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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Airport Board - 03/08/2006 � Y Minutes CORPUS CHRISTI Airport Board Meeting INTERNATIONAL March 8,2006 AIRPORT Board Members City/Airport Staff Ed Hicks, Sr., Chairman ®Dave Hamrick,Director ® Mark Meyer,Vice-Chairman ❑Debra Keller,Assistant Director M Nelda Martinez, Member M Roy Rodriguez,Facilities Manager M Frank"Rocco'Montesano,Member M Ralph Zapata,Engineer II M Glenn E. Lyons,Member ®Adelle Ives,Management Assistant M J.C. Ayala, Member ❑Amy Gazin,PR/Marketing Coordinator ® Don Feferman,Member ® Sylvia Whitmore,Member William Dodge,III,Member MJesse Olivares,Member ❑Jerry Kane, Ex-officio Member I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.by Chair Hicks. A quorum was present., II. Approval of minutes for the Airport Board meeting held February 8,2006. Chair Hicks called for the approval of the minutes. Board member Lyons moved to approve the minutes of the February 8'h Airport Board meeting. The motion was seconded by Board member Fcferman and passed. (Board members Montesano, Olivares and Dodge arrived at 3:34 p.m) M. Presentation by Fred Haley with the Regional Transportation Authority on bus service to the Airport. Director Hamrick introduced Mr. Fred Haley,Director of Service Development for the Regional Transportation Authority. Mr.Haley gave a presentation to the Board on the route and schedule of the bus service that includes a stop at the Airport. He added that it could be expanded as the route develops. He explained that the details still need to be worked out,but he felt this would be of benefit to Airport employees and tenants. Issues to be considered would be the location of the bus stop, transportation of travelers with luggage and public awareness. Mr. Haley stated that there was no agreement between the Airport and RTA regarding buses stopping at the Airport. He informed the Board that the`B-lure"bus service does come to the Airport,but added this service is not a fixed route service. A N. Airport Board Mimes March 8.2006 Page 2 of 8 Chair Hicks opened the floor to questions on this item. Chair Hicks questioned Mr. Haley on when this service would begin. Mr.Haley responded the project start date is April P. Board member Lyons commented on the great service the"B-line" provides and asked that this quality of service be carried out on this new service to the Airport with special attention to passengers with disabilities. Mr.Haley added that there were some disadvantages to this route as there were no stops other than those listed on the schedule. He also added that as there are no special accommodations for luggage,Airport travelers would need to make sure their luggage did not block the aisle. Mr. Haley also added that this is a very long bus route. Board member Lyons questioned whether the line would be expanded should the demand warrant it. Mr. Haley acknowledged the route could be expanded in the event the demand for this service grew. I . Action Item: a. Motion recommending the City Council appeal all previous agreements with the Regional Transportation Authority. Director Hamrick asked that this item be disregarded as there was no agreement between the City of Corpus Christi,Airport or the RTA regarding the providing of services. b. Motion recommending an ordinance amending the Corpus Christi Code of Ordinance,Chapter 9,Section 9-61,Permit for Airport Ground Transportation Operations,exempting the Regional Transportation Authority from the provisions of this Ordinance; providing for an effective date of March 28,2006; providing for repeal;providing for severance; providing for penalties;providing for publication. Director Hamrick explained that the Code of Ordinances does not address service provided by the RTA. He asked that the Board vote on this item to eliminate any doubt this new service would be affected. Board member Montesano moved to approve recommending an ordinance amending the Corpus Christi Code of Ordinance as mentioned in the Action Item. Board member Dodge seconded and the motion passed. C. Motion recommending the City Council approve the 2006 Airport Capital Improvement Program. Airport Board Minutes March 8,2006 Page 3 of 8 Director Hamrick informed the Board that Mario Tapia,Airport Finance& Administrative Manager, would be making a presentation to the members regarding the 2006 Airport Capital Improvement Program. Mr. Tapia began by giving the Board an overview of the CIP and gave insight on how it works with the overall City CEP. He reported Airport staff combined efforts with FAA in developing the CEP. He"informed the Board that there are two parts to the CIP: short range which is a 3-year plan; and, long range which is a 10-year plan. He went on to add that the short range CEP has funding tied to it. He also added that with respect to the short-range plan,the City requires to list even those projects that are still on-going. Mr. Tapia explained he would be starling with new projects and that the CIP is focusing on road improvements and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure on Projects 6 through 8 which involve Runway 13131 and Runway 17135. Roy Rodriguez,Facilities Manager, explained that the FAA has stated if a project design is not on the table,no funding will be available. Board member Montesano questioned if the finding for the CEP was a combination of funding from the FAA and Airport Capital Reserves fund. Director Hamrick responded affirmatively. He also added that the Airport is only committing to 5%of the projects costs. The FAA funds 95%of the projects. Mr.Tapia continued by reporting that Projects 6 &7 go into year two. Chair Hicks asked what the timeline was for completion of the Runway 17135 project. Mr. Rodriguez stated that the project design is currently at 60%. He estimated that bids will be going out in