MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.
The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Haugen (via zoom), Engen (via zoom), Cosgriff (via zoom), Lind (via zoom), Linn
Absent: None
Others: Bossart (via zoom), Strand (via zoom)
Chairman Linn presiding.
Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held December 8,
2020:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held December 8, 2020.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $63,986.78:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $63,986.78.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn voted aye.
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Sixel LLC:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $1,794.00 to Sixel LLC for November passenger enplanement fees (American/Phoenix).
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn voted aye.
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to TL Stroh Architects:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $8,995.50 to TL Stroh Architects for partial payment request for architectural services in connection with the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn voted aye.
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to TL Stroh Architects:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $2,746.25 to TL Stroh Architects for partial payment request for architectural services (testing services) in connection with the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn voted aye.
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $39,694.07 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Cargo Apron Expansion – Phase IV.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn voted aye.
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Received Communication from Northstar Aviation Insurance Regarding CY2021 Airport Liability Policy Renewal:
The communication from Northstar Aviation Insurance dated December 15, 2020, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the renewal premium for our airport liability policy with the current carrier (AIG Aerospace) will be $64,570.00, which is an increase of $6,808.00 over last year due to the very hard market aviation entered during the last year.
Mr. Engen moved to approve the renewal of the airport liability policy with AIG Aerospace for CY2021 for a premium of $64,570.00.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Received Update Regarding Mathern Proposed Purchase of Airport Authority Parcel:
Attorney Bossart was recognized (via zoom) and reviewed that the MAA received an appraisal on the 2.3 acres of property owned by the MAA adjacent to property owned by Terry and Patricia Mathern. She stated the appraisal came back at $38,000, which all of the board members felt was very high as the property is of no use to anyone else since nothing can be built on the property. She stated the Matherns offered $5,000.00 and the MAA countered at $15,000.00. She stated the Matherns’ final offer now is $6,500.00.
Mr. Engen moved the MAA accept the offer of $6,500 from Terry and Patricia Mathern.
Second by Cosgriff.
Mr. Dobberstein stated he discussed this matter with Dave Anderson, Assistant Manager for the FAA office in Bismarck, and there is some new guidance that came out from the FAA on October 27, 2020, regarding airport layout plan reviews and projects that may be affected by Section 163 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. He stated this property was gifted to the MAA by Jacque Stockman some years ago and Mr. Anderson confirmed that the FAA does not have any approval requirement for the sale of this property. He stated it does not appear the property is on the ALP, but we will still send notice for his file that we did sell the parcel even though there is no approval required and no federal funds were used to purchase the property.
Attorney Bossart stated she is working on the real estate side of it with a purchase agreement. She stated she just needs to refer to ND law to make certain all of the requirements are met. She stated she plans to have everything ready for the board’s approval at the next meeting. She added that Gary Stewart did a title opinion when the property was gifted.
Mr. Cosgriff asked if the title opinion should be updated.
Mr. Lind stated if the buyer is concerned they can pay for a title search.
Chairman Linn called for a vote on the motion.
On the call of the roll, Haugen, Engen, Cosgriff, Lind, Linn
No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.
Received Communication from First International Bank & Trust Regarding Airport Funds On Deposit:
Mr. Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Portfolio Manager, First International Bank & Trust Private Wealth Management Team, was recognized (via zoom) and stated his focus today will be on the broader interest rate environment as it relates to investment per the ND Century Code.
Mr. Baumgartner reviewed two sections of the century code, depositories of public funds and how political subdivisions may invest funds (21-04 and 21-06-07). He reviewed charts with details on an Example Portfolio – Tier 2, Example Portfolio 2 to 4 Year, and Example Portfolio – Options (Bonds).
Mr. Lind asked if the fees for managing the funds are greater than the interest right now.
Mr. Baumgartner stated as it currently stands the dollars on deposit are in an insured cash sweep account which means it is fully FDIC insured. He stated there are no fees currently for the funds on deposit with FIBT. He stated the information presented today were options for the MAA to consider that are investment options within the ND Century Code.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the current rate of interest we are receiving is .45%, which is down from the initial rate of just over 2.0% at the beginning of the year. He stated it seems to be the consensus that the best option for our funds right now is to keep them in this sweep account. He stated we will continue to monitor it quarterly to see if there is a better interest bearing account allowed by NDCC.
Chairman Linn stated she agrees. She stated we are in a good position with FIBT as we are not having to pay fees on the deposits right now.
Gen. Haugen stated he has been researching other banks for higher interest rates on his personal accounts and he feels we are doing as well as we can with guidance from the NDCC. He asked if anyone sees any need to push to modify state statute to give us more flexibility.
Mr. Dobberstein stated he could reach out to some of the other airports in the state but he feels with the conservative nature of our part of the country we may want to leave well enough alone. He stated he can reach out. He stated he knows the FargoDome invests some of its funds with a state investment committee. He stated the FargoDome is eligible to participate because of the changes the City of Fargo made in its Home Rule Charter, but that does not apply to the Airport Authority.
Mr. Cosgriff was recognized (via zoom) and stated the Retirement Investment Office is the group that invests all of the funds for the state. He stated it would be a matter of contacting the Retirement Investment Office to check on the possibilities.
NDPERS Update:
Mr. Dobberstein stated Chief Bush, Rick Engen and Attorney Bossart met with the mayor and Jill Minette recently regarding NDPERS and the needs of the airport firefighters and their desire to move to the NDPERS Public Safety Plan. She stated Chief Bush did a nice job of explaining the needs of the airport firefighters.
Mr. Engen was recognized (via zoom) and stated one of the things brought up during the meeting is the fact that the Fargo firefighters have actually deviated from a common plan by their plan not making a deduction for Social Security. He stated the City of Fargo has already created a precedent by doing that for the Firefighters Association. He stated it is important to understand that in any comparison it comes down to what the airport firefighters need and want, and what we as a board need, want and can afford for those employees.
Mr. John Strand was recognized (via zoom) and stated it is his understanding that the COF will be giving another internal update on the matter today. He stated they will also be reaching out to schedule another roundtable meeting.
Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Terry Stroh, TL Stroh Architects, was recognized (via zoom) and stated they had started on the re-roof of the existing building but have put a hold on that for now and moved to the roof on the new building. He stated they are planning to install metal panels on the addition the first week of January. He stated the generator has been installed they are preparing for overhead doors to arrive.
Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized (via zoom) and stated Mead & Hunt is going to propose to the MAA to start on the design to reconstruct and rehabilitate the terminal apron. He stated it is probably one of the worst pieces of pavement on the airport. He stated they took advantage of the nice weather this fall and started on the topographical survey prior to entering into any contract with the MAA. He stated they wanted to seize the opportunity to complete that work in the nice weather. He stated for the January 12 meeting they will prepare a contract proposal to prepare all of the environmental documents for what they are calling the high priority areas on the airfield. That would include areas that will be developed in the next five to seven years. He stated that would include the terminal area, north general aviation area, south general aviation area. He stated every project on the airport, whether it is funded with federal funds or private funds, has the same environmental requirements.
Other Business:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we discussed the “Wall of Honor” at our last meeting and that has been installed.
Mr. Dobberstein stated November traffic was down 53% over 2019 but we are in better shape than other areas of the country.
Chairman Linn stated the Airport Position Evaluation Committee met last Friday and we will be meeting on December 28 and 30, 2020. She stated we are making progress.
The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, January 12, 2021.
Time at adjournment was 8:42 a.m.