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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAirport.Minutes.02-14-2017AIRPORT BOARD MINUTES February 14, 2017 Sandy’s Place Restaurant Members Present: Craig Bohnsack, Robin Cole, Robert Cork, Ryan Dewrock, Mark Welker, Mark Seesing, Brian Ozark, Justin Albright Others Present: Bruce Loy, Airport Manager; Derrick Irwin, Flight Line Supervisor; Katrina Amos, Deputy Airport Manager; Hannah Seesing, Administrative Clerk I. Minutes of Previous Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 11:34am. Mr. Cole requested a change to the minutes from the January 10th meeting. Mr. Albright commented on the possible amendment stating that the way it was currently written matched with the “style of minute writing”. Mr. Loy commented that the requested change added an airport for consultant research that was not mentioned at the January meeting. Mr. Seesing motioned to approve the minutes as they were written; Mr. Cork seconded and the board approved. II. Appearances: A. There were no appearances at this meeting. III. Old Business: A. Airport Activity Report (New Version) – Mr. Loy presented the newly formatted Airport Usage/Fuel Report and the Cape Aviation Activity Report for January 2017. Ms. Amos explained that the new format utilized strictly the fuel gallons sold and actual revenue generated, rather than number of gallons invoiced. Mr. Seesing suggested changing the name of the report to just the “Airport Usage Report”. Mr. Loy continued on to discuss that the fuel sold was down for the month of January, and explained that keeping the prices in the “green” with the mobile fuel apps had not helped increase fuel flow. Mr. Cork and Mr. Albright suggested continuing to keep the prices in the “green” to get a true test period for the lower fuel prices. They also recommended to, at least, keep the self-serve fuel price in the “green”. There was a note made that the self-serve pump had in fact been down for repairs for a few days during January, which could have added to the lower fuel flow numbers. Mr. Cole questioned whether there was a way to get the word out about the lower prices, such as advertising. Mr. Seesing questioned the customer count on the Cape Aviation report and wondered if that number could be used as an approximate “after hours” traffic number. He also inquired into whether the Pilot Controlled Lighting (PCL) System had a way of tracking activity. Mr. Loy stated that he would look into the capabilities of the PCL. Mr. Albright suggested trying to use this after hours count as a tool to try to push for extended tower hours. · Airline Update – Passenger numbers were down significantly for the month of January. This can mostly be attributed to weather issues throughout the month. Mr. Cole described a trip he took using Cape Air out of Cape Girardeau to St. Louis. His complaint was the lengthy process it takes to get in the air. He questioned whether there was a way to expedite the security process in hopes of making it a quicker and therefore better option than just driving. The board told Mr. Cole that there really wasn’t any way to expedite the process without the possibility of affecting the safety of the screening process. While the security process at CGI is relatively quick, Mr. Albright noted that the pre-flight arrival lead time required by the FAA and the airlines lessens the appeal to fly out of Cape due to our close proximity to STL. Mr. Cole also expressed how pleased he was with the level of courtesy and professionalism that the employees of Cape Air showed throughout the experience. o Air Service Discussion – Mr. Loy reached out to the airports in Columbia and Joplin, Missouri to acquire more detailed air service numbers. He shared that Columbia airport paid $3 million to act as a guarantee for American Airline service. Mr. Albright expressed to the board that Mr. Mooney has already worked with the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, he is familiar with the airport and the area, and urged the board to make a quick decision because time is of the essence in this situation. He then suggested a motion to, “Approve a contract with Mike Mooney at Volaire Aviation Consulting”. Mr. Cork amended the motion to read, “A motion to recommend that Mr. Loy hire Mike Mooney at Volaire Aviation Consulting, to get Cape Girardeau Regional Airport airline service to a major hub other than St. Louis, such as Chicago, Atlanta, or DFW”. Mr. Welker seconded the motion. The Board unanimously approved the motion. o Fare Bucketing – The new fare bucketing system was put into place the day prior to the meeting on February 13, 2017. This tiered system offers flights starting at $29/one way. Mr. Cole asked who was covering the fee change in the media. Ms. Amos informed him that Erin Hatzell, the Marketing Manager for Cape Air, was the one handling this transition. If the program does not help increase passengers, Cape Air can change back to the previous $49/one way rate quickly. B. Cape Aviation Activity Report (New Version) – This report was presented with the Airport Activity Report. C. Projects – Runway 2/20 Overlay Project – Mr. Loy informed the Board that the project had entered the construction phase. TSI, Inc., a sub-contracting firm to CMT, began taking boring samples the day of the meeting. D. 2017 Airport Events · Rusty Pilot Course Update – Mr. Loy and Ms. Beverly Cleair with Skybound Aviation have submitted an application to host a Rusty Pilot Course. They are trying to set a date in early May or June and look to possibly hold the event in Sandy’s Place Restaurant. · 2017 Solar Eclipse Event – Mr. Loy shared with the board that the Convention and Visitors Bureau had requested that the airport be the official eclipse viewing location for our area. He said that he was going to be asking local pilots to display any aircraft during the event. E. Enterprise Lease Update – Mr. Loy informed the board that there will be a concessionaire agreement written between the airport and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. The agreement will include a 5% commission to the airport for every car that is rented through Enterprise but picked up at the airport. Also a 10% commission will be paid for all reservations placed on site. Enterprise will arrange a time to train airport employees as soon as possible. This agreement not only provides the airport with a rental car service but will also provide the entire area with rental car services on Sunday which was unavailable before. Members of the board were very excited to start offering these services and suggested advertising the Sunday service on social media and other outlets. Discussion continued on the topic. IV. New Business: A. Potential Agricultural Lease Request for Proposals – Mr. Loy informed the board that the current agriculture lease between the airport and Spring Hills Farms, LLC was not going to be renewed. The Airport is in the process of writing the appropriate documentation to submit a request for proposal (RFP) to farm our agricultural properties. The board urged this to be quick to ensure the land is able to be farmed as soon as possible. V. Airport Foundation: A. Donations Update – Ms. Amos suggested planning a fund raiser to raise funds for the Airport Foundation. She suggested hosting an aviation themed paint night to be held in Sandy’s Place. Discussion continued on the topic with the Board hoping to have at least $15,000 in the Foundation account in order to start on the observation deck project. Discussion continued on the topic. VI. Adjournment: There being no other business, Mr. Seesing moved to adjourn the meeting and Mr. Ozark seconded the motion. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 12:25pm Minutes prepared by, _________________________ Hannah Seesing Administrative Clerk