|
North Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission Meeting June
16, 2008
The regularly scheduled meeting of the North Little Rock
Airport Commission was held June 16, 2008 in the conference room of the Emma
Hall Administration Building, 204 Aviation Way in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Call to Order: Chairman
Skipper Polk called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: Attending
commissioners were Rick Ashley, Sid Crymes, Mark Halter, Jim Julian and Skipper
Polk. Commissioners Don Blakey and Charlie Kimbrell were absent. Also attending
were the Airport Director Willie Elizandro and others as registered on the
attendance roster made a part of the record thereof. A motion was made Mr.
Crymes and seconded by Mr. Halter to excuse the absences of Mr. Blakey and Mr.
Kimbrell. All voted aye and the motion passed unanimously.
Disposition of
Minutes: Mr. Halter made a motion to approve the May 27, 2008 airport
commission meeting minutes. Mr. Crymes seconded the motion. All voted aye and
the motion passed unanimously. Chairman Polk stated the meeting minutes needed
a little more detail on important agenda items, and all the commissioners need to
be a little more vigilant inreviewing the minutes.
Financial Report:
Mr. Elizandro presented the May 2008 financial report. He stated that total
revenues and other sources were at 22.6 percent, personnel services expenditures
were at 40.8 percent and maintenance and operations expenses were at 90.2
percent. Through the month of May 2008, he said expenses and revenues should be
at 42 percent.
Mr. Elizandro stated that $145,236 approved by the City
Council by ordinance was added to city funds, line item 6550, for airport fence
repair and Air Charter Express hangar repairs due to the April 3, 2008 tornado.
He stated the financial report is a little unsettling due to
the expenses incurred for airport repairs related to the April 3, 2008 tornado and
will continue to be through North Little Rock Municipal Airport the month of
June. FEMA reports addressing those expenses are due the end of June and we may
not be reimbursed for the expenses until the end of the year.
There is one open 80-20% State Airport Aid Grant (tree
removal). There are financial obligations of $19,029 for our portion of an
80-20% airport tree removal grant and to McClelland Consulting Engineers for
$28,600 for a UALR
Airport Economic Impact study. Finally, there is an
obligation of $33,600 for an airport site layout development to McClellan
Consulting Engineers. Mr. Elizandro said storm repairs for the Emma Hall
Administration Building cost $10,661.01 and Municipal League Insurance covered
$7,654.25 of the repairs. He stated the $3,000 difference would be added to the
uninsured expenses that should be covered by FEMA.
The city provided the insurance adjuster a proposal for
$750,000 in repairs for the city owned hangar. Municipal League Insurance
countered that they will cover $350,000 in repairs. The city provided a counter
proposal for $550,000. The negations are ongoing.
Finally, Mr. Elizandro briefed the commission that the tree
removal grant should be closed around the middle of July 2008. Mr. Kimbrell and
Mr. Elizandro inspected the work area and consulted with the contractor on the
removal of eleven additional trees due to the proximity of the trees to the
fence line.
Mr. Crymes made a motion to approve the May 2008 financial
report subject to audit. Mr. Halter seconded the motion. All voted aye and the
motion passed unanimously.
Old Business
Proposal for Approving Lease Agreement Building Upgrades
or Repairs Over a Fixed Dollar Amount: Mr. Elizandro obtained commission approval to
carry this item over to the next meeting to give him more time to address this
issue.
Regulation of Airport Tenant Dumpsters/Fences: Mr.
Elizandro obtained commission approval to carry this item over to the next
meeting to give him more time to address the issue.
New Business
City Council Resolution Approval for Airport Consultant:
Chairman Polk and Mr. Ashley attended the June 9, 2008 city council meeting to
answer council questions reference the hiring of an airport consultant. The
city council unanimously approved the hiring of Debra Schwartz and provided
general revenue fund money for her salary. Chairman Polk briefed the council
that 20 percent of her work to date has been completed. He said he felt good
about the support of the council for the direction the commission is going with
the airport.
Chairman Polk told the council that periodic updates should
be made to the council on the progress being made to develop the airport. Mr.
Presely Melton encouraged the commission to get the alderman out to the airport
one at a time and brief them on the airport since Alderman Gaines made a statement
at the council meeting that he had never been to the airport. Mr. Elizandro said
he would invite the alderman individually to visit the airport.
Suspend Lease Payment for City Hangar: Chairman Polk
said he thought the commission approved suspending the Air Charter Express
lease payment in April 2008 until further notice since the hangar operations
had shut down due to the April 3, 2008 tornado. He said he thinks the commission
had an obligation to suspend lease payments, because of the fact it is a city
owned building, and we are leasing it to a business that can’t function right
now until the operation is up and going again.
Mr. Julian made a motion to suspend to suspend Air Charter
Express’ lease payment until the business returns to full operation. Mr. Ashley
seconded the motion. All voted aye, and the motion passed unanimously.
Commission Reports
Airport Economic Development: Mr. Mitch Rose of
McClelland consulting engineers said he spoke to Dr. Hamilton today. He said
UALR sent a mail out survey to airports and in a lot of cases they were not
getting a response back or responses came back that led to additional questions
about the survey. They are now conducting a phone survey, which takes more
time, and have made about 20 airport contacts to date. They are being more selective
in the airports they make contact with. He said they should be complete with
the survey sometimes next month.
