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Airport Committee (View All)

Airport Commission Regular Meeting Minutes 4/3/2012

Agenda
Tuesday, April 03, 2012

ASHLAND AIRPORT COMMISSION
April 3rd, 2012
 
MINUTES
 
 
 
 
MEMBERS PRESENT: DAVID WOLSKE, SUSAN MOEN, BOB SKINNER, RICHARD HENDRICKSON, ELIZABETH TRIPP, LINCOLN ZEVE, ALAN BENDER, DENNIS SLATTERY, ALAN DEBOER
STAFF: SCOTT FLEURY, MIKE FAUGHT
MEMBERS ABSENT: JEFF NIELSEN, WILLIAM SKILLMAN
Visitors:  Nicole Doran
 
CALL TO ORDER: 9:38 AM
 
  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: March 6th, 2012, motion by Hendrickson for approval, second by Tripp, unanimous vote, all approved.
 
Additional Items:  None
 
  1. Public Forum: Nicole Doran stated she is finalizing her application for appointment to the Airport Commission and will be submitting it shortly.  The Commission has 1 vacant position due to Alan Bender not applying for reappointment.
 
  1. OLD BUSINESS:
  1. AIP Project Engineering Design/Connect III: Fleury informs Commission that he has received the record drawings from the engineer. Staff is also performing the internal financial closeout of this project and coordinating with the Finance Department to verify that all payments made are correct.
  2. Entrance Sign: Staff states there is no change in the entrance sign development. Staff requests to put the development of a new entrance sign on the action item list and staff will work on it as time allows, since the old sign was repaired and will suffice for the time being while other items are being taken care of.
  3. PAPI Lights: Staff refers Commission members to attached email from Mike Cook regarding PAPI bulb replacement. Cook from the Electric Department has replaced 13 lamps since September of 2013 for a total of $286.00. Cook also stated that on average he replaces 1-2 runway bulbs per month as well. Staff states as an estimate we are looking at around $300-400 per year for bulb replacements for the PAPI lights. Commission inquires if Skinner has contacted other municipalities about how they operate their lights? Skinner states that he has not, but mentions that the vast majority of places he flies into have their lights on 24/7 as did the City of Ashland with the VASI lights previously. Skinner states that safety should be the concern of the Commission and City when it comes to making a change to the existing light system onsite. Fleury states the he did speak with the FAA regarding funding any change to the PAPI lights and it would most likely be eligible for a grant reimbursement.  Fleury also reminds Commission that the initial quote to tie the PAPI lights into the runway light system and have them run on the same number of clicks was approximately $2,000. Commission agrees that at this time the PAPI lights should be left on 24/7 and may discuss the issue again at a future date.
  4. Pavement Maintenance Program: Staff states that the contractor did complete the crack sealing work in the proposed PMP. Skinner states that the contractor did no place any herbicide in the cracks and was not prepared with an organic herbicide that would have worked. The contractor had a powder form herbicide that would not work onsite due to windy conditions at the airport. Staff states that in the specification the contractor has the ability to either apply or not apply any herbicide during the operation. Staff states they did request through the project engineer that if any herbicide was to be placed it was organic as the City policy states. Skinner also states that they did not do some work proposed up on the runway return taxiway as the contractor believed the conditions had deteriorated from the previous condition analysis. Staff states the City was not informed of the contractor not completing any work, but will look into it. Staff informs the Commission that most often the engineers can field change by adding or reducing the amount of work performed under contract. Staff states that since the PMP is an ongoing yearly project that most likely when ODA has another engineering firm work on the PMP for design purposes that they will recommend additional asphalt work to encompass deteriorating conditions on the return taxiway. In addition Skinner’s service was used during the crack sealing portion of the project to move aircraft around to allow the contractor access to all areas. Skinner requested a reduction of 8 hours of manpower time from the next monthly billing. Staff thought the request appropriate as Skinner was not required to perform the service and City staff was not available to perform the specific required tasks.
  5. Zoning Ordinance: Staff states that Molnar is developing the required information to adopt the layout plan into the comprehensive plan, which would be the first step in the process for developing a system where an over the counter building permit could be issued for hangar construction. Staffs basic understanding of the adoption is that the Planning Commission needs to approve the master plan and then it is taken to the City Council for approval and adoption based on the recommendation of the Planning Commission. In addition the overlay zoning ordinance needs to be updated with airport appropriate development requirements. The zoning update should take into account commercial vs. personal hangar development onsite with requirements. This zoning update has received a line item in the airport budget and will be going for approval in late April before the Budget Committee and then to City Council for final approval. Staff would like to see the Planning Department perform the work required to update to code, so no grant money is spent towards it, but that is staff dependant on them and the code does need to be change. Commission asks if this will be a two part process with the master plan adoption and a code change or a one part process, as they would like to see these issues resolved in a timely manner as zoning issues have plagued airport development for years. Commission would like to put pressure on planning to provide required information and assistance in the process as it appears that the airport zoning issues are a low priority. Faught states that he discussed the issue with Molnar and the first step is to adopt the master plan into the comprehensive plan and will discuss code changes and if they should be done at the same time. Faught states that there will not be a true time savings to include both into one as the time to develop a zoning update will control the project timeline overall. Hendrickson states that staff should use their best judgment to move the process along as quickly as possible.
 
