Menu

Airport Authority

Boards, Commissions & Committees

Airport Authority - August 22, 2017 Minutes

The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, August 22, 2017, at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.

The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek
Absent: Haugen
Others: Bossart
Chairman Blazek presiding.

Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held August 8, 2017:
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held August 8, 2017, were approved without objection.

Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $46,330.22:
Dr. Clark moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $46,330.22.
Second by Ms. Linn.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Dr. Clark moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $1,632.00 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the PFC Application #8, APFC08.
Second by Mr. Kilander.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Dr. Clark moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $10,692.00 to Mead &
Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Employee Parking
Lot Reconstruction and Expansion Project.
Second by Mr. Kilander.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Dr. Clark moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $77,955.10 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Taxiway A and A1 Reconstruction project, AIP47.
Second by Mr. Kilander.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

Receive Update from Rick Berg Regarding Proposed South General Aviation Area Hangar Project:
Mr. Rick Berg was recognized and stated the hangar project is progressing and they are ready to begin construction with the Airport Authority's approval. He stated today he is looking for three things:

1) 40 year ground lease on the space
2) Right of First Refusal for Phase II, which is the space to the north of the existing
hangar
3) Cost sharing by the Airport Authority for some of the improvements

Mr. Dobberstein stated he provided information to the board members on the items he feels the Airport Authority should be responsible for and that would include paving inside the fence to expand the apron, both on the east and west sides. He stated Olaf Anderson provided some cost estimates and those were $41,860.00 for the east side and $18,575.00 for the west side.

He stated if the board decides to go ahead with this, which he hopes they do, we can check with Northern Improvement and get some prices from them on this paving since we have an open contract with them on our current taxiway project. He stated the project would be removal of the existing pavement and replacement. He stated the other two items are replacement of the sanitary sewer ($11,475.00) and the waterline ($13,500.00). He stated both lines were going to be scoped to determine their condition.

Mr. Berg stated the landlord (MAA) would be responsible for the lines up to the manhole and the tenant would be responsible from manhole to the building. He stated the results of the scope have not come back yet.

Mr. Dobberstein stated the water line is now 6" and the Fire Department would want that
changed to 8".

Mr. Berg stated they are spending about $500,000 on site work for the project. Mr. Dobberstein stated another item is the vehicle access gate, which will need to be
relocated to the east. He stated there are times now when vehicles are trying to enter and exit while aircraft is parked in front of the hangar. He stated Mr. Berg had requested that the Airport Authority share in that expense. He stated the proposal we have is $27,325.00. He stated this would improve ingress and egress for all tenants in that area.

Mr. Dobberstein stated based on the bid prices we have at this time, these items would total $98,707.00 for the airport's share and in exchange for that investment we would be getting a more than $3 million facelift to the airport along 19th Avenue. Mr. Dobberstein stated there is an old fuel farm north of the existing hangar but the State has indicated that it does not have a lot of concern until the area is disturbed. Mr. Dobberstein asked about a timeline for the construction and pointed out that there is an airshow in July 2018.

Mr. Berg stated his goal is six months for construction (September 2017-March 2018) and Olaf Anderson understands the urgency of the project. He stated he hopes to be done 60 days before the airshow.

Ms. Linn moved to approve the 40-year land lease with Bravo Sierra LLC for the proposed hangar site.
Second by Mr. Kilander.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Dr. Clark moved to grant a 90 day Right of First Refusal to Bravo Sierra LLC for the site to the north for Phase II of the hangar project.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Mr. Kilander moved to approve 50% participation in utility improvements (sanitary sewer line, water line, vehicle gate) not to exceed $100,000 for the Bravo Sierra LLC hangar project and to give the Executive Director discretion to award the projects based on the results of the scope of the sanitary sewer and water lines.

Second by Ms. Linn.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

Mr. Kilander moved to approve the surface reconstruction for the Bravo Sierra LLC hangar project and that the Executive Director be given discretion to award the project subject to receiving cost estimates from Northern Improvement through our open construction contract with them.

Second by Ms. Linn.
On the call of the roll, members Clark, Linn, Kilander, Blazek voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Haugen
The motion was declared carried.

After discussion about overhead power lines, Mr. Dobberstein stated he would work with Xcel Energy and Olaf Anderson Construction to look at changing the overhead lines to underground to the east.

Chairman Blazek stated the Airport Authority is excited about this project and thanked Mr. Berg for his efforts on redevelopment on the airport.

