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09-10-2009 Citv Las r aces P E O P L E N E L P I N G P E O P L E AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING City of Las Cruces, New Mexico September 10, 2009 Members Present: Bill Squires, Randy Ranels, Ross Palmer, Joe Beck, Doug Lashley, Anthony Levatino Members Absent: Fred Fusselman Others Present: Susan Pfeiffer, Airport Administrative Assistant; Michael Harris, Delta Airport Consultants, Christine Logan, CLC Economic Development; Rob Wood, visitor; Jim Rosell, AOPA, Hal Kading, Southwest Aviation, Ted Morris, visitor; Leon Billstone, EAA. Chair Bill Squires called the meeting to order at 12 02 p m in the Airport Conference Room, and a quorum was noted MINUTES The first order of business was to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2009 Board meeting Mr Beck moved, seconded by Mr Palmer, to approve the minutes as submitted, motion carried unanimously ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr Squires introduced Dr Anthony Levatino, and welcomed him to the Airport Advisory Board UNFINISHED BUSINESS None REPORTS 2009 Air Show- Mr Scott Breckner gave a 45 minute recap of the 2009 Thunder Along The Rio Grande Air Show His report covered sponsors, attendance, expenses, static displays, advertising, performers and ticket sales Mr Breckner stated that the University is thinking about holding an air show every two years instead of every year because of the amount of work and expense that goes into putting one on Mr Breckner opened the floor for questions and comments Mr Billstone suggested that the University combine the Air Show with a Fly-In, and that way they could get additional static displays He also asked what benefit the airport received from having the Air Show Mr Breckner responded, good-will and public relations Mr Morris stated that when he was the Airport Manager, Air Shows were free to the public, and people donated their time and money as a public community service Solar Energy Companies Economic Development Administrator Christine Logan reported that there were two Solar Energy Companies that wanted to lease land in the Industrial Park to install solar panels She stated that the panels would not be a distraction to pilots because they were non-reflective and absorbed energy that would be sold to electric companies She reported that both companies will be leasing the land as is, and AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 Page 2 their operations will have little impact on the land Mrs Logan said these businesses will not create a lot of jobs, but will bring revenue to the City for land that is not being used anyway She stated the companies will need FAA construction approval since they will be located near an airport. The Board was concerned about later on down the line if technology changed and they decided to use panels that were reflective Mr Squires stated that he would ask Mrs Murphy to look into construction requirements and reflective issues that might impact the airport. Mrs Logan said the Land Leases would go before City Council at their October 5th meeting In closing Mrs Logan mentioned that the Border Patrol and the National Guard Armory are both looking at expanding their operations in the Industrial Park. Runway 12-30 Progress Report: Mr Mike Harris, Project Manager, gave a progress report on the Runway 12-30 Rehabilitation Project. He reported that it was day 53 of the 270 day project. He stated that the concrete plant broke down today, but expected it up and running by the end of the day Mr Harris said that they were in the process of completing base course and that they should start pouring concrete on September 21St He reviewed the schedule for the different stages of the project and stated that the electrical conduit was already in place in two sections Mr Harris stated that they would have 60 days to complete the work at the intersection of Runway 4-22 and Runway 12-30 when it was NOTAMed closed and also at the south end of Runway 12-30 Airport Manager's Report: Copies were passed out for the Boards review Groundwater Discharge Permit: Required work has been completed and necessary reports have been submitted to New Mexico Environment Department. Our next deadline for reporting will be January 28, 2010 Runway 12-30 Reconstruction Cement-treated base is being applied to the graded surface Project Representative Mike Harris will present a full progress report at today's meeting Control Tower Environmental Assessment: An update was received from Robert Madison at FAA that the EA is still undergoing internal FAA review from various departments Rocket Racing League (RRL) Airport staff has prepared a Resolution to take to City Council at their September 21, 2009 meeting to remove vacant lease Parcels 41, 42, 43 & 44 from RRL's lease but to allow them to keep Parcel 36, which contains a partially constructed hangar, until such time as their paid land rent expires or the hangar is sold I did finally reach CEO Granger Whitelaw by telephone and he requested another 12 months extension to complete hangars on the parcels However, he indicated that RRL's ability to do so is dependent