Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAirport Advisory Commission Minutes 091924Airport Advisory Commission MINUTES September 19, 2024, 3:00 p.m. International Stearman Community Center, Stearman Building, Second Floor 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Aaron Repp at 3:01 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Present Aaron Repp (Chairperson) David Christensen David Carlton Phillip Wolford (FBO Rep) Ken Springer (KCAP Rep) Absent Council Liaison Bradley Hix Ex-Officio Don Miles (Director of Parks & Recreation) Michael Doi (Director of Public Works) Jeff Olson (consultant) Michelle Boos Public Members in Attendance Stu Olmsted Brian Valero Scott Delawder Toby Meyers (Jet Air) 3. Approval of Minutes: August 15, 2024, Meeting David Christesen made a motion to accept the minutes as presented and seconded by Ken Springer. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Updates and Reports: Airport Consultant (Jeff Olson) General - Jeff Olson delivered a project schedule to Mike Doi and said he would be available for meetings as needed. Airport Layout Plan Fuel Island Project Low Lead Fuel The 100 low lead was placed on the east edge of the apron. Arcs are shown around the proposed tank location for suggested/required setbacks: South – from the taxiway connector North – from the useable tie-downs East - from the storm sewer Power will need to be provided from the land side of the airport. Any existing conduits? Wolford said he has no problem losing tie-downs, there are a lot in the area. Olson said he could black them out so they would still be useable. Jeff – the yellow arc is drawn for a suggested offset; it is not standard and could be removed. Repp: do others provide the yellow arc? Olson: it’s about 50/50. Wolford: seems like a good idea. Olson: the design is 80% complete, documentation will be sent to the state in 2-4 weeks. It takes them 30 days to review. Barring no comments, it would be final. Wolford: could the low lead have been kept at its original location? Olson: No, because of utility issues. Jet A Fuel Olson: tried to find position with setbacks. The service road requires a 25-foot offset. East – utilities running down the apron’s edge. West – removal of existing tanks Mr. Doi stated the north arrow on the maps is facing the wrong way. Wolford: consider a new maintenance building in a location more convenient. Meyers: move it further south. Wolford: fuel trucks would have to go onto the runways to access. Make sure there’s room for a new maintenance building. The fence location is affected. It is not in the project scope and may need to be done in-house. Wolford: is a 15,000-gallon tank proposed? Olson: yes. During previous discussions, two (2) 12,000-gallon bulk tanks were considered. Olson: can put a 15,000-gallon tank in the base bid with a 20k tank option. Wolford: do not add the 20k option, stay with 15k, everyone is ok with that. Olson: there is a 24-inch RCP storm sewer running in the fenced-in area of the existing fuel area. No storm sewer relocation was put in the budget. There is no inlet nearby [which could intercept fuel from a leak] so it may be ok. The storm sewer could be dog- legged around the tank and connected with two inlets without cutting the pavement. The tank will have to meet the 25-foot minimum setback from the road where the refueling truck would park. Wolford and Meyers said it’s the same as many other airports and should be no problem. Wolford: the existing dispenser is still in good shape, is a new dispenser planned? Olson: the plan is to reuse the existing dispenser. Mr. Doi brought up that there have been problems with the pressure tests passing for the fuel tanks. Olson: could separate the removal of the tanks and enter into a LUST (Leaking Underground Storage Tank) agreement, if possible. Then the city would only have to pay the deductible. There is an existing 500-gallon diesel tank within the fuel site. It could be relocated, if needed. Olson: in the past, preliminary tank plans were sent to the fire marshal for pre-approval, this cannot be done any more. Parking Lot Olson: the overarching theme is there are more areas of eligible pavement than what was programmed or with available funding. Jeff sees the priorities as follows: (1) the base bid would be the parking lot, (2) the entrance road, and (3) the auxiliary parking lot, circle drive, etc. Maintenance strategies could be employed for areas that are unable to be funded. Wolford: there were 750 people at the Stearman Saturday breakfast and an additional entrance road would provide a circle drive and lessen the confusion using the existing configuration. Olson: There is not enough money for an additional entrance road. Meyers said that Ameren needs to repair the facility in the parking lot. Stormwater runs into the electrical boxes and into the transformer, which has sunk below the surrounding pavement. He has called Ameren numerous times about the problem. Olson: the parking lot used to not encompass the Ameren transformer but has expanded a few times and now encircles the area. Mr. Doi will talk to Ameren. Olson asked if everyone approved of the priority for the parking lot rehabilitation. Doi agreed. Wolford would like to see an additional entrance off the main road and will review and consider making recommendations on reprioritization. Wolford: Would the city do the striping so it would not need to be added to the contract? Doi: Yes. Wolford thanked Jeff Olson for attending the meeting and updating the commission. a. FBO Update (Phillip Wolford) i. Stearman Fly-In Recap 78 Stearman planes participated in the fly-in. 71 participated last year. There was no damage to the runway lights this year. The grounds looked great. With the construction of the Stearman building, they should be able to cut down on the number of portable bathrooms needed. No complaints were received about the camping area. Phillip would still like to have electricity provided to the camping area and an additional entrance added. There were 750 plus people in attendance at the Saturday breakfast. He expects there will be 1,500 people in the future. The only complaint received was that the grass area in the parking lot was too long but that was from people who came to the event early, which prohibited mowing. Delawder said the grass looked better than ever. Meyers said the parks department did a great job keeping the area clean and emptying the trash cans. b. Airport Manager Update (Michael Doi) i. Stearman Event – update provided by Wolford. ii. Project Update: 1. Airport Layout Plan (ALP), Parking Lot, Fuel Island - update provided by Olson. 