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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-16-11 Minutes Daniel Field General Aviation Commission General Aviation Commission The regular meeting of the General Aviation Commission was held at Daniel Field on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. There were present: Locke McKnight – Chairman Kay Roland – Vice Chairman Jojo Gardon Chip Fisher Bert Harbin David Young Ashbury Lawton Betty Tyler William Welsh Harold Engler Absent: Grady Smith Brian Prince Roy Rearden Also Present: Reginald Weaver, WK Dickson Lauren Crosby, WK Dickson Becky Shealy, Airport Manager Steve Gay, Airport Manager Danny Doyle, GDOT Mel Lapane, Fastsigns of Augusta Mel Lapane, Jr., Fastsigns of Augusta Chairman McKnight introduced Mel Lapane and his son, Mel Lapane, Jr., to the th Commission. Lapane, Sr. explained that for the 60 Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, he created piece of artwork to resemble the skin of the nose section of a B-25 Bomber. He was able to get the surviving members of the Doolittle Raid to autograph the artwork, which has been hanging in his shop ever since. Mel would like to loan this piece of artwork to Daniel Field as he feels the airport is a more appropriate place for people to see and appreciate its history. He also showed the Commission a bomber jacket with patches representing the 4 squadrons of volunteers that made up this mission. Mr. Lapane would like to have this on loan at the airport, as well. The entire Commission thanked Lapane for the presentation and graciously agreed to display these pieces in a manner that all visitors and patrons of Daniel Field could appreciate. It was agreed that Mr. Lapane would keep these articles until the new terminal was completed. Chairman McKnight volunteered Commissioner Welsh to write up a synopsis of the Doolittle art. Chairman McKnight called the meeting to order and asked for approval or amendments to the March 21, 2011 meeting minutes. Commissioner Lawton motioned to approve the minutes of the meeting held on March 21, 2011, to be accepted as submitted. Commissioner Gardon seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. Manager Gay gave an update on Masters 2011. Gay stated that the Special Events Landing fees at $20 per plane totaled $12,520. This amount covered the bill for the FAA Controllers. Gay also stated that the FBO sold about 35,000 gallons of fuel during Masters Week; however, this is still off by about 20,000 gallons from previous years. Gay asked for the DNL GAC to pay for the temporary terminal items to include the modular restrooms, the tents, chairs and two televisions. Commissioner Welsh stated that these items requested for payment were part of the temporary terminal and should be reimbursed to the FBO. Commissioner Harbin asked if $20 per plane collected was the airport’s portion. Gay stated the $20 per plane per day was collected for the airport. Chairman McKnight stated that this is cost not associated with a normal Masters Week. Commissioner Welsh asked if the Commission was asking the tenant to pay rent in addition to these items. Commissioner Fisher asked if this was not discussed at a prior meeting. Manager Gay stated that this was discussed; however, it was agreed that this subject would be readdressed if it was not a wind-fall year. Commissioner Welsh made a motion to reimburse the FBO $5,000 for the items noted on the spreadsheet. Commissioner Roland seconded the motion. The motion passed. Manager Shealy gave an update on the tower operations for Masters 2011. Shealy stated that the FAA required Daniel Field to have 6 controllers on the field. The salaries totaled $6,235. The hotels were $5,550. The sum total for having controllers at Daniel Field for Masters Week came to $11,875. Manager Shealy then gave an update on Cooking for Kids event that was held on the field thth March 25 and 26. As a board member for Child Enrichment, Shealy thanked the Daniel Field Commission for allowing the use of the field for the Cooking for Kids event Shealy stated that Child Enrichment raised over 30 thousand dollars from this event. She then handed out “Ariel’s Story” to the commissioners to emphasize that every dollar counts when it comes to the services Child Enrichment provides. Reg Weaver with WK Dickson gave an update on the terminal renovations. The latest change request for the bathrooms just came in via email this morning, so the architect hasn’t even had the chance to review the costs. Manager Gay stated that the “fit and finish” drawn up for the bathrooms is exactly what was removed from the 70s at the last remodel. Gay gave an example of the paper towel dispensers and trash cans being recessed into the wall. The stalls are partitioned with laminate that do not go to the floor or ceiling. The vanity areas are also specified as laminate. The entire bathroom design needs to be upgraded to be more in line with the total look of the building. Weaver stated that the dollar