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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Airport Board - 11/17/2021REGULAR MEETING MINUTES CORPUS CHRISTI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BOARD NOVEMBER 17TH, 2021 3:30 P.M. BOARD MEMBERS Jon Reily, Chairman Don Feferman, 1st Vice-chairman Ted Mandel, 2nd Vice-chairman Luis Buentello, Member Paul Cameron, Member Karl Tomlinson, Member Kusumakar Sooda, Member John LaRue, Member Randall Hicks, Member Hans Schumann, Member Brett Oetting, Ex-officio Member Iain Vasey, Ex-officio Member CITY STAFF Kevin Smith, Director of Aviation Tyler Miller, Deputy Director Elsy Borgstedte, Asst. Director Kimberly Miller, Finance Manager John Hyland, Chief of Public Safety Victor Gonzalez, Major Projects Manager Larry Thormaehlen, Facilities Mgr Albert Bejarano, Operations Manager Elizabeth Hundley, Asst. City Attorney Adelle Ives, Management Assistant I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Reily at 3:35 p.m. II. Roll Call Chairman Reily called roll and a quorum was present. III. Public Comment* None. IV. Approval of the absences for the October 20th, 2021 Regular Airport Board Meeting Chairman Reily called for a motion to excuse Board member Tomlinson’s absence from the October Board Meeting. Board member Buentello moved to excuse the absence. Board member Cameron seconded and the motion carried. V. Approval of minutes for the October 20th, 2021 Regular Airport Board Meeting Chairman Reily called for approval of the minutes for the October Airport Board Meeting. Board member Buentello moved to approve the minutes as written. Board member Hicks seconded and the motion carried. VI. Presentation and Discussion on the Airport Board Annual Report for 2021 Chairman Reily advised the members that an Airport Board Work Group has been created with Chairman Reily, 1st Vice-chair Feferman, 2nd Vice-chair Mandel, Board members LaRue, Hicks and ex-officio member Vasey. Airport staff would be contacting those members on the meeting schedule. He anticipates that the report would be completed by the City Secretary’s January deadline. VII. Presentation and Discussion on the Executive Order Impact on Aviation Deputy Director Miller reported to the members on the Executive Order issued September 9, 2021 by the Biden administration regarding the parts that affect CCIA, TSA (Transportation Security Administration), FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Customs Board Protection, and the National Weather Service. The order originally required all employees of federal agencies to be vaccinated by November 22nd. However, the date was changed after travel & trade associations encouraged the administration to minimize impacts to the holiday travel season. The new date for federal agencies to comply has been changed to January 4th, 2022. He felt that the impact locally would be minimal; however, TSA announced they estimate they have an approximately 40% unvaccinated ratio which would impact holiday travel. Staff is in constant communication with these local agencies in order to know ahead of time whether staffing shortages might create impacts at CCIA. He went on to report that the Executive Order also included employees of “federally covered contracts” which includes leases which would then apply to Airport employees. However, the January 4th deadline does not apply to existing leases. The Airport’s current lease with TSA does not expire until 2024. Employees would not be required to comply until the old lease expires and a new lease is agreed upon. Once that occurs, it will impact all Airport employees and any city employees who handle Airport business. He added that this issue is being monitored very closely and he will bring any updates to the Board as they transpire. Discussion was heard on this item. VIII. Presentation and Discussion on the “Fly CCIA” Pledge Director Smith reported to the members on this new campaign. He reported that this would be the presentation that would be given to community organizations. He added that this presentation could be tailored to any organization to make to their employees to promote the campaign. He also showed a copy of the form that would be signed by individuals who upon signing the form would be provided a lapel pin to show their support. The presentation also gave enplanement statistics along with costs comparisons between flying through CCIA or other airports within the drive market. When promoting this campaign, the trip calculator on CCIA’s website would be promoted. The presentation also showed what airlines are focusing on to have more flights through CCIA. There was also some information on CCIA marketing strategies. Discussion was heard on this item. IX. Director’s Reports A. General Updates i. Take-off North American Air Service Conference Director Smith reported on this conference which he recently attended. He reported that very positive meetings with the airlines they were scheduled to meet. Discussions with the airlines already located at CCIA was beneficial in communicating issues impacting the CCIA and the airlines. United is interested in a Denver route. This was discussed with their rep. ii. Rescue 1 Commissioning Deputy Director Miller reported on the commission of the new ARFF truck. He briefed the members on all the features of the vehicle. He also added that there a very few airports that have two new ARFF trucks. Each truck is equipped with a schnozzle turret which is extremely efficient in dealing with a downed aircraft. He added that the truck was commissioned in the memory of Lt. Bobby Almager who also designed a graphic that was installed on this truck. Airport staff, city leaders, board members and Lt. Almager’s family attended the event. iii. Holiday Operation Preparedness Deputy Director Miller reported to the members on the measures staff will be taking to ensure that operations during the upcoming holidays run smoothly. B. Monthly Air Service Update Director Smith reported on the Airport’s numbers. He felt that since CCIA’s numbers bounced back quickly that the growth could not be sustained long term; however future bookings are on the rise. Mr. Oetting interjected that recent hotel bookings are acting the same in numbers. Starting in January and through to March 2022, the number of future bookings are promising. He felt that recovery was close. C. General Activity Report (GAR) Director Kevin reported on CCIA’s enplanement numbers which were down by only 5%. He also gave the load factors for the three airlines located at CCIA. He felt they are doing well with lower seats available. He added that CCIA was up 12% from last year. D. Financial Report Finance Manager Kimberly Miller updated the members on the Airport’s financial status as of October 31st, 2021. She reported that concessions are at $179,000, which is up 77% from last year and up 36% pre-COVID. Development of expanding the pre-checkpoint concession area is being planned with an estimated completion date of January 2023. She continued by reporting on the first month of the new fiscal year’s revenues and expenditures. i. Parking Report Finance Manager Miller reported the Parking Lot’s gross revenue was $245,000 for October. It is up from 2020 at 162% and up from 2019 at 16% and up from last month at 40%. She felt that was due in part of the new rate increase and the new 3-hour free parking policy. She reported that from the 12,000 exits in October, 5,400 were free parking. Director Smith reported that there have not been any complaints. Director Smith also stated that several improvements have been done to the Parking Lot including new signage highlighting the 3-hour free parking. F. Marketing Report Assistant Director Borgstedte reported on the progress of the digital marketing advertising. Holiday ads are already being promoted on social media reinforcing the ease of flying through CCIA. G. Construction Status Report Deputy Director Miller reported on the ongoing construction projects. H. City Council Action Report i. Emerald City Cargo Lease ii. Schnidler Elevator Corp. Terminal Escalator Service Agreement iii. ProTech Mechanical, Inc. HVAC ARFF Repair Service Agreement I. Items for next Board meeting  Board member asked that December’s reports still be sent out to the members.  Chairman Riley asked that an item be put on the agenda to change the date and time of the Airport Board Meeting. X. Adjournment As there were no further business, Chairman Riley adjourned the meeting at 5:21 p.m.