Aviation Advisory Board

May 6, 2004 Minutes

 

Board Members in Attendance:       Travis Atwood, Rick Bryant, David Downing, Gary Fish, Bob Newton, and Paul Stewart.  Jim Stogsdill arrived during the meeting.

Rick Bryant called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM.  David Downing recorded the meeting minutes.

 

1.        Review and approval of April 2004 meeting minutes

The April 4, 2004 Board Meeting minutes were reviewed and approved by a 6-0 vote.

2.        Airport Manager's Report – Debbie Van Saun

Debbie Van Saun presented the following items to the Board.

 

Runway 1/19 Project

The engineering agreement has been approved and signed and work continues on the design for the project.

 

Minimum Standards

Need to complete a final draft version.  New management intern is working on completing this document.  I’m awaiting final review comments from other City Departments prior to scheduling public meeting.  I would suggest making this “public meeting” an agenda item on a future Aviation Advisory Board meeting, with appropriate notification, etc. 

 

Signage Update

Debbie Van Saun met with Lavern Squier and Keith Lawton on 4/27/04 and again shared with them recent Board and City discussion/activity on this issue.  Mr. Lawton is still interested in proceeding with an entryway sign.  The idea of developing something in-house was suggested by Mr. Lawton, but Debbie Van Saun was not optimistic that City staff has either the expertise or time to proceed with such a project.  Another suggestion was to put up some additional “City-made” signs along the route of the airport.  I indicated that in light of the review of security signage at the airport, there may be a way to incorporate that effort in a comprehensive signage plan and thus, Mr. Lawton’s request.

 

Maintenance Update

The status of several airport related maintenance items were discussed including:

 

¨       The painting of Pilot’s Lounge was completed

¨       The installation of “No Truck” signs, the removal of gravel and the reseeding of the access road was completed

¨       Potential vendors to provide a new display case for the terminal building are being researched.

¨       The gate by the beacon has been installed.

¨       Outside lights for new t-hangar buildings are expected to be completed by May 15th

¨       Flooring and new partitions for the terminal building men’s restroom have been ordered.  The installation of these items will start after the Top Gun operations are completed.

¨       Parts have been order for sign replacement on Runway 1-19.

¨       Contractor estimates have been received on the project to both replace the grass around t-hangar building A with concrete and work out the drainage problems.

 

Tenant Appreciation Event

The City of Lawrence/Aviation Advisory Board and Hetrick Air Services will jointly host the Tenant Appreciation Reception on June 10th.    The preliminary agenda for the reception is:

     6:00 p.m.      Meet and Greet – social time with refreshments

     6:30 p.m.      Presentation to tenants on issues of interest

     7:00 p.m.      Begin regular Board meeting

The presentation of issues will be a joint effort by the FBO, Airport Manager, and Aviation Advisory Board Chair.  Potential presentation items include:  the runway 1-19 project, the plan to involve tenants on any appropriate security issues in the future, and the sharing of contact information for maintenance issues. Invitations will be mailing to the City’s tenants during the week of May 10.

 

The Board is very supportive of this activity and has offered its support.    

 

Draft of Airport Security Report

Debbie Van Saun distributed a draft copy of the Airport Security Report to the Board members, the FBO, and a representative from the Lawrence Police Department for their review and comments.  The Board members agreed to send their comments to Debbie Van San by the end of May.

 

 

 

Pavement Maintenance Program

This is still a work in progress.

 

Snow Removal and De-Icing Program

The City staff is working on the development of a written program that identifies operations, schedule, priorities, etc.

 

T-Hangar Update

A spreadsheet that reflects the current rental status of all t-hangars (and other leases) at the airport was distributed to the Board for their information.

 

3.                 Airport 75th Anniversary Celebration

The Board had invited Lisa Patterson from City staff to review the Board’s preliminary plans for the Airport 75th Anniversary Celebration prepared for the Board by Rick Bryant.  Several areas of focus were identified including updating the flying population on the new upgrades at the airport, the increase in the general publics on the contributions the airport has made to the community and the potential for future contributions.

The Board recommended that the 75th Anniversary celebration be placed on the June 10th Board Meeting Agenda for further review.

4.        FBO Report

Lloyd Hetrick did not have any new business to discuss.

5.        Airport Certification

Rick Bryant on behave of the Board invited Jim Sirhall and Rick Crossman from ADG to brief the Board on the pros and cons of the Lawrence Municipal Airport becoming a FAA Certified Airport.  A major part of the briefing was a review of new FAA regulations for Certified Airports that will take effect on June 4, 2004.  Most of the changes are in response to a desire for more secure operations.

Two of the pros for becoming a FAA Certified Airport mentioned at the meeting were:

1.                  FAA Certified Airports can solicit business from charter and scheduled operations including aircraft with more than 31 seats,

2.                  FAA Certified Airports have a higher priority when competing for FAA funds especially funds for enhanced security and safety projects. 

Several cons of becoming a FAA Certified Airport mentioned at the meeting including:

1.                  The increased record keeping required

2.                  The increased training of airport personnel and users required

3.                  The potential impact on airport tenant operations.  Several tenants have activities that may not be possible under the certified airport regulations.  One example is KU students working in the KU hangar on funded and unfunded projects.  These activities are now typically unscheduled and not always supervised by KU staff. 

4.                  The requirements for formal regular inspections of the Airport

5.                  Additional staffing for aircraft monitoring and record keeping.

After the presentation, there was a question and answer session.  At the conclusion of this discussion the Board agreed to think about this opportunity including the development of a revised vision and set of goals for the airport.  It was agreed to continue this discussion at a future Board Meeting.

7.        Next Meeting

The next regular Aviation Advisory Board Meeting will be Thursday, June 10, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. in the Terminal Building pilot’s lounge.

8.        Meeting Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.