MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY MEETING

The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.

The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Linn, Blazek, Lind, Haugen
Absent: Clark
Others: Bossart, Piepkorn
Chairman Haugen presiding.

Approved the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held February 25, 2019, the Regular Meeting Held February 26, 2019, and the Regular Meeting Held March 11, 2019:
The minutes of the Special Meeting held February 25, 2019, the Regular Meeting held February 26, 2019 and the Regular Meeting held March 11, 2019, were approved without objection.

Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $24,353.94:
Mr. Blazek moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $24,353.94.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Blazek, Lind, Haugen voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to FTZ Corporation:
Mr. Lind moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $162.50 to FTZ Corporation for payment request for the annual report review, Foreign Trade Zone #267.
Second by Ms. Linn.
On the call of the roll, members Linn, Blazek, Lind, Haugen voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.

Authorized Purchase of Replacement Mower and Sale of Current Unit:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we currently have a Toro mower with a broom attachment for snow removal and the unit needs to be replaced. He stated our staff got three bids, two from John Deere and one from MTI.

RDO Equipment (Sourcewell quote) $43,768.81
RDO Equipment (government program discount) $40,450.00
MTI Distributing (Sourcewell quote) $46,767.45

Mr. Dobberstein stated we are recommending going with the RDO low bid of $40,450.00. He stated approval of the purchase would include approval of the sale of the current unit at auction.
Ms. Linn moved to approve the purchase of the John Deere 1575 Terrain Cut per the bid of $40,450.00 from RDO Equipment (government program discount) and authorize the sale of the current unit at auction.
Second by Mr. Lind.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Authorized Purchase of Replacement Motor Grader and Sale of Current Unit:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we currently have a 1990 Champion motor grader with over 5,000 hours on it. He stated getting parts on a timely basis is very difficult as Champion was purchased by Volvo in 1997.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we have received two bids, both via Soucewell:

Butler Machinery - $330,000.00 (Caterpillar Model 140M3)
RDO Equipment - $295,970.08 (John Deere 772G)

Mr. Dobberstein stated the current unit will be sold at auction. He stated the recommendation from staff is to purchase the Caterpillar as it has approximately twice the warranty and the resale value is much higher.
Mr. Blazek moved to approve the purchase of the Caterpillar 140M3 motor grader from Butler Machinery via the Sourcewell bid of $330,000.00, with the current unit to be sold at auction.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Mr. Dobberstein stated at our next meeting we will have on our agenda an item to authorize purchase of a chemical truck. He stated Darren Anderson, Henry Swedberg and Troy Smedshammer are in Sioux Falls today to look at the truck they purchased recently. He stated Attorney Bossart has reviewed the bidding documents and we will start the process to piggyback off the recent bid by the Sioux Falls airport to purchase a similar truck.

Received Request for Gas Main Easement (36th Avenue North):
The communications dated March 22, 2019, from Apex Engineering Group were received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated Mr. Kyle Koterba, Apex, called last week on behalf of the City of Fargo with an urgent request that we allow Xcel Energy to install a gas main along the south edge of 36th Avenue North at the request of piggybacking the existing water main easement that we have with the City of Fargo. He stated they want to start this work immediately to get the gas main installed. He stated he does not have any issue with them putting the main within the existing easement. He stated they provided a map of the area. He stated they have already moved the snow off the field to get the locates done. He stated they are trying to expedite this in the event a flood dike has to be installed around the waste water plant.
Ms. Linn moved to approve the request from Apex Engineering on behalf of the City of Fargo to grant a modification to the existing easement for the purpose of installing a new natural gas service pipe for the City of Fargo Wastewater Treatment Facility expansion.
Second by Mr. Lind.
Mr. Dobberstein stated Attorney Bossart will work with the City of Fargo to amend the easement.
Chairman Haugen called for a vote on the motion.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Received Notice of Sidewalk Construction (16th Street North):
The Notice of Sidewalk Construction dated March 8, 2019 from the City of Fargo Engineering Department was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the City of Fargo is requiring sidewalk be installed adjacent to 16th Street North from 19th Avenue to 21st Avenue North. He stated this notice is for the airport’s portion of property which is not leased to someone. He stated the Fargo Air Museum received the notice and Mr. Jeff Johnson will receive one as well.
Chairman Haugen asked who would be responsible for clearing snow from this sidewalk.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the airport will be responsible for its portion and the other tenants with adjacent property will be responsible for their portion.
Mr. Blazek stated he thinks we are too sidewalk happy in this city and he does not know why we would put a sidewalk in that location.
Mr. Dobberstein agreed there is no need for a sidewalk in that area.

