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CCAA Minutes 01-12-2004 (pdf) COLLIER COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY MINUTES OF January 12, 2004 MEMBERS Dennis Vasey Robin Doyle Jim Peterka PRESENT: Steve Price Raymond Rewis ABSENT: Bill West STAFF: Gene Schmidt Bob Tweedie John Kirchner Debi Mueller Gigi Endres PUBLIC: Ral ph Hester Bill Griffiths Winona Stone Monica Biondo Denny Baker MikeTaylor Carol Glassman I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AND QUORUM CHECK Meeting called to order at 1:05 p.m. and quorum was present. II. Executive Director’s Report Mr. Schmidt reported that he met with Mr. Ted Soliday of the Naples Airport Authority and expects to have a report ready for the next meeting. He also indicated that Commissioner Henning had received a letter from Mayor MacKenzie indicating the City’s willingness to discuss o ptions relating to Naples Airport Authority and the Collier County Airport Authority. Mr. Schmidt updated the board on events at the Everglades Airpark. He was scheduled to meet with Mayor Sammy Hamilton, however, that meeting had to be cancelled. Anoth er date will be set. The Everglades Pilots Association hosted a fly -in last weekend. Mr. Schmidt indicated that the turnout was good. Another fly -in is scheduled for the weekend of the 17 th . The property adjacent to the Airport has been cleared and an advertising campaign is underway. Mr. Schmidt reported that he has been working with Mr. Duane Higgins and the EDC and others compiling working proposals for the Florida Tradeport projects. As a result of Mr. Higgins oversight, Mr. Schmidt feels that pro gress is being made on the Tradeport initiatives. Mr. Schmidt addressed the request by the Board of County Commissioners to explore outsourcing Immokalee Regional Airport. He reported the cost of an ad in the Wall Street Journal would be in excess of $1,200.00. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Agenda changes: Items C -1, C -2 and C -4 placed before Items B. Mr. Peterka moved to approve the Agenda. Mr. Price seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. A. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA 1. Minutes of December 8 , 2003 Mr. Peterka noted minor changes. Mr. Doyle instructed staff to make corrections. Mr. Peterka noted that a motion was not made regarding a sub -committee to review the fee structure on lease agreements. Mr. Vasey pointed out that no action was tak en because Mr. Schmidt indicated that a review of rates and fees would be undertaken by him. Mr. Peterka asked that the minutes reflect that with regards to the rates and fees and also the marketing plan. Mr. Price moved to approve the Minutes with corre ctions. Mr. Vasey seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Monthly Financial Statement approved Announcements: Mr. Vasey explained that we received approval to spend money on the design phase of the FAA grants, however, under County rules , those who vote in favor of a motion, may vote also to have that motion recalled. Commissioner Henning has moved that the approval of the money for Marco, Everglades and Immokalee be brought back up for discussion at tomorrow’s meeting. Mr. Vasey will a ttend tomorrow’s meeting to answer any questions. C. ADMINISTRATIVE Mr. Vasey indicated that he would like to hear from our guests and asked that if there are no objections we move to Immokalee Regional Raceway and allow Mr. Hester to address the board. 4. Immokalee Regional Raceway Mr. Ralph Hester spoke about issues regarding his lease and announced he has plans to make improvements to the raceway. He stated that it was his understanding that the issue of extending his lease would be decided tod ay, and now is questioning why it has been delayed. Mr. Vasey said that in the original lease a temporary permit had been issued for 26 races in 1999. The County Manager informed us that he could no longer retroactively approve temporary permits and that we had to apply for a conditional use permit. The planner in 1999 said that this is a permitted use on the airport, but issued a temporary permit only. Mr. Vasey asked the current planner for a pre -application meeting to clarify the language. Mr. Schmi dt is the point of contact, and a meeting will be set up. Mr. Hester asked if the permitting process was holding the lease up. Mr. Vasey responded that we cannot enter into any lease for longer than 5 years. Mr. Hester reiterated his reasons for wanting a longer lease. He intends to make substantial improvements and he stated that an additional 5 years would take his lease to 2012. Mr. Vasey replied that it would be 5 years total; therefore Mr. Hester would only gain 2 years on his current lease, which expires in 2007. Mr. Vasey also indicated