amount for this change request was excessive and the architect needs to review these numbers before a decision is made. Commissioner Fisher asked if the restrooms were specified based on an economy budget. Manager Gay stated that all the items in the bid were based on the total budget. Chairman McKnight stated that Managers Gay and Shealy were doing a great job and the bathrooms are one of the most important features of the terminal. McKnight suggested that the DNL GAC give the Construction Committee authorization to approve the changes based on the architect’s recommendation. Manager Gay then stated that another change request had just come in this morning via email for the roof cricket; however, no one has had the change to review it. Weaver then explained that the roof cricket was the area behind the existing brick walls that needs to be modified to extend the roof trusses in order to line up with the new roof line due to future drainage issues. Weaver recommended giving the Construction Committee the authorization to approve what the engineer and architect find acceptable. Commissioner Tyler made the motion to give the Construction Committee authorization to approve the change requests for the bathrooms and roof crickets based on the recommendation of the architect and engineer. Commissioner Gardon seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. Manager Gay then gave an update on the upstairs floors. Gay stated that the floors were ruined due to the heavy rains. A request for quote for hardwood flooring upstairs has been submitted. Gay gave an update on the monthly on-site construction meetings. All that were present at the last meeting agreed that November 2011 is a realistic move-in date. This is due, in part, to the pressure Chairman McKnight put on the contractor to commit to a realistic completion date. Weaver stated that 9 change requests have been approved, leaving about 120 thousand in reserve. Weaver stated that if the 2 change requests discussed today get approval as is, the project will have about 95 thousand in reserve. Manager Gay informed the commission that a truck with a flat bed trailer ran through the perimeter fence on Wrightsboro Road near the approach end of Runway 11. The damage is estimated to be a couple of thousand dollars and being handled. Manager Gay then introduced Danny Doyle from the Georgia Department of Transportation, GDOT. Mr. Doyle explained that the rejuvenation product that has been applied on the airport property contains certain chemicals at levels high enough to be reported to the EPA. Doyle stated that he understands that the DNL GAC Chairman, the engineer and the airport management all agree that the manufacturer of the rejuvenation product, Mr. David Rigsbee, should be able to state his case on this matter. Mr. Doyle then stated that Carol Comer of GDOT says the airport should let he EPA know that the contractor has applied product that contains items that are triggerable. Manager Gay stated that GDOT has been gracious in working with the airport on the matter. Gay then stated that Mr. Rigsbee, the manufacturer of Chemtech, should be allowed to state his case. Mr. Rigsbee has informed Gay that he has a report that states he is in compliance. Manager Gay does not have this report yet. Mr. Doyle stated that the EPA will look at this differently if put down as per the manufacturer’s instructions as opposed to if this was a spill. However, if any quantities of the items found are in question, you should call the EPA. Manager Gay stated that Rigsbee should be given time to state his case. Reg Weaver stated that the product was put down in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but he doesn’t know if this is an alarm issue. Weaver stated that we are not going to break the law. The product has been absorbed into the pavement as it was applied correctly. There was no run-off or spill. Manager Gay stated that the rejuvenation product is great. It has “replasticized” the pavement and has been a great savings as opposed to repaving. Commissioner Fisher asked if this was a new product. Gay replied that DNL is the second airport in Georgia to use this product. It is not a new product, just new to the airports in Georgia. Doyle stated that this is a great product, especially given the cost considering the state of the economy. Commissioner Young asked, given the longer the product is down it becomes less dangerous, if the area had to be resurfaced, would this product have to come up or can it be paved over. Gay replied that if the EPA says the product is dangerous, it will have to come up and that would require milling the pavement 1 and a half inches. Commissioner Young then asked since HASCO has this product all over the place outside of Georgia, what is the EPA’s stance on this. Doyle replied that the airport needs to report the finding to the EPA; however, GDOT is giving Daniel Field time to report. Chairman McKnight stated that the commission needs to give Manager Gay a little