2. Maintenance Building. The maintenance building is on hold until a funding source becomes available. Olson: the ALP has needed to be updated for a very long time. At the programming meeting last year, IDOT said the ALP needed to be completed to justify the runway lengths and widths, so the city/consultant was allowed to split the plan into two phases. Since that time, the staff at IDOT has decided not to allow any more phasing of ALP’s. 3. Future projects: Runway 3-21 overlay; Replace runway lighting - update provided by Olson. Olson: informed the commission that the apron is the lowest scoring for future programming, but the runways and taxiways are higher priorities than the aprons. c. Airport Maintenance Update (Don Miles) i. Tree removals (ongoing); fence/gate relocation; flag lighting; hangar painting. Miles: the airport fence & gate relocation has been completed; the flag lighting has been completed; a contractor is currently painting hangars; the awning removal has been completed, and the yellow striping has been completed. They are currently cracksealing and will replace the concrete going into the Stearman building where the awning was removed. 5. Old/Tabled Business: a. Status - IDOT Inspection (Sept 2023) – tree removals and runway safety area (RSA). Repp: the Denver airport has a much worse RSA. b. Classification as a regional airport. Olson: the NPIAS (National Plan of Integrated Airport System) report comes out every two years. The next release will be next September/October so it may be two years from the time Galesburg’s airport numbers change before the airport makes it on the list, once it qualifies. Wolford: is the list available? Olson: Yes, he will provide the list. c. Private hangar construction. Wolford: Delawder spoke to a hangar contractor who constructs wood pole buildings that are 60- foot by 60-foot, insulated and double-walled for $120,000.00. This is for the building only and does not include the foundation, which would be about $20,000 for the concrete and $20,000 for the apron. Olson recommended not considering the location of private hangar construction along the southwest edge of the main ramp. South Peru allows 60-year leases. Delawder: other airports have one restroom to serve a row of T-hangars. Olson: Jeff believes it is state law for airports to have a 24/7 bathroom. The requirements are to have potable water, a flag, and a bathroom. 6. New Business: a. Hangar Leases - Status The commission discussed the construction of new hangars and the terms. Olson said the 50-foot apron in front of private hangars which used to be eligible for funding is no longer eligible. Valero said neighboring airports charge less rent and are in better condition. The commission discussed wood frame instead of metal framing because wood frame is less expensive. Olson stated that the FAA building design life is 50 years. A motion was made by Wolford and seconded by Christensen to recommend allowing commercial wood structure standards, allow for a one-time ramp/apron connection to a taxiway concession like what is in the S. Peru airport lease, and to increase the lease term from 50 years to 60 years. All members of the commission agreed that the city should include taxes in hangar leases. 7. General Discussion of other Airport Related Topics MKD: the city just received a denial letter for the RC event, due to the applicant rescinding the application, which was done because IDOT/FAA took too long to process the application and approve or deny the event. Doi said he recommends any future events be planned and submitted no later than November of the previous year for a summer event. Doi also said that IDOT/FAA states in their literature that they “frown” on non-aviation events/activities at an airport. 8. Doi informed the commission that the TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan) meeting with IDOT/FAA has been set for October 10, 2024, in Springfield and that Doi and Hanson will be attending. 9. Citizen Comments Meyers suggested letting the grass grow and bailing the hay for additional revenue. Wolford and others suggested various areas that might work to the south of the cross/short runway. Wolford: the bails would have to be removed expeditiously. It was stated that Macomb airport requires the bails to be removed within 48 hours. It was recommended that the bails be moved as made to a section of the airport that is outside the flight and safety zones. Delawder: would like the city to consider allowing the National Guard to use the airport to practice howitzer drills. Wolford mentioned using the parking lot. Delawder said his hangar lease does not show the extra $20/month for the extra space. Doi said he would check. 10. Next Meeting: October 17, 2024, at 3:00 p.m., Galesburg Airport, International Stearman Community Center, Stearman building, second floor. 11. Adjournment: A motion was made by Wolford and seconded by Carlton to adjourn the meeting at 5:38 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Upcoming Airport Events Date(s) Event