  1. NEW BUSINESS:          
  1. Good Neighbor Policy: Wolske begins discussion regarding email received from Voget on Sunday April 1st regarding a helicopter that took off from Brims hangar and flew about 300 feet from the Voget house at about 100 feet altitude.  Skinners stated the he saw a pilot from Brim Aviation perform the same maneuver Monday morning when leaving the airport and that it was not necessary, that the pilot could have used the runway for departure.  Fleury states that after the initial letter was sent out he had a conversation with Brim on the phone regarding using the prescribed approach and departure pattern. Brims concern was helicopters and fixed wing are required to operate apart from each other as mandated by the FAA. Fleury stated that may be true at commercial airports, but Ashland is a  general aviation airport and fixed wing incursions with helicopters is not an issue, specifically with operators using their radios to inform all air traffic of their operations. Brim stated he would do his best to comply with the request. It appears to the Commission that Brim Aviation is not complying with the request and thus generating complaints from surrounding property owners for taking off directly from his hangar and flying at a low altitude past said property owners. The Commission would like to see a more forceful letter directed to Brim Aviation regarding using the runway and not taking off directly from the existing hangar. Bender states the City should discuss with the FAA and find out if they have a way to deal with this issue directly. Motion by Hendrickson: City draft a letter to Brim Aviation asking to comply with the proper runway approach and departure pattern in order to minimize or eliminate impacts to surrounding property owners, 2nd by Tripp, all approved. Staff to draft a letter to send to Brim Aviation. The letter will be reviewed by Skinner and the Legal Department before being sent to Brim Aviation.
  2. FBO RFP/Lease: Staff states that the RFP is almost complete and ready for Commission review. Staff also informs Commission that Lohman is back from vacation and should be finalizing the lease document. Once the lease document is finalized staff will setup a new subcommittee meeting to discuss final draft and then at a subsequent regular meeting discuss with the whole Commission. Staff expects to advertise the RFP at some point in late May.
  3. T-Hangar Enclosure: Staff informs Commission that previously in a preliminary budget meeting the approval was given to include  a package of $50k to enclose the remaining shade hangars. The budget amount was based on a preliminary quote from received by Skinner Aviation. Staff did discuss the enclosure with the Building Department in order to determine if sprinklers would be required if the hangars where remodeled. The Building Department is still reviewing NFPA 409, but they believe there may be a square footage cutoff where sprinklers would not be required. Staff to continue to work with the Building Department on this issue. The budget goes before the Budget Committee May 7th and if approved the funds would be available for FY13 starting July 1st. Staff at that point can work towards development of an Request for Quote to enclose the shade hangars.
  4. Tree Encroachment Survey: Staff informs Commission that Terra Survey conducted the approach slope survey in March and determined that 9 trees are currently encroaching into the 20:1 approach slope. Staff states that they will move forward with development of an
    “Request for Quotation” (RFQ) for the tree trimming services. The RFQ will be similar to the one done in 2006, the last time the trees where topped. Terra Survey will be sent back out to the site at some point to develop the full survey with the tree cut list and the actual length to top for the specific trees within the cut list.
 
  1. AIRPORT MANAGER REPORT/FBO REPORT/AIRPORT ASSOCIATION:
  1. Status of Airport, Financial Report, Review of Safety Reports: Skinner reports that his fuel supplier has split up and epic aviation is no longer branded by BP. Skinner has had pricing issues with Epic Aviation with gas being 25 cents higher than competitors rates. Skinner is looking into new fuel supplier agreements and possibly working with Million Air in Medford on a joint fuel supplier. Skinner informs Commission that the SuperAwos has been shutting down at the end of day as it appears that the battery system needs replacement. Skinner is researching the specs on replacement and will work with City staff to get the system back and working correctly as soon as he can. Skinner also states that the hydraulic door stop was installed on JLC Avionics front door so the wind will not be able to slam the door shut on people anymore. Skinner informs Commission that the north windsock frame is in need of replacement and states that previously Peters ordered the frame from a vendor that Skinner supplied.
 
  1. Maintenance Updates: Staff informs Commission that curtain drain was installed around Bartell’s hangar recently. The work that was done will allow roof drains for that bank of hangars to be plumed into the storm drain system, so when the hangars are enclosed and gutters are installed a large amount of surface water will be eliminated from around the hangars.
 
  1. Brown Bag: Moen reports that the lunch group had a discussion about the Sky Research Connect Oregon IV grant application for hangar construction meeting the goals of the airport, as the Mayor is part of the committee that will make a recommendation on application approval to the State. Moen also states they had a brief discussion about
 
  1. Transportation Commission: No update.
 
  1. Medford Airport Update: Bender does not have any significant updates to report to Commission.
 
  1. Action Item List: Wolske requests addition of action item bullet in list so Commission remembers to discuss action items at each meeting. Wolske and Hendrickson state they are still in development of a new airport users group and are working towards developing a bbq with airport users to gauge interest in becoming part of the group.
 
 
  1. OTHER:
The meeting of the JC airport commission is the third Monday of the month at 12:00 PM.
 
  1. NEXT MEETING DATE:  May 1st, 9:30 AM
 
ADJOURN:  Meeting adjourned at 11:30

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