Authorized Attendance at the ND National Guard Event, Washington, DC, May 14, 2019:
Mr. Blazek moved to authorize attendance at the ND National Guard Event, Washington, DC, May 14, 2019.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Authorized Solicitation of Bids to Invest Airport Reserve Funds:
Mr. Dobberstein stated it has been a few years since we have gone through this process. He stated about five years ago we established the Parking Lot Construction and Maintenance Fund with a starting balance of $5 million in a CD, for which we solicited bids from local banks. He stated First International Bank was the successful bidder. He stated we have added to that fund a couple of consecutive years. He stated when the CD came due the last time we chose to put the funds into a money market savings account so we could draw down funds down from that account to pay for the employee parking lot reconstruction and expansion project and the design fees for the skyway.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the funds he is talking about today are reserves that we have in our Operations and Maintenance Fund. He stated he would like the board to consider taking up to $10 million out onto the market in some type of ladder of CDs. He stated this is the format the Fargo Park District uses. He stated former Park District employee Mr. Jim Larson was the person that handled this for the Fargo Park District. He stated Mr. Larson is now with the City of West Fargo and he is going through the same process there. He stated Mr. Larson sent him the bid forms West Fargo will be using to solicit bids. He stated if the board authorized this today, he can begin the process. He stated we are still awaiting word on our application for the $12 million supplemental federal grant and we are also making some major snow removal equipment purchases we will have to cover. He stated later in the meeting we are going to discuss expediting the expansion of our Maintenance Shop.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the money we currently have in the Wells Fargo sweep account does not earn much interest. He stated we would like to go out to the local market. He stated the local bankers love that we give them the opportunity to invest our funds. He stated we will follow the state statute when investing the funds.
Ms. Linn stated she feels keeping the money locally is important.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the City of Fargo has some opportunities though PFM and we have looked at those, but the City of Fargo’s Home Rule Charter allows them to have an investment policy that is riskier that we can use, as Home Rule Charter does not apply to the Airport Authority.
Ms. Linn moved to authorize the Executive Director to begin the process for investing airport reserve funds and solicit bids from local financial institutions.
Second by Mr. Lind.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized and stated he does not have a lot to report. He stated we have pre-construction meetings scheduled for our Dakota Drive lighting and pavement rehabilitation projects.
Mr. Klein stated we are scheduled to meet with a representative from the FAA Regional Office in Chicago in the next couple of weeks here in Fargo.
Chairman Haugen stated the ND Legislature passed the Prairie Dog Fund and asked if we could see any of that money.
Mr. Klein stated the hope is that we will receive some of that funding for the Runway 36 Special Authorization CAT II Project. He stated the board has authorized Mead & Hunt to proceed with the feasibility study and they are working on that now. He stated the FAA has indicated they would not fund that project.
Mr. Dobberstein stated there will be a lot of competition for those funds before they get to the airports in the state. He stated the earliest the funding would be available is 2020.
Mr. Klein stated this project is one that will benefit the entire state as both FedEx and UPS run all of the cargo for the entire state through Fargo.

Other Business:
Mr. Dobberstein introduced Mr. Wayne Lougheed, the new station manager for Delta Global Services.
Mr. Lougheed was recognized and stated he feels there has been a vast improvement from even two weeks ago. He stated they are continuing to get additional TDY support. He stated they have also done a lot of hiring in the last couple of weeks and the TDY support will continue for at least another month and a half.
Mr. Lind stated he toured the SRE Maintenance Building yesterday. He stated they are definitely out of room and we have more equipment on the way. He stated he is proposing that we move ahead with selection of an architect and get this project moving forward.
Mr. Dobberstein stated since the project is eligible for federal funding we would have to solicit RFQs from architects and we can get that process started now. He stated if we get the $12 million supplemental grant for the cargo apron expansion we will have to commit one year of FAA AIP entitlement funds to the project. He stated if we do not get the supplemental grant but we do get discretionary funding for the cargo ramp expansion, we will have to commit two years of FAA AIP entitlement funds. He stated if we move ahead with the SRE Building expansion and follow all of the FAA guidelines, we will fund the project ourselves upfront and then once we get into our 2021 or 2022 entitlement year we would use those funds to reimburse ourselves. He stated there are some areas of the building the FAA may not fund. He invited any of the board members to tour the facility.
Mr. Lind recommended that each board member tour the building.
Mr. Lind moved to advertise a Request for Qualifications for architectural services for the Snow Removal Equipment Maintenance Facility Project.
Second by Ms. Linn.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Adopted Resolution of Appreciation to Mr. Steve Blazek:
Chairman Haugen stated this is Mr. Blazek’s last meeting as a member of the Municipal Airport Authority and stated he would like to thank Mr. Blazek for his many years of service on the board.
Mr. Dobberstein stated not only has Mr. Blazek served as a member of the board for many years, but also what was unique and special about Mr. Blazek’s service is that he attended board meetings for many years before he was appointed as a member.
Mr. Blazek stated he has seen a lot of growth and changes over the years and he is looking forward to seeing where the board takes the airport in the years to come. He added he is going to miss all of the perks.
Ms. Linn offered the following resolution of appreciation to outgoing member Mr. Steve Blazek and moved its adoption:
WHEREAS, Mr. Steve Blazek has served as a member of the Municipal Airport Authority for more than 10 years, since January 2009, after attending meetings on a regular basis for many years prior to his appointment, and
WHEREAS, Mr. Blazek has labored diligently and given unsparingly of his time and efforts over those years, playing a key role in the steady forward movement and constant improvements to Hector International Airport in its service to commercial aviation, general aviation, and military aviation, and
WHEREAS, Mr. Blazek has been especially helpful in mentoring newer members of the board in various aspects of the airport, especially his expertise in finance, and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the members of the Municipal Airport Authority and its staff that Mr. Blazek continue his interest in and regard for Hector International Airport and remain involved by maintaining a relationship with the board and being willing to continue to offer input in the future.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the members of the Municipal Airport Authority hereby convey their thanks and deep gratitude for the many years of distinguished service from Mr. Steve Blazek and wish him the best in his future endeavors of community involvement and service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be inscribed upon the permanent minutes of the Municipal Airport Authority and a certified copy of the herein resolution be forwarded to Mr. Steve Blazek.
Second by Mr. Lind.
All members present voted aye and the resolution was declared to have been duly passed and adopted.

The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Time at adjournment was 8:45 a.m.