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1995-09-21 Regular MeetingAirport Advisory Committee September 21, 1995 6:30 p.m. Borough Conference Room L CALL TO ORDER NIINU1'ES The Airport Advisory Committee regular meeting of September 21, 1995 was called to order by Wayne Stevens, Chairman, at 6:35 p.m. in the borough conference room. IL ROLL CALL Present Absent Stosh Anderson John Chya Joseph Brodman Cecil Kenney Wesley Campbell - (for Cmdr. Miller) 1Vlichael Machulsky Scott Schleiffer Wayne Stevens Richard Waddell Nfike Waller A quorum was established. III. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Staff Guests Rachael Nrller Gil Teal The agenda was accepted unanimously as submitted. IV. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The May 18, 1995 meeting minutes were unanimously approved as submitted. V. ITEMS OF BUSINESS Wayne Stevens welcomed Joseph Brodman as a new member. Murph O'Brien, State of Alaska Department of Transportation, was linked to the meeting telephonically from Anchorage. Mr. Stevens congratulated Rachael Miller on the Employee of the Month award. Air~ort.P.~via~s- (:ommiftee Page 1 of 11 September 21, 1995 Update on licenseJlease negotiations from Murph O'Brien. Chief of Leasing, Central Region. State of Alaska Department of Transportation. Mr. O'Brien indicated that the Coast Guard had targeted October to work on the license/lease. Wesley Campbell indicated there was a chance the Coast Guard might offer the airport to the state. Mr. O'Brien indicated that the state could then offer the airport to the borough. Mr. O'Brien also indicated that MarkAir was closing their Kodiak terminal and was looking for buyers. Mr. Stevens indicated that MarkAir had already approached the borough about the purchase of the terminal. He stated that Mr. Campbell's offer of the airport to the state was exciting. Mr. O'Brien stated that it was not an unusual situation for that to happen with a military institution and indicated that there were similar situations elsewhere in the state. Mr. Machulsky asked if there was any other movement on any of the other airport lease lots. Mr. O'Brien indicated there were some revetments and some apron space on the commercial apron for lease again. He stated that there had been no inquiries on the two vacant lots. Mr. Schleiffer asked who would manage the leases if the Coast Guard transferred the airport to the state and the state transferred it to the borough. Mr. O'Brien indicated that the borough would then manage the leases. Mr. Schleiffer clarified that if the borough owned the airport and chose to erect a hangar, that they could do so without paying a fee to the state. Mr. O'Brien indicated that if the state transferred the airport to the borough, the borough would then have all authority relating to the airport. Mr. Stevens asked what would happen to the existing MarkAir building if MarkAir were to default on the lease. He asked if the building would go to the state. Mr. O'Brien indicated that Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDA) had a secured interest in the terminal. He stated that then the terminal go back to the state and the state would then be a terminal owner. Mr. Campbell asked Mr. O'Brien if he had further discussed the environmental issues of the license, specifically cleaning up the license area. Mr. O'Brien stated that if the state were to get the airport back, they would look at cleaning up the contamination. Airport Advisory Committee Page 2 of 11 September 21, 1995 Mr. Schleiffer asked for a description of the contamination. Mr. Stevens indicated that the fuel systems would be possible sites of contamination. Mr. Anderson asked Mr. O'Brien if the state would be interested in taking title to the airport on its own if the borough did not want to take title. Mr. O'Brien indicated that it could be a possibility. He said that the state would be willing to explore that option because they were already in that business and owned the rest of the terminal. He indicated that it would make things more straightforward. Mr. Campbell stated that the Coast Guard would like to get out of the utility business. Mr. O'Brien discussed the status of future capital projects. He indicated that it was not yet clear when the projects would be completed because Congress had not yet passed the federal budget bill. He stated that, assuming the funding was the same as last year, there would be a sand storageJequipment storage project, the repaving of taxiways, R1028 and the commercial apron. He indicated that Brechan had the contract to pave the parking artea. He stated that the contract expired on June 30, 1996. Mr. Stevens indicated that John Chya of DOT in Kodiak had indicated that Brechan would make every effort to pave the parking area this year. Mr. Schleiffer asked where the capital improvement projects (CIP) would stand if the borough took over the airport in the future. He asked how the borough would compete for those funds in the future. Mr. O'Brien indicated that the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding guaranteed $500,000 each year to be used as needed. He indicated that the borough would also be eligible to get other grants through the program. He indicated that the borough would have to tie in through the state's CIP program and pointed out that projects were ranked on a statewide basis. Mr. Schleiffer asked if Kodiak was similarly situated to the Kenai airport when it came to competing for funding. Mr. O'Brien stated that Kodiak would probably be better off than Kenai due to the nature of Kodiak's airport. 