plant - Clean drinking water is an essential right

Agendas and Minutes

Airport Committee (View All)

Airport Commission Regular Meeting Minutes

Agenda
Tuesday, December 06, 2011

ASHLAND AIRPORT COMMISSION
December 6^th, 2011

MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT: LINCOLN ZEVE, DAVID WOLSKE, JEFF NIELSEN, , SUSAN MOEN, ELIZABETH TRIPP
STAFF: SCOTT FLEURY, MIKE FAUGHT
MEMBERS ABSENT: ALAN BENDER, ALAN DEBOER, WILLIAM SKILLMAN, BOB SKINNER, RICHARD HENDRICKSON, DENNIS SLATTERY
Visitors: Mark Freeborn

CALL TO ORDER: 9:30 AM

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 1^st, 2011, motion by Zeve for approval, second by Moen, unanimous vote, minutes approved as amended.

Additional Items: None

Public Forum: Mark Freeborn gives a general overview of the planning process to build a hangar onsite and how he had to pull out of the potential hangar construction process due to the hurdles presented by the planning process.

OLD BUSINESS:
1. AIP Project Engineering Design/Connect III: Fleury informs Commission that the ODA paperwork for the project closeout has been completed and the City is now able to make a request for reimbursement towards the 5% match monies of the ConnectOregon III grant. Reid Middleton is still completing the FAA project closeout documentation and the City is waiting for the as built drawings. Wolske states that the fill area to the west of the runway has numerous swales, hills and rocks that could create a problem in the future when the City is onsite to mow. Fleury to look into it and see if anything can be done during future project work to improve area.
2. CAP Hangar Lease: Fleury states that the Air Force has determined the hangar does indeed belong to CAP corporate and they have the right to sell the hangar outright. It appears that we are back to the original discussion of allowing the CAP to sell the hangar outright to a 3^rdparty and the City will negotiate a new ground lease with the owner of the building. Commission has concerns over the continued lost revenue associated with the CAP hangar as it has been vacant now since April and the process has hit snag after snag. Neilsen states that he has spoken with the CAP and they have a sealed bid process in place and currently have 3 bids for the hangar. Wolske would like to speed up the process by looking into the legal option of taking the hangar since it have been vacant since April and no forward progress towards a resolution. Zeve motion: City should move forward with taking of the hangar through legal action if possible, 2^ndby Tripp, all approved. Fleury to discuss motion with Legal and also contact the CAP to determine if they have a time frame for sale of hangar. Commission would also like Fleury to review CAP lease addendum for associated time frame to sell hangar.
3. Pavement Maintenance Program: Fleury informs Commission that the maintenance improvements will take place next spring. A schedule will be sent out to all users once it has been developed by the contractor. Commission asks about possible weed treatments to be used by contractor performing the pavement maintenance? Fleury to check with James Kirby at WH Pacific regarding the weed issue prior to construction. Fleury also will check back with the Jeff McFarland at the Parks Department to see if he has used a vinegar based solution to treat weeds in City Parks.
4. Entrance Sign: Commission discusses improving the front entrance sign. Commission would like to see the sign redone and improved to include all businesses on site and be more visible along the entrance road. Fleury stated that it was previously mentioned that the onsite businesses should get together and develop a new sign to include their names. Fleury to research sign code information prior to the next meeting and relay information to Commission in January. Fleury believes that the City can upgrade the sign internally, but the onsite businesses would have to pay their own portion to be included on the sign.

NEW BUSINESS:
1. Good Neighbor Policy: Wolske reviews an email received from Voget weekend regarding the low flyover on her property of a helicopter Sunday afternoon. Commission discusses the fact that since the airport is un-towered that helicopter pilots are not required to use the normal approach that fixed wing aircraft use, but Commission would like to reinforce the opinion that to minimize the impact to the surrounding properties it would be best to use the standard approach pattern. Wolske would like to reinforce to Brim that his pilots should avoid low flying over adjacent properties when approaching the hangar. Commission would also like Skinner to draft a letter to be posted at the FBO building as notice to all helicopter pilots that they should if at all possible use a normal approach to the airport to minimize the disturbance to surrounding properties. Fleury to contact Skinner and ask him to draft letter for posting at the FBO office and speak directly with any helicopter operators regarding the issue.
2. FBO Lease Addendum: Fleury has no update from the Legal Department regarding the FBO lease addendum. Neilsen stated that he called and left a message for Dave Lohman regarding the status of the lease update as it has been over two months since the last subcommittee meeting and the addendum has not been finished. Fleury states that he will discuss with Faught and have Faught find out status of lease from Lohman. Commission would like to stress the fact that this process for the lease update has fallen apart previously and they do not want to see that happen again for the sake of airport operations.
3. QT Technologies: Fleury states that the time has come to renew the self fueling computer system warranty and he has requested an invoice from QT for the platinum level service. The Commission has agreed for the past few years to renew at the platinum level service and the money has been budgeted into the airport account. Fleury to bring this back at the January meeting after receiving the invoice for a final discussion.
4. Carey Hangar buyout: Fleury informs Commission that Dr. Stephen Carey’s widow contacted the City regarding their first right of refusal for the remaining lease rights of the hangar. She was interested in selling the remaining rights for $7,000. The City was prepared to buy out the remaining rights and turn the hangar into a month to month rental, but she withdrew her offer and will maintain ownership of the lease rights until October of 2018.
5. Zoning Ordinance Subcommittee: Development of the subcommittee has been postponed. Commission discusses Freeborn’s plight with regards to the planning process and how it needs to be simplified in order to encourage development on site. With the additional requirement of sprinklers along with a long and arduous planning process the Commission sees little development on site unless the process is simplified. Neilsen would like to see a paradigm developed for constructing a hangar onsite to help lead people through the process. As it stands currently the process appears to be too convoluted for general construction of a hangar. Faught states that in a future meeting having Bill Molnar from planning attend would help regarding discussions of simplifying the development process at the Airport. Faught to discuss the process with Molnar and see if a direct solution exists.

AIRPORT MANAGER REPORT/FBO REPORT/AIRPORT ASSOCIATION:
Status of Airport, Financial Report, Review of Safety Reports:Skinner absent from meeting. FBO report sent via email previous week and nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Maintenance Updates: Fleury states that he will work with Skinner directly regarding installation of the security cameras, installation of a hydraulic door stop for JLC avionics and repair of their window. This will allow the projects to be completed in a timely manner. This has been a point of discussion in the FBO lease addendum that will allow Skinner to perform necessary repairs and maintenance without having the time delay associated with the City’s facilities maintenance crews who maintain all City buildings. Fleury also still trying to contact mainline electric to discuss the PAPI change over to a pilot controlled system.

Brown Bag: No brown bag meeting report.

Transportation Commission: Wolske has been attending meetings, but has nothing new to report regarding the airport and its role in Ashland’s transportation system plan.