MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY

The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.

The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen
Absent: None
Others: Bossart

Chairman Haugen presiding.

Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held May 28, 2019:
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held May 28, 2019, were approved without objection.

Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $54,514.00:
Dr. Clark moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $54,514.00.
Second by Mr. Engen.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Dakota Underground:
Ms. Linn moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $25,424.00 to Dakota Underground for concrete pavement improvements in the south general aviation area.
Second by Dr. Clark.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Sixel LLC:
Ms. Linn moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $4,376.00 to Sixel LLC for May passenger enplanement fees, Frontier Airlines.
Second by Dr. Clark.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to RDO Equipment Co.:
Ms. Linn moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $40,450.00 to RDO Equipment Co. for the purchase of a 2019 John Deere 1575 Terrain Cut mower and broom.
Second by Dr. Clark.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Flint Group:
Ms. Linn moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $14,045.63 to Flint Group for partial payment request for the 2019 Airport Marketing Program.
Second by Dr. Clark.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Engen, Lind, Clark, Haugen voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Received Communication from ND American Legion Auxiliary to Extend Eastside Terminal Office Lease:
The communication from the ND American Legion Auxiliary dated June 6, 2019, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the ND American Legion Auxiliary has been a good tenant for a number of years and they are requesting a two-year lease extension for their space in the Eastside Terminal.
Dr. Clark moved to approve the request from the ND American Legion Auxiliary for a two-year extension to their lease in the Eastside Terminal.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Received Communication from American Legion Post #2 to Extend Eastside Terminal Office Lease:
The communication from Larry Lein, Commander of the Fargo American Legion Post #2 dated June 5, 2019, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the American Legion Post #2 is requesting a one-year extension to their lease in the Eastside Terminal.
Mr. Lind moved to approve the request from the American Legion Post #2 for a one-year extension to their office lease in the Eastside Terminal.
Second by Mr. Engen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Received Communication from ND Aeronautics Commission Regarding 2019 State Grant Awards:
The summary of the Commercial Service Airport Grant Awards 2019 from the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we requested $4,305,638.00 in state grant funds for 2019 and were awarded $275,769.00. He stated the Aeronautics Commission had $1,675,061.00 to distribute to the commercial service airports in the state.

Received Proposal from IER Inc. for Charger/Power Poles to be Installed in the Gate Areas:
Mr. Dobberstein stated this proposal from IER Inc. is for the installation of power poles or charging stations, which you see in most airports now. He stated we went out into the industry and got a bid for these charging stations. He stated we are going to start with 12 poles at a cost of $24,996.00 from IER Inc. He stated we are going to work with Clear Channel on options for advertising on the poles to offset some of the cost.
Mr. Darren Anderson stated these are stand-alone units and are not hardwired so they are moveable. He stated airports all over the country have charging stations and he stated he saw this particular one at the airport in Sioux Falls.
Ms. Linn moved to authorize the purchase and installation of (12) charging stations as per the bid from IER Inc.
Second by Dr. Clark.
Mr. Lind stated he does not think 12 is enough but it is a good start. Chairman Haugen called for a vote on the motion.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Received Update from Delta Global Services:
Mr. Dobberstein stated that Mr. Jeff Neikirk, Delta Global Services, Mr. Jason Ashley, United Airlines, Mr. Wayne Lougheed, DGS Station Manager, and Mr. Andrew Jepson, DGS Performance Manager, are here today to update us on the progress made with customer service issues with DGS since their last visit in March.
Mr. Jeff Neikirk was recognized and stated they have seen significant improvements in the last three months. He stated staffing has stabilized and they are still working to get to target. He stated when they were here in March they had 46 employees but now have 58 of the target 70 employees. He stated there are still about five to six TDY employees per week. He stated the on- time performance has improved greatly over the first quarter and they are still working on their goal )
to have baggage on the carousel in 20 minutes. He stated they do have over an 80% compliance rating on baggage. He stated they are in the final stages of the wage increase they have requested so they expect that very soon.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the problems we have been experiencing are not just happening in Fargo, these problems are happening system wide.
Mr. Jim Sweeney, Fargo Jet Center, was recognized and stated he is a Delta customer and in the last six weeks he has flown out of Fargo five times. He thanked Mr. Neikirk for being here again and asked what we here at this meeting today can do to expedite the pay issue. He stated this message needs to get to the top level at Delta today, not tomorrow. He stated this has gone on way too long. He gave an example of one flight on which he arrived and the jetway was moving back and forth to the aircraft for about ten minutes. He stated after finally getting off the aircraft he asked the two individuals operating the jetway what the delay was and they replied they were “training”. Mr. Sweeney stated only a tiny fraction of the issues are being passed on to the airline.
Mr. Neikirk stated they are going through some growing pains while they are training a mostly new staff but he thinks it is better for them to be able to do this in the summer months rather than winter.
Mr. Joe Raso, Greater FM Economic Development Corporation, was recognized and stated he also sees a need for better training for issues that are not that frequent. He stated his family has encountered issues with an unaccompanied minor flying and the agent handling the matter was not at all experienced.
Mr. Neikirk stated that is an area that requires mentoring. He stated the agent should have called the help desk or consulted with one of the TDY or senior agents.
Mr. Jason Ashley, United Airlines, was recognized and stated he and Andrew Jepson communicate almost daily to discuss performance. He added that the hourly rate increase is sitting at the top level at United for approval.
Mr. Lind stated it has to be more expensive to bring in TDY employees from other cities than it would be to increase the hourly wage.
Mr. Neikirk stated it has not been a quick process to increase the hourly wage.
Chairman Haugen stated DGS, Delta and United have dug themselves a big hole and it is
going to take a while to dig themselves out. He stated the salary for the employees of DGS has to be increased and the airlines are going to have to spend some of their profits to make that happen.
Mr. Joe Raso stated a couple of weeks ago they announced the “Fueling Our Future” regional initiative in partnership with The Chamber. He stated this initiative addresses five issues and one of them is how the business community can better partner with the airport on things happening in the airline industry. He stated it goes without saying how important this institution is to our connection to the world. He stated the workforce issue is a regional challenge but it is something we can all solve together. He stated the leadership representing some of the top companies in the region, as well as the public sector, have to make this issue a priority and walk through this together. He stated in the past there has been an Air Service Task Force that was focused on business travel. He stated wages are an issue for a lot of our companies here and when you look at occupations and our ability to be competitive on a national scale for retaining people we know that is an issue. He stated the suggestion they have made to Delta Global Services is to look at the market wage data and figure out the right compensation to get people with the skill sets needed. He stated most people in this room have a certain level of expectation for airline travel and it will take sitting down at the table with airline representatives to address the issues in a meaningful way.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the outlook on workforce challenges only get worse. He stated the high school graduation rate is expected to drop significantly nationwide in 2026. He stated he would like to invite Mr. Craig Whitney (The Chamber) and Mr. Joe Raso to come to one of our meetings in the near future and explain the “Fueling Our Future” initiative. He stated he thinks this initiative will greatly benefit the community. He stated the Air Service Task Force to which Mr. Raso referred was formed in 1998 after the Northwest Airlines pilot strike when the business community woke up and saw the need to get involved to improve air service. He stated the group met through about 2006 and then disbanded.
Mr. Dobberstein stated as we continue to get comments from the passengers we will pass them on to airline representatives. He stated we are fortunate to have Mr. Lougheed and Mr. Jepson who are dedicated to improving the station.
Mr. Raso stated he would like to say that he has had comments and negative stories from passengers and he has passed those on to Mr. Dobberstein. He stated Mr. Dobberstein has often gone to the effort to fact check and clarify the story and often the complaint was not accurate.
Mr. Dobberstein stated his goal is to have these airline representatives at one of our meetings every couple of months for updates. He thanked the airline representatives for being here today and stated we realize they are working with a lot of other airports as well and this situation is not unique to Fargo.