Received Communication from American Airlines Regarding Additional Space for Envoy:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we did not receive the communication from American Airlines so we will not take any official action today but we will work with them on locating the space they need. Mr. Dobberstein stated American Airlines is ceasing its contract with Worldwide Flight Services and Envoy (a subsidiary of American Airlines) will be handling their operations in Fargo. He stated they are looking for some additional space. He stated they are requesting to lease about 300 sf. in our old generator room in the tug concourse as well as some space for ground service equipment. He stated they currently lease 250 sf during the winter months but they are looking to lease that year round.

Received Lease Extension for Fargo Aircraft Maintenance:
Mr. Dobberstein stated Fargo Aircraft Maintenance is Mr. David Sahl's limited FBO operation. He stated there have been a number of changes related to this agreement and it needs to be cleaned up. He stated he is proposing a five year limited FBO agreement with Fargo Aircraft Maintenance effective September 1, 2017. He stated right now Lyle Andvik is operating Red River Aero (charter operation) under Vic's Aircraft Sales FBO agreement and he would like to change that to operate under Fargo Aircraft Maintenance. He stated this is our requirement for any operation that does not actually lease space from the Airport Authority or own a hangar on the airport and their monthly operational lease payment to the Airport Authority is 1.5% or $200.00, whichever is greater.

Mr. Kilander moved to approve the five-year Extension to Agreement for Limited Fixed-Based Operation effective September 1, 2017, with the requested changes.
Second by Dr. Clark.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Received Update Regarding Compensation Study:
Ms. Linn reported she and Mr. Kilander are continuing their work on the compensation study. She stated their research includes 22 other airports of similar size. She stated she has a meeting scheduled with the mayor next Thursday.

Appointed Skyway Subcommittee:
Chairman Blazek stated he would like to appoint a subcommittee of board members to work with TL Stroh Architects on the skyway project. He stated Mr. Kilander and Gen. Haugen have expressed an interest in serving on this subcommittee. He stated while it does not require a motion to appoint this committee he would like one for the record.
Ms. Linn stated that since this will be an official subcommittee it would be subject to open meeting laws and then anyone is able to attend those meetings, including other board members.

Ms. Linn moved that Mr. Kilander and Gen. Haugen be appointed to the Skyway Subcommittee.
Second by Dr. Clark.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Terry Stroh, TL Stroh Architects, was recognized and stated they received only one bid for the Westside Terminal siding replacement project so far. He stated they contacted five
contractors but right now is not the best time of the year for bids. He stated the board could reject the bid without even opening it and advertise for formal bids. He stated the one bid we did receive is from a good contractor but he would feel better if we had other bids.

Chairman Blazek asked if delaying the project would cause further damage. Mr. Stroh stated he is not sure of risk to the facility from water damage. He stated we can bid
the project to be done during the winter as this is a project that can be done in the winter. He stated he would recommend rejecting the one unopened bid and delaying he project for now and he can contact the same contractors for a later completion date.

Mr. Kilander moved to reject the one unopened bid for the Westside Terminal Siding Replacement Project and direct TL Stroh Architects to advertise for formal bids with a later start date.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized and stated Northern Improvement is continuing to make good progress on the Taxiway A Reconstruction Project. He stated the portion leading to the cargo area is now open for use providing access to FedEx during cargo apron expansion construction.

Mr. Klein stated yesterday we had our scheduled meeting with the airlines for our PFC Application #8 and no airline representatives attended. He stated we will continue with the process.

Other Business:
Mr. Dobberstein gave an update on the City of Fargo's proposed increase in charges for storm water. He stated he and Chairman Blazek were supposed to meet with city officials last week but that meeting did not happen. He stated we are scheduled to be meeting with Mark Bittner, Roger Kluck, and Jody Bertrand of the City of Fargo, as well as with the other largest property owners (Fargo School District, Fargo Park District, NDSU) who will have to increase their mill levies to pay for the increase. He stated there is also supposed to be a brown bag meeting with the Fargo City Commission on the matter. He stated there was a hearing at SE Cass on their reassessment but he was not able to make that meeting. He stated there are parties pushing to get clarification on the formal agreement between the City of Fargo and SE Cass Water Resource District as both are charging for drain maintenance. He stated there is more dialogue that needs to take place.

Mr. Dobberstein stated last Friday he and Attorney Bossart accepted our $5.8 million grant from the FAA for the Taxiway A and A-1 Reconstruction Project, AIP47. The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next regular meeting to be held Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:00 am in the Airport Boardroom, with an Airport Authority Appreciation Reception following the meeting.

Time at adjournment was 8:48 a.m.