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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAirMinutes_2009_01_15 - 1 - Brookings Airport Board Brookings, SD 57006 January 15, 2009 The Brookings Airport Board was called to order by Chairperson Jeff Boulware on Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 4:10 PM in the Meeting Room at City Hall. Members present were Lynn Riedesel, Jim Bailey, Orv Smidt, Harry Forsyth, and Boulware. Also present were Randy Hanson and Jerry Waltman – Pheasant’s Fury, City Engineer Jackie Lanning, and Airport Manager Mike Wilson. Item #2 – (Forsyth/Riedesel) Motion to approve the minutes from the December 1, 2008 meeting. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED . Item #3 – (Bailey/Smidt) Motion to approve the agenda. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED . Item #4 – The next meeting will be held on February 19, 2009 at 1:00. Due to a conflict with one of the members, this time schedule will be in place until May 2009. Item #5 – Old Business – Update of Essential Air Service – Airport Manager Mike Wilson reported that Great Lakes Aviation was awarded the contract for Essential Air Service for Brookings by the South Dakota Department of Transportation. Wilson added that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is working on getting their equipment up and running, but they are waiting to see what the length of EAS will be for Brookings. They can set up fairly quickly now if necessary. Boulware asked if their equipment was available. Wilson said with TSA, getting employees ready to work is more of an issue. City Engineer Jackie Lanning asked Wilson about the grant for the law enforcement officers (LEOs) that work at the airport. Wilson said the grant should not be submitted until officers are hired, and the funds are actually needed. Lanning asked if the LEOs used in the past would need to be recertified or if officers would be hired from the current certified police force. Wilson didn’t have any additional information on the LEOs. Orv Smidt asked how long it would be before the airline could actually be serving Brookings. He said that the longer the city is without the service, the harder it will be to get customers back using the service again. Wilson said he felt it would be imperative to get Daktronics using EAS. He said he would hope that Great Lakes will work with Daktronics. Wilson said that Great Lakes may be serving Marshall, MN also. Smidt asked if the flights would run together. Wilson didn’t think so. Boulware asked for a start-up date. Wilson said May or June 2009. He said he would know more after March 6 as that is when the FAA will give final authorization. - 2 - Item #6 – Airport Conference 2009 – Wilson told the Board that the annual Airports Conference will be held in Aberdeen this year on March 25 and 26. He asked Board members to let the secretary know if they plan to attend. She will make the conference and room reservations. All Board members said they would like to attend the conference. Wilson, Lanning and City Manager Jeff Weldon will also attend the conference Wilson will also attend the administrative meetings the day prior to the conference. Item #7 – Airport Manager’s Report – Wilson said the snowplow engine blew up. The Street Department has been helping at the airport when they are not using the equipment on the city streets. Repairs for the snow plow are estimated at $8,000. It is a 1990 truck purchased for $14,000 in 2006. Wilson said he has begun writing the bid specs for a new snow plow truck. He said appropriation funds can be used for the purchase. Boulware asked if a new plow truck could be purchased from state surplus. Wilson said if federal dollars will help pay the cost of a new truck, the city will need to pay only 3% of the total cost. Riedesel asked if the truck was big enough to do the job it needed to do. Wilson said no, he needs a bigger one. He said a plow truck is better than a blade as a blade removes the porous base course on the runway. Lanning said there will be a staff meeting in Pierre, Thursday, January 29 including the State Historical Preservation Office, the US Fish and Wildlife Services, the Corp of Engineers, Helms & Assoc., HNTB, and the City of Brookings staff. They will be going over the Environmental Assessment draft. All entities need to look it over to be sure nothing is omitted. Lanning said all issues must be complete on both the on-site option and the off-site option. This is the final step to complete the study before the City Council votes on the final site. Lanning said a date will need to be identified for the City Council vote. Educational meetings will then follow. Lanning specified that two complete Environmental Assessments are being done so both sites are treated equally. She added that the flood plain is also an issue with the on-site option. Boulware asked when the City Council will be able to vote on the preferred airport site. Lanning said she is hoping for 2009. Lanning added that she would like to have the reviews in February or March and then the public meetings will follow . She said there are also regulations on how many days the final reports must be posted. Lanning added that it is a frustratingly slow process, but the FAA has rules, and they must be followed as the FAA funds are essential to Brookings. Boulware asked Wilson what the condition was of the runway. Wilson said he has it listed as poor. Boulware added that his flight instructors are saying that all area airports are in much better condition than is Brookings. Wilson said that Brookings had sleet and ice when other airports didn’t, and then the ice was covered with snow. He added that he is hoping with the warmer weather that is predicted for the weekend, higher temperatures will help improve conditions. He said he cannot use the sander because the truck is broken. And he can’t use the Street Department’s - 3 - because he can’t use their salt on the runway. He said it is a possibility to use the Street Department’s motor grader, but that tends to take the paint off the surface of the runway. Item #8 – FBO Report – Randy Hanson asked Wilson what his timeline was for getting the above ground tanks operational. He said he is having trouble with the sump pump, and the gas tanks are taking on water. Wilson said he needs to write the specs, and now he has been delayed on that project because of the specs that are needed for the snowplow truck. He assured Hanson that he will work on the project. Hanson told the Board he knows he must come to them if he has a plane that will be housed long-term. But he wanted to know if he needed to contact the Board for an overnight plane. Wilson said having planes are fine. It is just when he has businesses that the Board needs to be informed. Hanson said that Sovereign Air, Inc. will have a 172 available at the airport to rent by pilots. Pheasant’s Fury will do the paperwork. He added that Pheasant’s Fury has a “Statement of Understanding” with Sovereign Air, Inc. Hanson asked the Board if they need any additional paperwork from him. Forsyth said no, if the FBO is satisfied, then the Board is satisfied. Wilson said he wanted to be sure that Sovereign Air, Inc. is authorized for rentals. He asked Hanson to get the tail number to him. Riedesel complimented Hanson’s staff for the exceptional work they have done for him. The meeting was adjourned. ____________________________ __________________________ Diane M. Spencer, Secretary Jeff Boulware, Chairperson