Received Update on Proposed SRE Building Project:
Mr. Terry Stroh, TL Stroh Architects, was recognized and stated they have had a couple of meetings with airport staff so far and toured the current facility. He stated there have been a lot of changes in equipment since the facility was built, such as size, which causes issues with the existing door openings. He stated they are looking at different options such as whether it will be a separate building and if so in which location. He stated they are looking into issues with the drainage ditch adjacent to the existing facility and what will be required for that. He stated they are hoping to have two or three concepts to present to the board at the next meeting.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the goal is to make everything eligible for FAA funding.

Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized and stated the goal is to have the Dakota Drive Rehabilitation Project done by the end of the week, weather permitting, except for the painting. He stated we met with the FAA last week regarding the cargo apron expansion project. He stated the airport received the $10 million supplemental federal grant and the airport needs to commit its 2019 entitlement funds of approximately $3 million for a total of $13 million. He stated the preliminary estimate for the project right now is $16 million. He stated we are also working on a de-icing containment system, which will impact the cost of the project.
Mr. David Negron, TSA, was recognized and stated it has been a busy spring and they are expecting a busy summer. He stated he is pleased to advise the board that there is some new technology coming to the checkpoint at Fargo. He stated we are scheduled to receive the new CT X-ray technology whenever the contract issues with the vendors are worked out. He stated we are also anticipating a more automated ticket checking process within the next year. He stated they have done some initial training on the Known Crew Member process and still waiting to hear more from headquarters. He stated hopefully we should see that “go live” date in the next month.

