MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, February 25, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.
The members present or absent were as follows:
Present: Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn
Absent: Clark
Others: Bossart, Strand, Piepkorn
Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority Held February 11, 2020:
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held February 11, 2020, were approved without objection.
Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $79,457.21:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $79,457.21. Second by Gen. Haugen.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Sixel LLC:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $3,818.00 to Sixel LLC for January passenger enplanement fees, American Airlines (Phoenix).
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Sixel LLC:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $3,068.00 to Sixel LLC for January passenger enplanement fees, Frontier Airlines (Denver, Phoenix).
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $5,275.00 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Car Rental Ready Lot Reconstruction.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $83,600.00 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Cargo Apron Expansion Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $1,632.00 to Mead &
Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the PFC Application #9.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Approved the Individual Voucher to Mead & Hunt:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $2,812.00 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Runway 36 CAT II Study.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, 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 $2,000.00 to Flint Communications for partial payment request for 2020 Airport Marketing Program and website hosting.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Haugen, Engen, Lind, Linn voted aye. Absent and not voting: Clark
The motion was declared carried.
Received Communication from Hungry’s Restaurant, Inc. d/b/a Skydine Services – Fargo, Regarding Notice to Exercise Option to Renew Lease, January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2024:
The communication from Mr. Dustin Sejnoha, Hungry’s Restaurant, dated February 11, 2020, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated our lease with Hungry’s Restaurant, Inc. d/b/a Skydine Services has an expiration date of December 31, 2020, and contains an option to renew for a period of four (4) years. He stated they are requesting a four year extension for the period January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2024.
Mr. Engen moved to approve the lease extension requested by Hungry’s Restaurant. Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Received Communication from ABHN Partnership Requesting Extension for South General Aviation Area Hangar Ground Lease:
The communication from ABHN Partnership dated February 12, 2020, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated ABHN Partnership owns a hangar in the south general aviation area and their ground lease expires February 29. They are requesting a five year extension of the ground lease. He stated the hangar is in good condition and he would recommend approving the extension.
Mr. Engen moved to approve the request from ABHN partnership for a five-year extension to their hangar ground lease.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Received Auditor’s Report on Compliance for the Passenger Facility Charge Program for CY2019 from EideBailly:
Mr. Dobberstein stated EideBailly recently completed the audit on the PFC Program for CY2019. He stated the report states "In our opinion, the Airport complied, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements referred to above that could have a direct and material effect on the PFC Program for the year ended December 31, 2019". He added that the findings have been the same since the first year of our participation in the PFC program in 1997. He stated a copy of the audit report has been provided to the FAA. He stated we will still have our AIP grants audited and also our operations and maintenance funds are part of the City of Fargo's audit.
Mr. Engen asked if we know of the status of any increase in the cap on the PFC.
Mr. Dobberstein stated he does not have anything to report at this time but may know something more after he attends the AAAE Legislative Conference in DC the first week in March. He stated there is bipartisan support in the House. He stated both the ACI and the AAAE are lobbying heavily to get the cap increased. He stated it would significantly help us in funding projects on our CIP. He stated the cap has been raised once and it went from $3.00 to $4.50 in 2002. He stated it has never been indexed for inflation.
Mr. Lind asked if our delegation is aware of the need for the increase.
Mr. Dobberstein stated all three members are aware of the need for the increase and we have been in contact with them.
Gen. Haugen asked the two city commissioners present to also interact with the congressional delegation to support the increased cap on the PFC.
Mr. Strand stated the City Commission would certainly be willing to write a letter of support. Mr. Lind moved to receive and file the Auditor's Report on Compliance for the PFC Program for CY2019.
Second by Gen. Haugen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Received Preliminary 2019 Airport Improvement Fund Statement:
Mr. Dobberstein stated this Preliminary 2019 Airport Improvement Fund Statement is a summary of all receipts and disbursements in the Airport Improvement Fund. He stated this is the fund into which the two mill levy goes for construction projects and marketing. He added that this fund is part of the annual audit which is being conducted by EideBailly. He stated this statement is preliminary and it is possible there would be a slight change following the audit.
The Preliminary 2019 Airport Improvement Fund Statement was received and filed without objection.
Received Preliminary 2019 Airport Statement of Operations:
The Preliminary 2019 Airport Statement of Operations was distributed.
Chairman Linn stated in her review of the statement, she counted 102 sources of income outlined in this statement. She stated she feels it is important to point out that these sources of revenue are not tax payer dollars. She stated from a business perspective this report shows the airport is a well-run operation.
Mr. Dobberstein stated these figures are also included in the annual audit so there may be some slight changes after the audit is complete.
The Preliminary 2019 Airport Statement of Operations was received and filed without objection.
Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we are continuing to work with the City of Fargo on the flood levy project on airport property north of County 20. He stated we are assisting the City with a Part 163 request to the FAA which certifies that the property on which the levy is proposed to be constructed is not on property that was purchased with federal funds. He stated we did receive reimbursement through a PFC application for the purchase of 83 of those acres. He stated the City is still looking at bidding the project sometime this spring.
Mr. Dobberstein stated the FAA did complete the scope of work being proposed by Mead & Hunt for the Terminal Expansion Study. Mead & Hunt is working on the cost for the contract to do the Terminal Expansion Study. He stated this will be a nine to ten month process and we hope to be able to get started on this soon.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we officially received word from the TSA that we were denied our request for a third lane at the checkpoint. He stated the new machine at the checkpoint is arriving in August and this machine will be slower than the current equipment. He stated we have rallied our air carriers and their security representatives to write some letters to the TSA and congressional members. He stated all three of our representatives in Washington, DC are aware of this. He stated the FSD and his superior are in favor of the third lane. He stated the data they are using is from February 2019 and our passenger growth has certainly exceeded those numbers significantly.
Chairman Linn stated if we are hearing complaints about long lines now it will only get worse. She suggested the City Commission also write a letter of support to the TSA for a third lane. She stated the Bismarck airport has three lanes with considerably fewer passengers than Fargo.
Mr. Dobberstein stated we will continue to work with the airlines and social media on getting the word out to passengers that they should arrive at the recommended time before flight departures. He stated there are still people who push the envelope and think because it is Fargo they don't need to arrive early. He stated when those passengers miss their flights it is self-inflicted.
Gen. Haugen stated this will only get worse and especially if we are looking at construction in
the near future. He stated if we are adding gates we have to have additional checkpoint lanes.
Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, stated they are going to have a plan review with FAA representatives this week for the Cargo Apron Expansion Project. He stated the goal is to advertise the project for bids on April 5 with bids to be received April 30. He stated they also received comments back from the FAA ADO office last week after their plan review of the SRE Building Project. He stated Mr. Terry Stroh is not here today but he will have a deadline of March 10 to respond.
The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, March 20, 2020.