2~ Discussion of proposed regulations from the State of Alaska Department of Transuortation. Mr. O'Brien encouraged members to send comments about the proposed regulations in writing and noted that the reply period had been extended. He stated that the latest proposed regulations were the result of a proposal and public Aitpoct Advuay Committee Page 3 of 11 September 21,1993 meetings last summer on the issue. He indicated that DOT was now looking for written comments on the regulations. Mr. O'Brien stated that he could not discuss the regulations further because such discussion was prohibited, as it would qualify as a public meeting under DOT rules. Mr. Stevens thanked Mr. O'Brien for his time. Mr. O'Brien hung up and was disconnected from the meeting. Mr. Stevens stated that the changes to the regulations separated the international airport system from the rest of the airport system. He indicated that this wasn't a bad idea and suggested that it would possibly provide an opportunity for AIP funds. 3~ Review of borough-wide aviation improvements list developed at last meeting. Discussion of anv additions to the list and discussion of division of projects into the following four categories: State. Municipal. Trident Basin and Village. Mr. Stevens informed the committee that Mayor Selby had indicated that the FY96 budget included $14,000 for airport improvements. He stated that Mayor Selby had requested a prioritized list of projects from the committee. Mr. Schleiffer asked if anyone knew the status of the float plane ramp. Mr. Stevens stated that work on the ramp had not yet been started, but indicated that the money had been set aside for it. He stated that the borough had been working with the Coast Guard engineering to get the project underway. He stated that the lease/license presently did not include the ramp area and said that it was still a liability issue. Mr. Stevens stated that Mayor Selby had indicated that it would be Spring before any work was started on the project. Mr. Anderson asked if in the event the airport was transferred, if the committee would recommend that the ramp area be included in that transfer. Mr. Stevens stated that during those transfer discussions would be a good time to address the inclusion of the ramp. Mr. Anderson asked if the committee was presently going to discuss options associated with an airport transfer. Mr. Stevens stated that the Coast Guard would need to make a formal offer to DOT for acquisition. He said that past discussion with the borough had indicated that the borough did not want to take over the whole airport. AicpoR Advisory Committee Page 4 of 11 September 21, 1993 Mr. Schleiffer stated that he didn't think the committee needed to do anything presently on the transfer issue but suggested that the committee be prepared to meet when the issue came up. Mr. Schleiffer stated that he would like to put a large amount of money towards the municipal fencing project and stressed that the fencing needed to be continued. He stated that he wasn't sure what could be done with the rest of the items on the list because they all involved a lot of money. Mr. Stevens stated that the list was more a priority list of important future projects rather than a list of what could be done with the money available. Mr. Waller stated that lighting would be a great addition for municipal airport. He stated that lighting around the tie-down area would also help security. Mr. Machulsky suggested that providing lighting and electrical service to the revetments at state airport and to the transient ramp be added to the list. Mr. Anderson stated that people would want to put hangars at state airport and indicated that there would need to be water there for fire. He asked if the borough would issue new building permits without it. Mr. Stevens stated that perhaps a development plan for the whole area could encompass all of the needs such as water, sewer, leasing and phone. Mr. Schleiffer stated that a development plan would be needed, especially if a transfer of ownership was being considered. He commented that the state airport was a gold mine for development if the lease problems could be solved and if some infrastructure was created. Mr. Machulsky asked about the scope of the money to be spent. Mr. Stevens suggested a development plan for the area. He commented that such a plan would be a positive first step. Mr. Schleiffer asked what the impact would be for planning for that small parcel. Mr. Machulsky stated that the reason people didn't lease at state airport was because there were no services out there. Mr. Anderson stated that he thought that all four categories suggested for the list, state, municipal, trident basin and the villages, would all be discussed together. Mr. Anderson stated that in looking at the list, two items had been added -power to the revetments and a development plan for state airport. He commented that a better approach system for the airport would impact the community as a whole, even though the community could not afford to fund it. He suggested that the Page S of 11 September 21, 1995 approach system could be placed at the top of the list