that the current lease would have to be amended to address the condition of the lease, as it currently exists. Mr. Vasey voiced the boards’ support of Mr. Hester’s operation but wanted to make it clear that the l ast thing the board wanted to do was grant Mr. Hester permission to do something that we’re not supposed to give permission to do. Mr. Price stated that there are a couple different issues here. He said it is possible to get a lease for longer than 5 yea rs. It may have to have the Board of County Commissioners approval, but it is possible. Mr. Price said that what the Board should do is see what improvements Mr. Hester plans to make, at what costs and then make a decision as to whether or not those plan s fit with the long term plans of the Airport. Another issue is the permit. Going back sometime, John Drury assured Mr. Price that the permit was being taken care of. Mr. Price would like to see the board continue to pursue that. He suggested that staf f needs to stay on top of the permit issue. Mr. Price recommended to Mr. Hester that he sit down and outline what the improvements will be. Mr. Price then asked whether the issue of the outstanding amount due had been settled. Mr. Schmidt replied that i t had been. Mr. Doyle pointed out that we are also going to be talking about a PUD today, and that if we get it approved in the PUD we won’t have to get the conditional use permit. Mr. Vasey indicated that the PUD may be some time off and we will still n eed to address this issue. Mr. Price stated that he thought we could work on the permit and the extension of the lease at the same time, with the final execution contingent on getting the permit in place. Recommendation: Determine whether the permit nee ded is a conditional use or permitted use permit. Authority will proceed with pre -application process, and Mr. Hester will outline his planned improvements and gather information regarding any permitting and code requirements in connection with those impr ovements. 2. Update of Immokalee Manufacturing Facility II Mr. Denny Baker indicated the lease with Florida Architectural Products has been executed. Mr. Kirchner stated that the required deposit and first months rent has been received. Keys have been de livered and the tenant has begun to move in. Mr. Baker indicated that his department would be going before the Board of County Commissioners to ask for a one -year extension on the DCA agreement, which will push the agreement out to March of 2005. The ext ension is needed because the 22 jobs will not be created by the expiration of the present agreement. DCA will be making a site visit tomorrow to see the building and talk to the tenant. Mr. Baker reminded the Authority that beyond the combined contributi on of $21,000.00 from the Authority and Financial Administration and Housing, any additional costs for improvements are the tenant’s responsibility. Mr. Kirchner reported that we have to have an engineer design the changes the tenant has requested. Mr. V asey said that right now we are in the discovery phase, determining what the costs of the improvements will be. Mr. Peterka asked whether the design cost is included in the $21,000.00 cap for improvements. Mr. Vasey replied that only the dollar amount is stated in the lease. Mr. Baker reminded the Authority that any equipment removed must be disposed of per the terms of the Grant. 2. Florida Tradeport Update Monica Bionda reported on behalf of Duane Higgins. The advertising campaign continues, and Duane has been meeting with Enterprise Florida in order to bring awareness of this project to the state level. EDC is tentatively planning an event for February 26 th or 27 th at the Immokalee Regional Airport to kick off this campaign. The dates are not confirm ed yet, because the EDC is hoping to confirm the Governors attendance. B. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS 1. FAA Grants Executive Summary Mr. Vasey again stated that he would be attending the Board of County Commissioners meeting tomorrow to answer any question s concerning the FAA Grants. Mr. Peterka pointed out that the Authority’s required match for Immokalee did not match the amount on pages 11 and 12. He suggested that they be corrected to be consistent. 2. Master Joint Participation Agreement with Florida Depart of Transportation Recommendation: Approve the Master Joint Participation Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation. Mr. Doyle moved for approval of recommendation. Mr. Peterka seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 3. H ole Montes Work Order for the Design of Marco Airport Fill Placement Recommendation: Approve the work order from Hole Montes (CCAA -03 -04) for the Marco Island Airport Taxiway Fill Program in the amount of $95,569 subject to approval of the Granting Agenc ies . Mr. Vasey moved for approval of recommendation. Mr. Price seconded the motion. Mr. Doyle abstained. Motion passed. 