Mr. Halter asked if they were contacting the aviation
industry. Mr. Rose said the survey was asking who they did industry type business
with and wasn’t sure if they had pursued that aspect of the survey. Chairman
Polk asked Mr. Rose to let Dr. Hamilton know that Debra Schwartz is authorized
to communicate with him concerning the survey or any matter pertaining to the
survey.
Mr. Rose, talking about the update of the airport master
plan, said he needed to go back and address the comments that Glenn Boles and
Ed Agnew, from the FAA Southwest Region Office, had made about the revised
scope of the master plan. Mr. Rose told Chairman Polk they had not done
anything on that as of today.
Chairman Polk said it needed to be bumped up to the top of
the table. Mr. Rose said the last commission meeting that the commission was
looking for a revised scope in July. Chairman Polk said a revised scope should
be provided as soon as possible and to see if it addresses the FAA’s issues.
Ms. Schwartz is to run it and to do some end runs on it to see where we stand
it is actually submitted.
Airport Consultant Deborah Schwartz: Ms. Schwartz
said she thought there was still a lot of opportunity at the airport especially
in light of a reduction of air service and commercial service airports. With
the new Conway Airport just funded and a waiting list at Benton Airport she
thinks moving ahead is a good idea right now.
Director/Security Officer Reports: See Attachments.
Mr. Elizandro briefed the commission that he trained a young
man on the operation of the airport radio unicom, that is volunteering his
time, and he is doing a good job providing advisories to aircraft pilots. He
also he has a couple of summer employees that he was going to train and have them
work on weekends to monitor the radio.
Chairman Polk emphasized that before we turned those kids
loose on the radio on weekends that they knew what they were doing. He said he
felt uncomfortable putting kids on the radio unsupervised on weekends.
Mr. Ashley made a motion to suspend unsupervised youth
operation of the airport unicom. Mr. Julian seconded the motion. All voted aye
and the motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments: Mr.
Doug McDowell, EAA Chapter 165, said the monthly fly in/Cook out is planned for
Saturday, June 28. He said the estimated storm damaged on their EAA hangar was
$11,000. He said there has been no decision by EAA reference a recommendation
for honoring decease Jack Davis, long time airport tenant.
Mrs. Carole Canino asked if the commission had a handle on
any grants available to help get tenant businesses back on their feet. Chairman
Polk advised we were in the process of trying to make political contacts to see
if there are some available a couple different places, but there are not state
grants available. Mr. Ashley asked if they were under insured. Mrs. Canino said
they were not. However, the insurance does not include planes that Sportair USA
lost. Mr. Ashley asked if there was any FEMA money available to cover Williams Management
or Sportair USA. Mr. Elizandro said FEMA money was not an option.
Mr. Crymes made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Julian
seconded the motion. All voted aye and the motion passed unanimously. The
meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Submitted by,
Willie Elizandro
North Little Rock
Airport Commission Security Report 06/16/08
Dear Sirs,
Since our last meeting the airport has been fairly quiet.
The private security guards we have employed since the tornado were released
and I have enlisted the help of the officers of the Levy precinct to assist us
with extra patrol-until-all the hangers are rebuilt.
The Canada geese continue to be a nuisance and I have killed
three more near the airfield. Pilots should be vigilant as the geese are
grazers and will feed on freshly mowed areas as new vegetation grows there.
Sincerely,
Wesley M.
Honeycutt
North Little
Rock Police Department
AIRPORT DIRECTOR REPORT May 2008
North Little Rock Traffic Services completed painting the
runway 05/23 numerals and markings on May 6, 2008. We saved approximately
$7,000 by having the project done in house, and comments on the project by
tenants have been complimentary.
Staff attended the North Little Rock Volunteer Luncheon on
May 1, 2008 at the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Center. Airport volunteers Bob
Martin and Bob Zoeller were among the volunteers honored at the luncheon. Staff
appreciates their support and contributions to airport administration.
Thomas Sterygeed is a 14 year old volunteer that started
working at the airport on May 12, 2008. Thomas is a sharp and intelligent young
man that has a keen interest in aviation. He has been working 40 hours a week.
After a little training, Thomas has quickly picked up the procedures and
phraseology for the operation and manning of the airport Unicom frequency. He
will be working with us most of the summer, as the two senior volunteers take
time off for the summer.
The contractors are very close to finishing up the tree
removal project on the airport. Commissioner Charlie Kimbrell and I inspected
the area recently and found eleven trees that still need to be removed near the
fence line. I expect the project to be completely finished by the end of June
2008. Staff will then close out the project by requesting $115,000
reimbursement as part of the 80-20 percent grant obtained from the State
Aeronautical Department.
A retreat for the airport commission and staff was conducted
on May 15, 2008 at the North Little Rock City Services Building to discuss
ideas for updating the Airport Master Plan. Ms. Deborah Schwartz, the airport
consultant, facilitated the discussion. The original airport master plan was
completed in 2000.
The Emma Hall Administration building received its final
repairs from the April 3, 2008 tornado when the damaged carpet in the airport
director's office was replaced on May 23, 2008. Part of the building recovery
included a new-shingled roof, ceiling tile replacement in the director's office
and electrical repairs around the outside of the building.
Willie Elizandro
 |