May and an expected award date would be sometime in June or July with work on this project possibly starting in August with a ninc-month construction timeframe for the project. Chair Hicks questioned if the drainage problems had been corrected. Director Hamrick responded that drainage is a continuous concern and could take several years to completely correct even with the FAA participation, Director Hamrick reported that in the Master Plan presentation issues were raised on the dollar amounts for the extension of Runway 13131. He stated that this portion of the plan was approved by the FAA. He also stated that as there was a$13 million miscalculation in projected funding for this project in the draft Master Plan. This may make it possible for the airport to put this project on next year's CIP. I& Tapia continued his overview of Projects 9 through 12 on improvements of infrastructure. Airport Board Minutes March 8,2006 Page 4 of 8 Director Hamrick updated the Board on the AV 10, Apron Rehab Project, explaining it involved the area near where American Airlines parks and how the asphalt is starting to sink. He added that FAA will provide several hundred yards of concrete to repair this area FAA will also fund repairs by Continental's gate and include the renovation of the employee parking lot. FAA agreed that since this area was considered staging area during the terminal reconstruction,it will be covered in this project. Mr. Tapia continued with Projects 13 through 16 which included obtaining the runway sweeper. Mr.Rodriguez explained that the sweeper currently being used is 13 years old and has a life-expectancy of 10 to 12 years. It was his opinion that the sweeper needs to be replaced. Mr.Tapia continued with Projects 17 and 18 which involve the taxiways where the construction is beyond year two and after three years will be seen on the long range CIP. Director Hamrick explained that these projects are the construction of the west general aviation apron at Mercury. He reported that the asphalt apron has been"bubbling"during the summer heat. Core samples have been taken and there has been no determination on why this problem is occurring. He added that FAA has agreed to fund a concrete apron to resolve this problem. Mr. Tapia concluded the short-term CIP presentation by stating the total amount of funding for the projects included in this portion of the program would be approximately$22,800,000. Mr.Rodriguez stated that CCIA has been very fortunate to receive this amount of funding from the FAA. Mr. Tapia began his presentation of the long-range CIP. He mentioned that for these projects,the funding has not yet been identified. He also added that projects are placed on this list until it is a viable project. Mr.Tapia began with the Runway Extension which is currently estimated at a cost of$23 million. This project may be moved to the short-range CIP when the estimate is changed to a$10 million due to the calculation oversight Director Hamrick spoke of earlier. Mr. Rodriguez explained that the purchasing of properties which were not needed drove the estimate up on this proj ect. Mr. Tapia covered Projects 5 through 8 of which is the design for taxiway E & B and the extension of the covered parking area. Projects 13-15 included a new,wider bay to accommodate the new design ofARFF vehicles. Director Hamrick interjected that the Airport's new ARFF truck would be received at the Airport next week. He added that this would be the last track CCIA would r o Airport Board Minutes March 8,2006 Page 5 of 8 purchase with this body design. Any future purchases of ARFF vehicles would be the newer,wider design. Mr. Tapia concluded by stating the long range projects total$43.3 million in fiinding which has not yet been identified. Be added the short term projects totaled$22,800,000 for a total$66,100,000. After some discussion,Mr. Tapia stated that this proposed Airport CIP, which would be included within the City's CIP,would be presented to City Council within the next month. Chair Hicks called for a motion. Board member Whitmore moved to recommend City Council approve the 2006 Airport Capital Improvement Program. Board member Montesano seconded and the motion passed. d. Motion recommending an ordinance authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute an amendment to the lease with the United States of America(National Weather Service) authorized by Ordinance No. 021822,approved on December 14, 1993 and amended by Ordinance No. 022351 on September 12, 1995,to allow for automatic annual renewals of the lease unless notice is provided by the United States Government thirty days prior to the annual renewal date;providing for publication. Director Hamrick reported that in reviewing a lease prior to a meeting to renew a Letter of Agreement with the National Weather Service(NWS), it was found that in 1993 when this was taken to City Council for approval it was set up for automatic renewal unless notified 30-days in advance. However,the ordinance taken to City Council stated that every year NWS would have to request 30-days in advance to renew the lease. He reported that this item is to have the ordinance read the same as the Iease. After some discussion and questions,Chair Hicks called for a motion. Board member Dodge moved to approve this recommendation. Board member Lyons seconded and the motion passed. V. Reports a. Parking Revenue Report Director Hamrick began his report with good news of the increase in parking revenue for a total of$139,000 for the month of February. Chair Hicks addressed the issue of validation of parking. He commented that this was not an issue to be concerned about but reported to the Board that the parking validation is monitored. p- Airport Board Minutes March 8,2006 Page 6 of 8 b. General Activity Report(GAR) Director Hamrick reported his surprise with a 1.5%increase in the GAR considering