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06/18/1994 Regular Meeting RPCEIVED Airport Advisory Committee July 18, 1994 APR 19 1995 6:30 p. �61LAND 80ROUGH Borough Conference Room CLERK'S OFFICE MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER The Airport Advisory Committee regular meeting of July 18, 1994, was called to order by Wayne Stevens, Chairman, at 6:50 p.m. in the borough conference room. 11. ROLL CALL Present Absent Staff Guests Jacque Bunting Lee Robbins Rachael Miller Edison Azizi Wesley Campbell Mike Waller Jerome Selby Roger Maggard (for Cmdr. Miller) Murph O'Brien John Chya Dan Dorman Mike Machulsky Scott Schleiffer Wayne Stevens A quorum was established. 111. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA The agenda was accepted as submitted. IV. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The May 25, 1994 meeting minutes were accepted as submitted. V. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 1) State of Alaska proposed regulations for rural airports It was noted that there was not yet a quorum. Mr. Stevens asked for an informal discussion of the proposed airport regulations. Mr. Stevens passed out copies of the State of Alaska proposed regulations for rural airports. He commented that Kodiak was not included in the list of communities for a public hearing and stated that Kodiak seemed to continually be left out of the loop in any discussions. He expressed that the committee had expertise to offer and that they wanted to participate. Murph O'Brien, Chief of Leasing, Central Region, State of Alaska, Department of Transportation (DOT) stated that he appreciated Mr. Stevens comments and indicated that Kodiak was not the first community to object to being left off of the list. He stated he would try to respond as best he could. He suggested that if the committee had Airport Advisory Committee Page I of 7 July 18, 1994 formal comments, they needed to be in writing and suggested that the committee write a letter to Steve Pavish at DOT. Mr. Stevens asked Mr. O'Brien to outline the proposed rate changes. Mr. O'Brien stated that the regulations were being updated after some time period of no change. He stated the new regulations would become effective during the first part of the year and that currently DOT was having a public comment period on the new regulations. He pointed out that there were some new environmental regulations and regulations governing ground transportation at airports. He indicated that DOT was looking at initiating charges for aircraft parking and tie -downs and that part of the reasoning behind the rates and fees was due to the decrease in oil revenues. He stated that DOT was looking at user fees to pay for the cost of maintenance operations and that DOT would be assessing fees towards all users at the airport. He indicated that the other rules were updates to fuel handling, tie -down programs, land transportation and environmental requirements. He stated that he would be happy to come back to Kodiak in a couple weeks to have another meeting and to give the committee time to review the document. Mike Machulsky stated that in looking over the document he didn't see how public comment would change the fees being proposed. He indicated that he would do whatever it took to get responsible movement going. He stated it was too bad the committee hadn't had the chance to review the regulations earlier. Mr. O'Brien indicated that he could come back to Kodiak during the comment period on the regulations. ' Mayor Selby stated they should discuss having a public hearing in Kodiak. He stated he found it unusual to have a community almost entirely dependent on air transportation not included on the public hearing list. He requested a public hearing be held. Mr. O'Brien stated he did not know how the list of communities for public hearings had been determined. Mr. Stevens stated that perhaps a letter could be drafted to Steve Pavish at DOT to summarize the committee's comments. He expressed that the committee was ready and willing to work with DOT. Mr. O'Brien inquired about the committee's meeting schedule. Mayor Selby stated that the committee met quarterly but could meet more often if needed. He stated that the committee could compile written comments on the regulations to send to DOT. Mr. Machulsky stated that the rest of the community needed to see the regulations. ** Scott Schleiffer stated he would like to see airports pay for themselves. ** (THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION TOOK PLACE BEFORE A QUORUM WAS ESTABLISHED. ALL FOLLOWING DISCUSSION TOOK PLACE WITH A QUORUM). Airport Advisory Committee Page 2 of 7 July 18, 1994 Mr. Stevens requested a hearing be held the week of August 15 for public comment on the regulations. He then asked if all the leaseholders had been notified. Mr. O'Brien stated that it was his understanding that the proposal had been distributed to all leaseholders and interested parties. He stated that he would try to come back in a couple weeks and would bring Steve Pavish with him. He stated that the meeting would be informal, however. Mayor Selby suggested that the minutes of the meeting could be submitted formally as a record. He suggested a meeting during the week of August 8th. Mr. Stevens indicated he would follow up with a letter or phone call. Mayor Selby stated he would call Steve Pavish. 