time to work this out. Vice-Chairman Roland asked how much time is needed. Gay replied that Mr. David Rigsbee is asking for 2 weeks. Vice-Chairman Roland then stated that if 2 weeks is all that is needed, then this should be completed by the next scheduled GAC meeting. Manager Gay stated that he would report the findings from Rigsbee to GDOT. Commissioner Gardon made a motion to table this item until the next meeting as there is not enough information to make a decision. Commissioner Young seconded the motion. The motion passed. Manager Gay addressed the commission concerning the renewal of the management agreement for Daniel Field. Gay stated that the last 12 months have been the busiest in the history of Daniel Field regarding projects on the field. The terminal renovation and the runway rejuvenation projects running simultaneously have been extremely time consuming. Add to this the maintenance and upkeep of the field, and the hours spent on airport management for both Managers Shealy and Gay is about 80% of the work week. Gay also stated that Manager Shealy has been using her personal vehicle and gas to go back and forth downtown once and twice a week for the last 12 months. Gay then stated that once the rejuvenation project and terminal renovation are complete, the required amount of time needed to oversee the airport will be significantly less, more like 40% of the work week. Gay stated that he and Shealy would agree to continue to act as the airport management for the next 11 months. This would allow enough time to see the current projects to completion. Gay stated that the last 12 months proved the FBO and airport can work together. The DNL GAC is the governing authority and is the only entity that can make decisions on Daniel Field’s behalf. Any controversial issues have been turned over to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Gay asked if the commission agreed to continue the current management agreement, if it would abate the rent of the FBO by $1,250 a month. This would take care of the costs associated with being able to perform the duties of the airport management. Chairman McKnight stated that Managers Gay and Shealy have done an outstanding job, but there has to be a separation between the FBO and the airport. McKnight suggested that Shealy be named the airport manager. Shealy stated that she would be happy to continue under the current agreement; however, she would not leave Augusta Aviation. Commissioner Welsh stated that the Augusta-Richmond County Commission has charged this group to oversee this airport. If downtown has a problem, then they should disband the DNL GAC and appoint more people. Commissioner Lawton made a motion to continue as is for the next 11 months, with abating the rent of Augusta Aviation by $1,250 a month. Commissioner Gardon seconded the motion. The motion unanimously carried. Chairman McKnight gave an update on the roof reimbursement to the city. McKnight stated that he and Manager Shealy went downtown and talked to Tim Schroer. Mr. Schroer is working on getting the money for the airport through the SPLOST fund. Chairman McKnight stated that it is important that the airport get the funding because there are major issues still out there such as the drainage system. Another concern is that the airport will have this new terminal with no corridor from the parking lot to the building. Weaver stated that items needing to be discussed next month are the drainage issues as well as the new hangars. Administrator Fred Russell and Lauren Crosby of WK Dickson need to review the options for the hangars. Commissioner Welsh gave an update on the naming of the new terminal. The Terminal Naming Committee consists of Commissioner Welsh, Commissioner Harbin and Commissioner Lawton. The following is its recommendations: The terminal to be named the Boshears Terminal in honor of the Boshears Family. The South Wing of the terminal to be named after Augusta’s First Lady of Aviation, Betty Holmes. Betty stood up on 2 occasions and accused the City Commission of looking for personal profit from the sale of Daniel Field. If it had not been for this lady, Daniel Field would have closed. The Conference Room to be named after “Pop” Newman. Mayor Newman created the first General Aviation Commission. This is the room where the current General Aviation Commission will conduct all meetings. The Pilot Lounge and Flight Planning Area to be named after Mr. Frank Christian. Frank led the charge to save the field. One of the 2 areas in the lobby to be named after Mr. Clarence Mobley. Mr. Mobley printed a pamphlet at his own expense to inform the public of the value of DNL. The other area in the lobby to be named after Mr. Bob Moore. Mr. Moore sat on the DNL GAC for many years and is a huge advocate of Daniel Field. Commissioner Welsh made a motion to approve the recommendation of the Terminal Naming Committee. Commissioner Engler seconded the motion. The motion carried. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.