the start of the USBC. He had expected a greater increase in traffic for the month of February. He reported that planes were full and passengers were getting bumped.As ASA/Delta no longer has a hub at DFW,he felt the loss of 2,000 seats could have been a contributing factor for such a small increase in the GAR. Discussion was heard on the load factors. Director Hamrick reported on two items in the works. The first item he reported was that Continental is switching out RJ's for X]'s which have better performance charactcristics. The XJ will be capable of better performance when full with both passengers and luggage. Secondly,he reported that American is planning to add three additional flights starting on April 2"d. He reported he had requested American to re-evaluate the start date since it would be after spring break which will bring an additional increase in traffic. Discussion was heard on the airlines criteria for increasing flights. Director Hamrick reported to the Board on another issue which he felt they should be aware. He informed the Board the bowlers have been experiencing difficulty in flying back with their bowling balls. He added that this is only an issue at the Airport's local TSA checkpoint. He informed the Board that the bowlers are being allowed to carry on their bowling balls with them from other airports such as Houston,Baton Rouge and Las Vegas. This issue has been taken all the way to TSA headquarters in Washington,D.C. He added that he is working on this issue with TSA locally and nationally and would keep the Board informed on any developments. He requested any assistance the Board members would be able to provide. c. Director's Report Director Hamrick reported on a request from Tom Gaylon for names and addresses for Board members. Board member Montesano interjected the reason for this request was because Mr. Gaylon would be inviting the Board to a CVB function. Chair Hicks asked the members if there were any objections to complying with this request. The Board agreed to have staff comply with this request. Airport Board Minutes March 8.2006 Page 7 of 8 Director Hamrick informed the Board that a video on the Open Meetings Training was available in order that members comply with SB286. He requested what format the members would like the video provided. The consensus of the Board was to have the format in DVD. Director Hamrick advised the Board that staff would be providing them with copies of this training. Director Hamrick reported to the Board on an article which appeared in the Caller-Times regarding the growth of the City of McAllen. He stated that despite the lack of success with Aeromar,he felt that a large part of the Airport's future lies to the south He felt that McAllen is an example of how growth can occur when this market is"courted". He felt this was crucial to the development of CChA. He requested the Board's support in creating in-roads into Mexico for tourism and business opportunities. Board member Montesano reported that he had attended a CVB Marketing meeting this morning where this exact topic was discussed. He reported that at the last meeting,the CVB Board had authorized$25,000 to be spent in Mexico for marketing at the discretion of the CVB Director. At that meeting, discussion was brought up regarding the flights to Mexico. He continued by stating that CVB Director,Tom Gaylon,was attempting to find$75,000 to$100,000 in the budget in order to develop business in Mexico independent from air service. The Board held discussion on the feasibility of this topic. Chair Hicks requested an update on the status of negotiations with Aeromar. Director Hamrick responded that he had not heard from them either by email or phone. Chair Hicks explained that Aeromar had budgeted coming into the Airport with the ticketing and baggage handling to be contracted with local handlers. He added that Aeromar was unsuccessful in securing these services as they had initially expected and he felt that was part of the reason why negotiations are on hold. He added that Aeromar is aware that the Airport is negotiating with other airlines for Mexico air service. Discussion was heard regarding the feasibility of continuing negotiations with Aeromar. Director Hamrick stated he would attempt to revive negotiations with Aeromar. He also stated he would give Aeromar one month and by the next board meeting he would report back to the Board on what had transpired. He also added he would be going to the City Legal Department with respect to the monies spent on this venture in order to hold them responsible, He felt this would prevent this situation from happening anywhere else within the U.S. Chair Hicks stated that the consensus of the Board was to support Director Hamrick's efforts as stated. He also added that he and Director Hamrick would be meeting with two other airlines regarding new air service. Airport Board Minutes March 8,2006 Page 8 of 8 Discussion followed regarding keeping the Board members informed of whatever new ventures are being pursued. Vi. Board Business and Reports a. Board Member Absences As there were no absences,no action was necessary. (Board member Ayala left at 4:49 p.m) b. General Comments Chair Hicks commented that the Board is working diligently on Mexico air service. He added he would like to see the CVB and local travel agents meet with the national Mexican travel agency in order to develop a Corpus Christi-Monterey connection. Director Hamrick informed the Board that next month, three Board members' terms would be expiring. He added that the Board should begin thinking of individuals to recommend to City Council for those vacancies. VU. Adjournment As there was no further business,Chair Hicks called for a motion to adjourn. Board member Dodge moved for adjournment. Board member Wilson seconded and the motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m.