MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.
The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Engen, Haugen, Lind (via phone), Linn
Absent: Clark
Others: Bossart, Strand, Piepkorn
Chairman Linn presiding.
Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held January 14, 2020, and the Annual Meeting Held January 28, 2020:
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held January 14, 2020 and the Annual Meeting held January 28, 2020, were approved without objection.
Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $102,975.19:
Gen. Haugen moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $102,975.19. Second by Mr. Engen.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Haugen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Flint Communications:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $9,323.54 to Flint Communications for partial payment request for 2020 Airport Marketing Program.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Haugen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Authorized Purchase of Oshkosh Eco EFP Retrofit Kits for ARFF Trucks:
Mr. David Bush, Airport Fire Chief, was recognized and stated firefighting foam has become an environmental issue in recent years. He stated the EPA is starting a mandate of "no flow foam testing." He stated this proposed equipment will retrofit our two ARFF trucks so that testing can be completed without spraying any material on the ground.
Mr. Dobberstein stated this equipment would be eligible for PFC funding so it will be added to a future PFC application.
Mr. Engen moved to approve the purchase of the Oshkosh Eco EFP for the two Oshkosh ARFF trucks per the quotation of $51,680.00 from Oshkosh Airport Products.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Haugen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Received Update on Transfer of Funds to First International Bank & Trust:
Mr. Dobberstein stated Mr. Steve Sprague, City Auditor, informed him last night that the transfer of funds was completed for the two accounts (Operations & Maintenance and Construction & Improvement). He stated those funds were wired to First International Bank yesterday. He stated right now we are maintaining a $500,000 balance in the O&M account and $500,000 in the C&I account for now. He stated with all of the construction coming up this summer we will be doing a number of transfers of funds as needed.
Received Proposed Agreement with Bret’s Snow Removal (US Customs Parking Lot and Employee Parking Lots):
Mr. Dobberstein stated we have used Bret’s Snow Removal for the past few years to clean some of our parking lots in order to free up our airfield staff. He stated they clear the employee lots east of the Westside Terminal, the parking lots in the area of the Eastside Terminal, south GA and air museum area, and also the US Customs Building lot. He stated Attorney Bossart has drafted a Snow Removal Service Agreement along with an exhibit of the lots they clean along with an Equipment/Service price list for 2019/2020.
Mr. Engen moved to approve the Snow Removal Service Agreement with Bret’s Snow Removal for the 2019/2020 season.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Authorized Grantee Letter of Concurrence to US Customs and Border Protection for Digi-Key Corporation’s Application for Activation in FTZ Subzone 267A, Site 1:
Mr. Dobberstein stated the Municipal Airport Authority acts as the grantee for the Foreign-Trade Zone. He stated Digi-Key operates out of a number of buildings north of the airport totaling about 500,000 square feet of space and about a year ago we began working with their legal counsel to activate that property to take advantage of the Foreign-Trade Zone. He stated they have engaged US Customs and they have done inspections of the property as a part of this process. He stated as Grantee we have to provide them with a Letter of Concurrence for the application for activation of the site north of the airport. He stated the next part of this will be to approve a Foreign Trade Zone Operating Agreement with them. He stated currently our zone schedule calls for each company to pay $15,000 per year. He stated we have not set that up as a profit center and Case New Holland is currently paying $15,000 per year. He stated we will work with our FTZ Consultant, Greg Jones, and we may be able to offer a $5,000 discount and they would each pay $10,000 per year.
Chairman Linn stated most people do not know the initiative Mr. Dobberstein has taken in establishing this Foreign-Trade Zone. She stated in the stakeholder interviews she conducted after being appointed to the Airport Authority she met with representatives of Case New Holland and they shared with her that they have been able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year because of the FTZ.
Mr. Engen moved to authorize the Grantee Letter of Concurrence to US Customs and Border Protection for Digi-Key Corporation’s Application for Activation in FTZ Subzone 267A, Site 1.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Discussed Appointment to Airport Position Evaluation Committee (PEC):
Chairman Linn stated part of the MOU with the City of Fargo was the establishment of an Airport Position Evaluation Committee (APEC).
Gen. Haugen moved to appoint Chairman Linn and Mr. Don Kilander as the non-MAA member.
Second by Mr. Engen.
Gen. Haugen stated Chairman Linn and Mr. Kilander were both on a committee reviewing job descriptions and evaluations in the past so both of them would be good in this position. He stated he talked to the mayor last evening and he indicated he had asked someone to serve on the committee but he had not yet heard back.
Mr. Engen asked if we have a timeline for the formation of this committee.
Mr. Strand stated the APEC would be active as soon as the members were named. He stated it is great that we are doing this.
Gen. Haugen stated the mayor indicated it would be done by the end of this month. He stated there also has to be a fifth member who will be decided upon by Mr. Kilander and his counterpart on the City's side.
Chairman Linn called for a vote on the motion. Engen, Haugen, Lind voted aye.
Linn abstained.
Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Authorized Attendance at the 92nd Annual AAAE Conference, May 10-13, 2020, Denver, CO:
Mr. Engen moved to authorize attendance at the 92nd Annual AAAE Conference, May 10-13, 2020, Denver, CO.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized and distributed a Project Estimate for the Cargo Ramp Expansion. He reviewed the project, including the areas (buildings and pavement) that will be constructed by UPS. He stated they have arrived at a total project cost of $19.3 million. He stated he expects that to be fully eligible for 90% funding by the FAA leaving the local share at just over $1.9 million. He stated the MAA was awarded a $10 million supplemental grant. He stated the balance of the funding would come from 2019, 2020 and 2021 entitlement funds, as well as a small amount remaining from 2018.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the FAA is still going through the eligibility review for the SRE Building.
Mr. Dobberstein stated again the TSA turned down our request for a third lane at the security checkpoint. He stated the TSA is replacing one of the pieces of screening equipment at the checkpoint with newer technology. He stated even though the new equipment is high in technology it is slower than the existing equipment. He stated our request was rather than to remove the existing equipment, leave that in place and add the new equipment in a third lane. He stated the checkpoint was designed so that the walls can be moved to expand the checkpoint area. He stated the ND Federal Security Director along with his supervisor support our request but not their superiors. He stated our wait times in the morning can be up to 27 minutes and the morning flights are busy. He stated some mornings they are screening over 500 passengers in a checkpoint that was designed for 300 passengers per hour. He stated another concern is the time the TSA personnel will need for the learning curve on the new equipment. He stated we are going to continue putting pressure on the ND Federal Security Director and his regional director. He stated we have been told we do not meet the volume requirement for three lanes but they will not tell us what that volume requirement is. He added that January boardings were up more than 17% over last year.
Gen. Haugen stated we might need to contact our congressional delegation and request their assistance.
Other Business:
Chairman Linn stated she would like to institute a "High Flyer" recognition program to recognize people who have had an impact on this airport. She stated there are so many people involved in this airport and she wants to ask board members and stakeholders to nominate anyone they would like to see receive this recognition.
The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
Time at adjournment was 8:29 a.m.