21 Discuss spending of $14,000 on airport improvements at State Airport Mr. Stevens explained that at the last meeting the city had requested funds for general aviation at municipal airport. He indicated the committee had determined that those funds could be used at State Airport for general aviation based on the needs there. Mr. Schleiffer asked if the committee had notified the city and what their response was. Mayor Selby stated that the city was aware of the committee's proposal and they probably weren't happy about it. Mr. Machulsky stated that he and Mr. Stevens had attended a worksession and told the Assembly that the committee would come up with a plan for the money. He stated he f would like to see the money spent on fencing. He recommended a change in the fencing at Devil's Creek to allow more land available for general aviation. He pointed out that the fencing there was presently torn out for the second time. He suggested that if the fence ran on the right side of Devil's Creek it would allow for someone to be able to develop an FBO potential there. Dan Dorman stated he could visualize what Mr. Machulsky was suggesting and wondered if this could be accomplished without spending the money. Mr. O'Brien stated that DOT would take a look at the suggestion. Mr. Machulsky stated that was something the committee wanted for free. Mr. Schleiffer suggested that the committee should ask general aviation pilots what services and improvements they would like to see out at State Airport. He stated that perhaps a survey could be circulated. Mr. Machulsky asked John Chya to discuss snow removal at State Airport. He stated that the snow removal services seemed to be a concern for the community. Mr. Chya discussed the snow removal priorities at State Airport and indicated that the general aviation areas were cleared after all the runways and taxiways were taken care of. Mr. Stevens stated that ultimately he wanted to stimulate State Airport use. He pointed out that it was difficult to reach that balance and create opportunities while breaking the barriers and working with a limited budget from the state. I I Airport Advisory Committee Page 3 of 7 July 18, 1994 Jacque Bunting pointed out that regardless, those areas still would not be plowed until the necessary procedures were done first. Mr. Dorman stated that the tie -down areas were so spread out that it was difficult to plow them all. He suggested that an area could be designated as a winter tie -down area to contain the areas that needed to be plowed. Mayor Selby inquired as to how long it took to do the plowing. Mr. Chya stated that it took about two hours, but pointed out that if it kept snowing, the plowing had to continue periodically. Mr. Schleiffer stated that when it was snowing like that the general aviation aircraft probably wouldn't be flying anyway. He asked Mr. Chya if there was 2" of snow, if the general aviation areas would be cleared by the end of the day. Mr. Chya indicated that those areas could be cleared by the end of the day but at the very least they would be cleared in a day or so. Mr. O'Brien asked what the longest period had been that the general aviation area had not been plowed. Mr. Bunting stated that it had been a while. Mr. Machulsky stated that he was hearing that regardless of the money that is spent on snow removal, it would still be a lower priority on the clearing list. Mr. Dorman stated that he considered 135 general aviation as well because the money was generated off of 135 aircraft. He indicated that there was a problem with the float plane access at State Airport. He stated that after Lily Lake froze, many planes went to State Airport, but there was a problem with access. i Mr. O'Brien stated that the Coast Guard position was to use that float plane access as is, where is. He stated that DOT would try to translate that into gaining access to the taxiway system. i Mr. Machulsky stated that he would like to see the committee get more firm on a position to maintain that access. Mr. Bunting stated that the new license stipulated that area could be used. Mr. Dorman stated that if there was a kelp storm, pilots had to spend hours shoveling to get at their planes. It was stated that maintenance was not done in that area. It was pointed out that at one time there was a boat ramp there and it wouldn't take much to get that up to speed. Mr. Dorman stated that it would be much more reasonable at State Airport if there was a good way to get planes out of the water there. He stated that a ramp at this point would help a lot. Mayor Selby asked if packed gravel out there would help. Mr. Dorman indicated that packed gravel would help. Airport Advisory Committee Page 4 of 7 July 18, 1994 I Mr. Machulsky asked if the Coast Guard would approve that. Mr. Chya stated that the road was plowed by PMC. Mr. O'Brien asked where the planes would go and indicated that they would have to cross the