Loading...
Aviation Advisory Board Minutes - 11/19/2009MINUTES AVIATION ADVISORY BOARD NOVEMBER 19, 2009 PRESENT: Sid Gills Jim McElvain Amy Bobrowitz H.P. Schuele Glenn Beavers Brad Altman Glenn Barham John Burrus Board Members Staff Perry Havenar Guest I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Gills at approximately 5:35 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members were asked to sign the attendance sheet III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the September 17, 2009 meeting was presented. Mr. Beavers made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrowitz, to approve the minutes as presented. All were in favor. ` 1 IV. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Municipal Airport • Staff Report on Master Plan: Mr. Burrus reported on the progress made thus far. Specific discussions centered around the meeting with Mr. Steve Horton, the financial analyst working on the Master Plan. Mr. Burrus noted that there will officially be a "Plan B" option to fund the terminal building and other related airport projects, in the event that the TIGER grant is not received. It was also noted that Councilor Michael Smith had done an interview with Channel 3 that evening, and that a new terminal building was high on the Council's priority list. Mr. Burrus indicated that it was realistic, given the commitment of the City Council to move l forward with this project, that architectural design work could begin as early as Spring of 2010. The Board also reviewed the terminal area plan, as well as the initial conceptual design of a 36,000 square foot terminal. Discussion was made concerning the methodology of choosing the "4C" design, as well as the accommodation for a "meditation" area in the terminal. Mr. Burrus also invited the Board to attend the December 15`h City Council meeting to listen to URS Corporation's Master Plan preliminary report to the Council. In addition, Mr. Burrus invited the Advisory Board to attend the public hearing that would be held the evening of December 15`h at the City of Wichita Falls Public Library. Finally, Mr. Burrus reminded the Board about the Master Plan committee meeting on December 16`h. Various Board members asked Aviation staff to send e- mail reminders of these three events as the date nears. 2. Kickapoo Downtown Airport • Final Report on T -Hanger Construction Project — Mr. Burrus noted that the project was complete and that tenants now occupied the hangers. Board members inquired whether staff was satisfied with the diamond grinding efforts to repair the concrete approach to the new hanger, and Mr. Burrus replied affirmatively. Additional discussion occurred about extensive repairs made to the runway lighting system, including Tex Schmidt's efforts in working with electrical contractors on Thursday, November 19`h to repair various airfield lighting components and wiring. Further discussion occurred about a very small crack that had developed laterally in one of the concrete panels on Runway 17/35. While staff does not think that it will present a problem, it will be monitored during FOD and light maintenance work. Mr. Burrus also briefed the Board on issues involving a "resident" of the airfield. Mr. Burrus noted that Mr. Ralph Bridges had been arrested by Wichita Falls Police Department, and that action was taken to permanently bar Mr. Bridges from the airfield. Mr. Burrus also informed the Board that security cameras had been ordered and would be installed soon. Additional inquires were made about the possibility of using Department of Energy funding to replace the windows in the terminal building to ones more energy efficient. Mr. Burrus noted that funding source was still a possibility, but that there were discussions being held to use those funds to replace windows at the Auditorium. 3. Other Aviation Items • Report on Upcoming RFQ for Professional Airport Consulting Services — Mr. Burrus extended an invitation to all Board members that wanted to attend the upcoming consultant selection process required by the Federal Aviation Administration every five years. Mr. Beavers asked if staff was satisfied with URS efforts to date. Mr. Burrus replied that for the most part, staff was satisfied. Mr. Burrus further noted that the one issue that he had with URS was their project management efforts, particularly during the Hanger Taxiway /Entry Road project. Even though that project experienced significant weather delays, Mr. Burrus believed that URS, in their capacity as project managers, could have put more pressure on the contractor and subcontractors to complete the work. Mr. Burrus, however, noted that the last two projects were well managed and completed in a timely manner. Mr. Burrus also noted that the last two projects were completed by a local construction firm, and that their efforts had been impressive. Mr. Burrus then took the opportunity to brief the Board about upcoming airfield projects for the next five years. At Kickapoo, these projects included reconstruction and expansion of the aircraft parking ramp /apron, relocation of the fuel farm and additional security fencing. At Municipal, the upcoming projects include Runway 17/35, runway lighting, terminal building and its accompanying infrastructure. V. ITEMS OF CONCERN FOR BOARD MEMBERS Mr. Beavers noted that Kickapoo staff had done little to manage the crab grass issue. He asked that staff more aggressively tackle this problem early during the Spring. Mr. Havenar from Garver Engineering took a few minutes to brief the Aviation Advisory Board on his firm's personnel and abilities. Mr. Havenar stated that he was excited to have the opportunity to compete on the City of Wichita Falls' upcoming five year agreement on engineering and architectural services. W11".. Orel " 112 meeting was adiourned at 6:55 p.m. r Monica J. Morris, Airports Administrator Date / J"Ak) 0010 Date