4. Hole Montes Work Order for the Immokalee Airport PUD Zoning Changes, Phase I Mr. Doyle asked what the current zoning is. Mr. Tweedie replied that part is industrial and part agriculture. Recommendation: Approve the work order from Hole Montes (CCAA -04 -01) for the Immokalee Regional Airport PUD Zoning Changes, Phase I, in the amount of $30,000, and aut horize the Chairman to execute all necessary documents. Mr. Price moved for approval of recommendation. Mr. Vasey seconded the motion. Mr. Doyle abstained. Motion passed. 5. Termination for Convenience of EDA’s Participation in the Immokalee Infrastructu re Improvement Project Recommendation: That the Authority approve the termination of EDA’s participation in the Immokalee Infrastructure project for convenience and approve the Chairman’s execution of the resolution. Mr. Price moved for approval of reco mmendation. Mr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. C. ADMINISTRATIVE 3. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Plan Mr. Doyle inquired as to whether or not Tom Palmer had reviewed the plan. Mr. Vasey replied that he had not seen any comments from Mr. Palmer. Recommendation: That the Authority approve the DBE Plan. Mr. Doyle moved for approval of DBE plan subject to any comments Mr. Palmer has. Mr. Peterka seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. D. OLD BUSINESS 1. Imm okalee and Everglades Airpark T -Hangars Mr. Doyle pointed out that at the last meeting a discussion was held regarding what could be done to get T -Hangars online in Immokalee and Everglades. Mr. Doyle would like to know when a report could be expected fr om staff. Mr. Price asked what had been done with the inquiry we received from a private business in Immokalee interested in building a hangar. Mr. Vasey requested that the Strategic Business Plan be brought back to the next meeting to verify what had be en approved. Mr. Doyle reiterated that we have no plans at the present time to build hangars at Immokalee. Mr. Vasey suggested we bring the Strategic Business Plan back to the next meeting and amend it as necessary. Mr. Doyle said that if that is what i t takes, ok, however, what he is asking for is a study of how we can bring new hangars online at the earliest possible date. Mr. Vasey said that right now we have been directed to do two things by the Board of County Commissioners. First we were told to contract out the commercial side, following BCC guidelines, then we were told to contract out the entire airport operations. Mr. Doyle understands that we are saddled with the responsibility of finding someone else to run the airport, but he feels that th is is a completely separate issue from building T -Hangars. Mr. Vasey suggested again that we pull the Strategic Business Plan out, while realizing that there is no restriction to us changing our Strategic Business Plan summary and changing that focus to g et more hangars in. Mr. Doyle said that these are technical requirements. The real questions are still how do we build hangars, what does it cost, is it economically feasible to do and how long will it take? Mr. Vasey pointed out that any change we make might require a budget amendment or cut out things planned according to the Strategic Business Plan. Mr. Peterka noted that a work order had just been approved for the Immokalee Airport PUD zone changes, which include updating the Immokalee Master Plan. T -Hangars are in the Immokalee Master Plan, and Mr. Peterka pointed out that the FAA doesn’t care about the Strategic Business Plan; they care about the Master Plan. Mr. Peterka suggested that the staff be directed to go back and look at the Master Plan and tell us at the next meeting what we need to do to create additional revenue in accordance with the Master Plan or do we need to change it, so the focus is on the building of T -Hangars. We also have a proposal from someone who would like to build T -Han gars. Lets also look at the Master Plan to see if this will fit. Mr. Vasey suggested that staff find out what grants are also available. Mr. Doyle would like to see the same thing done for Everglades. Recommendation: Work with Hole Montes and discuss how we can make T -Hangars a reality. E. NEW BUSINESS 1. Proclamation Mr. Vasey prepared a Certificate of Appreciation to be presented to Mr. Robert Murray for his efforts in producing a successful celebration honoring the 100 th anniversary of the Wrig ht Brothers flight. F. PUBLIC COMMENT 1. Mr. Bill Griffiths voiced his support of the Board in operating the airports. G. ANNOUNCEMENTS H. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.