with the committee providing support for the idea. Mike Waller suggested that a global positioning system (GPS) be included on the list as well. Mr. Machulsky stated that a GPS was not in the scope. Mr. Schleiffer stated that being able to see at state airport would make a big difference. Mr. Machulsky stated that approach lights at state airport seemed like a good idea but didn't seem practical. He pointed out that the lights would have to go in the water. Mr. Schleiffer stated that the lights would not have to go out too far. Richard Waddell mentioned that it seemed there was access to electricity for a lighting system to the pad. He also pointed out that sewer and water were available not too far from the corner of the pad. Mr. Waddell recalled that there was an approach lighting system at state airport in the past. He said that he remembered that it didn't work and thought maybe the tide effected it. He stated that he remembered that Sea Land ships had trouble getting in with the lights, because the strobe was too bright. Mr. Schleiffer stated that the system could be turned on and off as needed. He mentioned the near island obstruction lights as well and pointed out that most of them were out. He asked whose job it was to maintain those lights. Mr. Stevens said that. the state highway department was responsible for those lights and indicated that Templeton Electric had a contract to fix the lights. He stated that the height of the lights made them difficult to reach and said that Ernie's crane was the only way to reach the lights. He indicated that repairs had been delayed due to the lack of availability of Ernie's crane. Mr. Waller stated that the city used a fire truck to replace lights at the dock. Mr. Schleiffer commented that the near island bridge was a high volume traffic area and the lights were a safety issue. Mr. Schleiffer suggested that committing money to the fencing project at municipal be placed near the top of the list. Mr. Stevens stated that he had suggested prioritizing the tasks on the list by area such as state airport, municipal, trident basin and the villages. He asked the Airport Adviwry Committee Page 6 of 11 September 21, 1995 committee if they agreed with the idea. Mr. Schleiffer stated that every item but one could be categorized into one of the four categories. Mr. Waller suggested that perhaps the less important items could be crossed off, such as the item addressing landscaping. Mr. Schleiffer stated that he recommended the landscaping item because the current landscaping outside the terminal looked bad and created a bad impression for newcomers to Kodiak. Mr. Machulsky commented that those areas were leased and suggested that the committee approach those leaseholders and recommend that the landscaping be fixed. He stated he did not think fixing the landscaping was up to the committee. Mr. Anderson recommended that the group identify each project on the list to a category where the items could then be grouped by priority. The committee organized the list of aviation improvements into the following categories: Municipal 1) Completion of fencing/gates 2) Lighting system 3) Security stickers/ID's for vehicles and operators Trident Basin 1) Expansion for uplands dock 2) Access to ramp for hauling out Village 1) Contact village councils for their suggestions State 1) Access to and securing the right to use float plane haul out 2) Aircraft approach lighting system on R25 -instrument approach 3) Community acquisition of public terminal facilities 4) State Airport Development Plan a) Increase water/sewer capacity b) Landscaping/clean up planting around airport terminals c) Electrical service to revetments d) Cold storage facility e) Warehouse facilities for cargo operators Mr. Machulsky recommended that the committee also pull in the people providing the service when discussing village needs. Aitpat Advitay Committee Page 7 of 11 September 21, 1993 Mr. Anderson suggested that all the state projects could be lumped into a comprehensive development plan. Mr. Machulsky stated that sewer and water at state airport was a Coast Guard issue that couldn't be separated. Mr. Campbell stated that normally the Coast Guazd sewer plant was overloaded. Mr. Schleiffer suggested that items 10, 12 and 15 from the original list be lumped together in an airport infrastructure group and that 8 and 9 be placed below that as an investment facility at state airport. Mr. Machulsky didn't agree with that grouping. Mr. Schleiffer suggested that all the state airport items be lumped together into a state airport development plan including facilities development infrastructure. Mr. Anderson suggested a development plan for all the facilities. Mr. Machulsky stated that the committee had to be careful what they gave the assembly. Mr. Schleiffer recommended that the group commit a dollaz figure to the municipal fencing project. He stated he would like to see the committee competing for more than $14,000 a yeaz because of aviation's importance to the community. Mr. Machulsky stated that he would like to see item 14 after all of the other items. He indicated that the other items could be focused on before acquisition was considered. Mr. Schleiffer proposed that if the Coast Guazd transferred the building to the state, the committee should let it be known they were interested by putting the acquisition higher on