upon getting a $3 million appropriation from the State legislature He further stated that if RRL no longer has lease parcels at the airport that there would be no basis for a continued relationship between RRL and the State of New Mexico AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 Page 3 Adventure Aviation Adventure Aviation remains in arrears on their facility and land leases City Manager Terrence Moore is preparing a response to Adventure's most recent request for rent deferment. New Board Member- Mayor Ken Miyagishima has appointed Dr Anthony Levatino to the Airport Advisory Board His first meeting will be in September Dr Levatino is a pilot and physician and will be a welcome addition to the Board Airport Privatization Inquiry- A preliminary inquiry has been made to the City Manager by a private entity regarding the possibility of privatizing the Las Cruces International Airport. I do not have details as to what the privatization proposal would entail More information is expected to be provided to the Board at your October 8, 2009 meeting as per the City Manager's direction Emergency Plan Exercise The airport will be holding their required annual emergency planning exercise on September 17 This year's exercise will test the response of airport personnel in the first minutes after an aircraft accident before the emergency responders arrive The City/County Emergency Planning Exercise Committee is assisting the airport with this exercise Tenant Contractors Just a reminder to our tenants that when they have contractors come in to do work on their hangars to please let airport staff know We can then advise them as to airport safety procedures and ensure they take the most direct and safe route to the hangar ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN Mr Squires stated that the Board needed to elect a Vice-Chairman to replace Tom Ferguson Mr Ranels nominated Mr Fred Fussleman, and Mr Palmer seconded the nomination Mr Squires called for a vote, and all members voted in favor of Mr Fussleman NEW BUSINESS Recommendation on Rocket Racing League Lease Extension Mr Squires reviewed the Rocket Racing Lease options explained in a memo to the Board by Mrs Murphy Following a brief discussion Mr Beck moved, seconded by Mr Levatino, to recommend option number one to amend the Land Lease between the City of Las Cruces and Rocket Racing, Inc , to remove Parcels 41, 42, 43 and 44 from the Lease and allow Airport Staff to make the parcels available for lease to other interested parties, and allow Rocket Racing, Inc , to retain Parcel 36 at this time, motion carried unanimously The Board agreed that they would like option one to state that the hangar needed to be completed or sold by May 1, 2010 OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST It was mentioned that the City was considering the privatization or selling of the Airport. Mr Morris explained the different options of what could be done with the airport property AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 Page 4 and the operations of the airport. He stated the Airport was deeded to the City of Las Cruces by the U S Government and could not be sold, but that the operations of the airport could be privatized Mr Ranels asked for an update on the status of Adventure Aviation's lease payments It was reported that Adventure Aviation was now three months behind in facility lease payments and that the City Manager gave them until the end of September to make all lease payments including late fees, or their leases would be terminated Mr Ranels asked if we still had a Flight School at the Airport. It was reported that Mr Don Donahue was operating a Flight School at our airport called Air Speed Flying Services Mr Ross mentioned that NMSU still had some interest in starting a Flight School, and that Jeff Miller, retired NMSU pilot, was supposed to be checking into it, but he did not know where the issue stood at this time Mr Ranels stated that on the 17th of this month an emergency exercise was planned and wanted to know if they were going to focus on hijacked aircraft and mid-air collisions, since these were things that were recently in the news He said we probably didn't have enough activity at our Airport to push this issue, but he wanted to know what we would do should something like this happened at our airport and should it be covered in the exercise It was reported that an Airport Manager from North Dakota showed up this week to look at our F-100 to see if he wanted it for static display at their airport. The Airport Manager from North Dakota stated that his airport was first in line to receive an F-100 static display from the Air Force, and that he had already turned down two other F-1 00s because they were severely damaged Mr Billstone stated that the EAA had found a location for the static display aircraft that he had mentioned several meeting ago He said that they still have not assembled it, but when they have, they would like to place it just inside the east gate between the road and their hangar With no further business to conduct, it was moved, seconded, and passed to adjourn the meeting at 1 40 PM Chair Recording S r