runway. He stated that he could have DOT's coastal engineer look at maintenance needs. Mr. Dorman stated that the main problem was the condition of the ramp. Mr. Stevens asked if the borough and state could have their staff look at the ramp possibilities and the cost of bringing that up to standards. Mr. O'Brien stated that it sounded like the ramp needed maintenance and suggested that cleaning up the ramp could be expensive. He said he would look into it and that DOT might have some concrete blocks stockpiled that could be used in the ramp repair. Mayor Selby stated he would talk to the Coast Guard about the ramp. Mr. Stevens asked if it would be possible to get from the state a detailed list of all the spaces available for lease at State Airport. Mr. O'Brien stated that the list would be no problem. i Mayor Selby asked if DOT had changed their policy regarding leaseholders being able to sit on a lease for so long before having to give it up if they did nothing with it. j Mr. O'Brien indicated that the policy had still not changed and the state would still have to buy back the lease. Mr. Machulsky inquired as to the building restrictions at State Airport. Mr. O'Brien stated that the use had to be for aviation. He said that the buildings had to be similar to existing structures and indicated that it all depended on the distance from the runway center line. Mr. Dorman suggested that if the state or city were to build T -hangars ars with a dozen gg Y g slots, users would be attracted immediately. Mr. O'Brien indicated that the state wouldn't be building the T- hangars, but suggested that investors might build them. Mr. Dorman stated that some of the revetments on the buskin side of the airport could be opened up. Mr. Stevens stated that could be a definite possibility to look for investors out there. Mayor Selby asked about the access for the telephone. Mr. Machulsky stated that the phone had been moved to an accessible place but suggested that there could be signage directing people to the phone. Mr. Schleiffer suggested some kind of sign somewhere along the fence that informed users of the location of services. Airport Advisory Committee Page 5 of 7 July 18, 1994 i Mayor Selby asked if the John Chya could handle the signage. Mr. Chya indicated that he could take care of the signage. Mr. Schlieffer asked if there needed to be another gate closer to Penn Air. Mr. Machulsky stated that there were a couple areas that could be researched as potentials. Mayor Selby asked about installing a phone across from Penn Air. Mr. Stevens stated that the phone company had said they would run lines for pay phones and that the spots just needed to be designated. Mr. Chya suggested that they could go look at sites out there. Mr. Schleiffer asked about the development at Trident Basin. Mayor Selby indicated that the city was working on Trident Basin. He stated that the haul -out area at State Airport had potential. Mr. Stevens suggested that maybe that could be a good use of the $14,000. He asked DOT to come back with a list of lease spaces with ideas of where T- hangars might go. Mayor Selby stated that Mr. O'Brien should look at the Devil's Creek area as a potential tie -down or T- hangar area. Mr. Bunting informed the committee that a fence was going to be put in at municipal airport due to the people traffic problems there. He further stated that if the main airport were to go down, municipal airport was the only link to the city. j Mr. Dorman agreed with Mr. Bunting but stated that there was commercial development at municipal with commercial users. Mr. Stevens stated that the committee needed to look at development at State Airport. Mr. Schleiffer stated that he didn't understand why there weren't more general aviation users out at State Airport. He pointed out that general aviation was not encouraged out there. Mr. Dorman suggested it would be helpful to have a place where an airplane could be washed. Mr. Schleiffer stated that a wash facility would work at Devil's Creek but pointed out that there would have to be hot water and drainage. He stated that a simple fresh water rinse would be helpful. Mayor Selby suggested that the wash facility could be looked at along with the boat ramp. The committee decided to look into repairing the ramp for float planes at State Airport and to look into a wash facility. It was stated that both those items would enhance the float plane haul -out area. Airport Advisory Committee Page 6 of 7 July 18, 1994 i VI. COMMENTS Mr. Stevens suggested that the next meeting could be set sometime between the 8th and 15th of August. He stated that an informal hearing on the proposed regulations for rural' airports could be held. He asked Mr. O'Brien to let the Mayor's Office know when a hearing could be held and then a date would be set for the next meeting. Mr. 1VMachulsky thanked Mr. O'Brien for his help in getting his mortgage through. Ms. Miller passed out copies of the revised Open Meetings Act to all members. VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Rachael V. Miller Way e Stevens, Chairman Secretary I I I I Airport Advisory Committee Page 7 of 7 July 18, 1994