the list. Mr. Machulsky asked if there was an indication as to how much more the haul-out ramp would cost. He stated he assumed the project would cost more than $7,000. Mr. Schleiffer made a motion to commit $3,000 to the state airport haul-out ramp and $11,000 to the municipal fencing project with the note that any money left over from the haul-out ramp project be put towazds the fencing at municipal. The motion carried. Mr. Schleiffer moved to accept the list of borough-wide aviation improvements as defined and prioritized. Aitpott Advisory Committee Page 8 of 11 September 21, 1995 Mr. Machulsky stated that he wanted to see more meetings and indicated that if the group was going to embark on planning, they should start putting a work schedule together for that plan. Mr. Schleiffer stated that until they had waded through item 4 (access to and securing the right to use the float plane haul-out at state airport), then they were not ready. Mr. Machulsky indicated that the committee was still the state airport advisory committee. The committee discussed the adoption of the borough-wide aviation list. The motion to accept the list of borough-wide aviation improvements, as defined and prioritized, carried. 4~ Discussion of oroaosed language for consolidating the city and borough airaort committees. Mr. Schleiffer directed the committee to the language he introduced to combine the two committees. Mr. Anderson stated that the City Airport Subcommittee was in favor of the concept. He stated that the Ports and Harbors Committee passed a resolution to combine the two committees. Mr. Machulsky asked if the combination of the committees meant that the Airport Subcommittee was no longer under the Ports and Harbors Committee. Mr. Anderson stated that removing the City Airport Subcommittee from working with the Ports and Harbors Committee would be a mistake. He indicated that the liaison was needed. He stated that the group needed to decide how members would be appointed. He stated that the tasks listed in the language were really delineated but didn't necessarily need to be in the scope of the powers of the committee. He stated that this would limit the scope of the committee. Mr. Schleiffer recommended that everyone from both groups be involved in the committee at first. Mr. Machulsky asked if the committee thought it was time to encourage the city and borough to develop a port authority. He stated that the concept had been on the table for years. He stated that the Airport Advisory Committee had no empowerment. He indicated that the Planning and Zoning Commission was empowered. He suggested that the committee make the next step. Page 9 of 11 September 21, 1995 Mr. Schleiffer asked how the port authority idea would be paid for and asked if it would cost more or less than what was currently in place. Mr. Waller stated that he didn't think the committee could go much further without talking with the city committee. He stated that he thought they should be involved in the discussion. Mr. Schleiffer stated that he thought that night's meeting was going to be a joint meeting. He stated he would like to see the committee take some sort of position on the proposed language. Mr. Machulsky stated that he thought it was time the committee had some validation. Mr. Stevens entertained a motion suggesting that the language be tabled to be brought back to the next committee meeting. He suggested that it would be helpful to have an attorney review the language. Mr. Schleiffer amended the motion and stated that he would like to have the city attorney review the language and suggested the committee could make a decision as to whether to scrap or adopt the language at the next meeting. The motion carried. Mr. Waddell indicated that he would like to extend an invitation to the harbormaster to apprise him of the committee's activities. Mr. Waller agreed that combining the committees was a good idea. Mr. Brodman stated he thought the idea to combine the groups would work. Vh CONIlVIENTS The next meeting date was set for Thursday, November 9, 1995 at 6:30 p.m. in the borough conference room. Mr. Anderson stated that it would be helpful to have some members of both committees meet prior to the next meeting to go over the language to combine the committees. It was determined that Mr. Schleiffer and Mr. Anderson would work together on the language. Airport Advisory Commiuae Page 10 of 11 September 21, 1993 It was recommended that the City Manager and Mayor Selby be informed that the committee was considering becoming a joint committee. It was stated that combining the two committees would be a step forward. Mr. Waller stated that it was an exciting meeting. Mr. Machulsky thanked Mr. Schleiffer for developing the language and also thanked Ms. Miller for providing information to Mr. Schleiffer. He stated that it had been a long time getting to this kind of momentum. Mr. Anderson stated that the coordination between the city, borough and aviation community was important. Mr. Waddell stated that the best of things didn't always start fast. Mr. Brodman stated that it had been a good meeting and indicated he was learning a lot. Gil Teal, USCG, stated that the meeting was educational. VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: ~~ ~ ~ ~ Rachael V. Miller, Secretary Wa Stevens, Chairman ~~ 'Y Coeotni~ee Page 11 of 11 September 21, 1993