Other Business:
Mr. Dobberstein stated the ND National Guard 119th Wing’s Happy Hooligans were recently recognized as the best civil engineers in Air National Guard. He stated they were awarded the Colonel William L. Deneke Outstanding Civil Engineer Unit Award for excellence.
Chairman Haugen stated the members of the Municipal Airport Authority and Attorney Bossart met yesterday with the mayor and staff members of the City of Fargo along with City Attorney Erik Johnson. He stated he apologized for the lack of protocol followed at the meeting because after being told it was an Airport Authority meeting the mayor clearly thought it was his meeting and had a very long program. He stated he would also like to apologize to Mr. Jim Sweeney for the way he was cut off by the mayor. He stated the board would very much like to hear any input from Mr. Sweeney.
Mr. Sweeney was recognized and stated he needs to leave shortly for an appointment but he stated that the critical thing is that this is a personal issue for the mayor and he does not have the support of a majority of the City Commission. He stated the mayor did not have the support of the rest of the commission to bring forward the proposal he presented yesterday.
Chairman Haugen thanked Mr. Sweeney for being at the meeting yesterday and being here today. He stated as he told the mayor yesterday, the board will digest the proposed MOU. He stated the proposed MOU seems to be all about the City of Fargo and all about what is good for the City. He stated there is not anything about the airport, the travelling public, the airport employees, the airport tenants and users of this airport. He stated his impression is that the City wants the money and they want to be in control. He stated we have a commitment to look at the proposal. He asked board members if we should split up the proposal and assign different parts to members for their review.
Mr. Lind stated the proposal is very lengthy but he would prefer that each member review the proposal in its entirety.
Chairman Haugen stated he was also disappointed in the comments and implication made at the meeting that the airport was not audited enough and that there is not enough oversight of the finances of the airport. He stated he feels we have more oversight than the City of Fargo experiences.
Mr. Lind stated there was the implication of impropriety and that we are doing something that
is negligent or nefarious and he did not appreciate that. He stated that is certainly not the case.
Ms. Linn stated she agrees with Mr. Lind’s comments. She stated she thinks it is important that when we meet with the City again to discuss this at a public meeting that state statute for airport authorities is followed, even though some things may need to be done differently than they are now. She stated we might want to look at things from a fresh perspective and just because something has always been done one way does not mean that it is right.
Mr. Lind stated he feels each of the board members needs to know what the MOU says in its entirety, form our own opinions, then get together, and discuss it.
Ms. Linn stated she would like to see a comparison of figures we have received on employee benefits, etc. and the projected numbers that were presented yesterday.
Mr. Lind stated this board does not have to do anything and nothing changes. He stated the mayor has proposed these changes and we have not yet accepted them.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the 1969 agreement between the Municipal Airport Authority and the City of Fargo has not expired. He stated the agreement was amended in 1970 to have no expiration date.
Chairman Haugen stated he has found several errors in the proposed MOU so far and that is one of them. He stated we have been given a deadline of August 1, but we need to remind them that they have sat on this for about a year and a half.
Ms. Linn stated when we first received the original proposal from the City a year ago in February, she knows that she personally spent a lot of time reviewing the document.
Dr. Clark stated the proposal we received yesterday is very much what they gave us before. She stated she would need to compare them side to side but she does not see much difference so far.
Mr. Engen stated as far as the surveys the City used for salary information in their presentation yesterday, he did not think the comparison was accurate as this airport is growing at a rapid rate in both passengers and freight operations. He stated he also noted that the airports they used for comparisons were based on the smallest airports in the country and those that do not have a military mission attached to it or affiliated with it. He stated he thinks we should request that be changed.
The other board members agreed.

Chairman Haugen stated the Official Aviation Guide has just named Hector International Airport the 2019 Busiest Small Airport. Official Aviation Guide (OAG) is the world’s largest network of air travel data and insight. The commemorative plaque was received by the board.
Mr. Dobberstein stated he attended the Jumpstart Conference in Nashville, TN, June 3-5. He stated he had meetings with a number of airlines. He stated we are not anticipating many changes in air service coming forward. He stated the pilot shortage is still a real challenge. He stated the message was, be happy with the service you have now.
Mr. Dobberstein stated he, Darren Anderson and representatives from Mead & Hunt met with the FAA here on June 6. He stated the FAA representatives present or via telephone were Simon Schmitz and Andy Peek (Minneapolis), and Dave Anderson, Brian Schuck. He stated we talked about the North University Drive project. He stated the FAA is still engaged with the engineering firm designing the project for the City of Fargo. He stated if the city stays within the 66’ right of way, they can do what they want, but if they want to move the sidewalk/bike trail closer to our fence then there are a lot of different things that are going to have to be taken into consideration with easements, how to compensate the airport for the property, etc.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we discussed the cost allocation plan submitted by the City of Fargo for the airport’s payment to the City’s general fund for services rendered to the airport. He stated back in July 2016 the Airport Authority did agree to increasing the $50,000 annual payment to something greater than $90,000, subject to approval by the FAA. He stated the FAA is still reviewing the cost allocation plan. He stated he thinks the FAA will buy into the cost allocation plan the City has proposed, however, he does not think they will allow the increase to be retroactive back to CY2016. He stated when the Airport Authority approved the increase in 2016 that was to be effective the 2017 calendar year budget.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we also discussed the proposed flood protection project north of the airport and the FAA just received the cursory review as we have. He stated the City had proposed to put a dike along County 20 from University Drive to 25th Street and then north along 25th to the lagoons. He stated they have now shifted that plan further north to where 52nd Ave N used to be along the Stockman Addition. He stated we have a meeting scheduled Wednesday with Roger Kluck and others from the City Engineer’s Office to discuss the project. He stated ironically the new proposed location is exactly where former board member Ken Pawluk said it should be placed.

The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, June 25, 2019.