MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY

The Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. in the Airport Boardroom.

The members present or absent were as follows:

Present: Haugen (via zoom), Engen, Cosgriff (via zoom), Lind, Linn None
Absent: None
Others: Strand (via zoom)

Chairman Linn presiding.

Approved the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held August 25, 2020:
Mr. Lind moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority held August 25, 2020.
Second by Mr. Engen.
All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Airport Vouchers Totaling $92,414.05:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the airport vouchers totaling $92,414.05.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Meinecke-Johnson:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $620,100.00 to Meinecke-Johnson for Partial Payment Request #2 for general construction of the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Meinecke-Johnson:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $30,780.00 to Meinecke-Johnson for Partial Payment Request #1a for general construction of the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Northern Plains Mechanical:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $88,515.00 to Northern Plains Mechanical in the amount of $88,515.00 to Northern Plains Mechanical for Partial Payment Request #2 for mechanical construction of the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Rickard Electric:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $24,731.97 to Rickard Electric for Partial Payment Request #3A for electrical construction of the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to Rickard Electric:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $3,132.94 to Rickard Electric for Partial Payment Request #3Bn for electrical construction of the SRE Building Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Approved the Individual Voucher to O’Day Equipment:
Mr. Engen moved to approve the individual voucher in the amount of $76,500.00 to O’Day Equipment for Partial Payment Request #1 for the SRE Building Fuel System.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, 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 $2,810.03 to Mead & Hunt for partial payment request for engineering services in connection with the Airfield Markings Project.
Second by Mr. Lind.
On the call of the roll, members Engen, Lind, Haugen, Cosgriff, Linn voted aye. No member being absent and none voting nay the motion was declared carried.

Received Communication from Joe Currier and Joel Nikle Regarding the Sale of their hangar Units to Casey Fines:
The communication from Joe Currier dated August 31, 2020, was received and filed without objection.
Mr. Dobberstein stated Dr. Casey Fines has purchased two of the four units in the Air Condo Hangar Association from Dave Currier and Joel Nikle. He stated the board recently extended the hangar ground lease for a five year period. He stated the other units are owned by Jeff Jones and the Fargo Air Museum. He stated Dr. Fines will become the primary contact for this hangar association, replacing Dave Currier. He stated no action is needed by the board, we will just receive this information publicly and note the change of ownership in the lease file.

NDPERS Update:
Chairman Linn stated Attorney Bossart was not able to be with us today. She asked Attorney Erik Johnson if he would like to give us an update.

Mr. Johnson was recognized (via zoom) and stated he is uncomfortable commenting without Attorney Bossart here. He asked if this item could be postponed until the next meeting.

Mr. Lind asked how long we are going to keep waiting on this NDPERS issue. He stated this is ridiculous. He stated at the last meeting Mr. Strand gave examples of why we should extend the MOU and have this relationship with the COF, but this is a huge black eye on that MOU and the relationship that we can’t get things like this done. He stated we have to hold people accountable and get people to do their job. He stated this should not be taking this long. He asked Mr. Strand how soon he thinks we can wrap this up.

Mr. Strand was recognized (via zoom) and told Mr. Lind he doesn’t have any more answers than he does and he suggested the board ask their attorney.

Mr. Lind stated this has been almost a year and this is ridiculous. He asked what we are waiting for on this and why it is not being done. He stated he does not think it is Attorney Bossart’s fault that this is not happening. He stated we have to start holding some people accountable and we have to get some results on this. He stated we can talk and talk and talk but we need some results. He stated this should have been done more than six months ago.

Mr. Johnson was recognized and stated he and Attorney Bossart did have a meeting with NDPERS on September 2.

Chairman Linn stated at our next meeting either Attorney Bossart or Attorney Johnson need to present something with which we can move forward. She stated she agrees with Mr. Lind that we need to get this moving.

APEC Update:
Chairman Linn stated the Airport Position Evaluation Committee met last week. She stated prior to that meeting Jane Pettinger and Don Kilander met with ARFF Chief David Bush and completed the job evaluation process for all four ARFF positions and that was very helpful. She stated the committee members had also completed the job evaluation process for those four positions and at their meeting on September 3 all of those evaluations were compared and they arrived at scores and grades for each of those positions and agreed to move on to the next step. She stated the committee will be reviewing the ADK study as well as the salary information received from ACI before the next meeting and the committee members will decide which study we will use to actually set more specific pay for each of those positions. She asked Mr. Strand if that is a good summary.

Mr. Strand stated that was a good summary. He stated this process in unfolding and is happening the way we expected it to. He stated it is a real learning curve but he thinks in the end we will really appreciate that the APEC exists and that we have both sides represented. He stated personally this is out of his element but he is learning a lot.

Chairman Linn stated it is hard for all of the members to agree on meeting dates and asked if any of the other MAA members would be interested in attending if she is not able to attend. She stated both Gen. Haugen and Mr. Engen have been attending the meetings, either in person or via zoom. She stated she does her best and plans to attend but she is wondering if it would be appropriate to have another member attend in her place.

Mr. Strand stated he would like to keep the group as it is for now and work with schedules as much as we can. He stated it would be valuable to consider alternates as he is not always available either.

Received Communication from US Customs and Border Protection Regarding Technology Upgrade and Associated Reimbursement Agreement:
The communication from US Customs and Border Protection was received and filed without objection.

Mr. Dobberstein stated the Airport Authority constructed a new general aviation facility for US Customs and Border Protection in the north general aviation area and the lease was signed in October 2013. He stated CBP handed us specifications and stated this is exactly what we need. He stated we then gave that to the architect we selected, TL Stroh Architects, and the project proceeded from there. He stated those specifications included everything, down to the phones, door locks, etc. He stated we have paid for everything in that building since it opened, with the exception of the phone service. He stated the phone and internet service they have was installed per the government contract with CenturyLink. He stated the two agents have complained about the phone service and the speed of the internet for quite a while. He stated the service is an old T-1 line but that is what the government selected, even though fiber was available at the time. He stated it is our responsibility to upgrade the technology, but at issue is someone in Customs thinks we should be paying the phone bill each month and even reimburse them back to 2013.

Mr. Dobberstein stated the contracting agent we worked with on the lease agreement at that time was clear that CBP took care of their own phone service. He stated he is not certain that person is still in that position. He stated we have the same lease for the TSA through the General Services Agency (GSA) and there is a clause in both leases that state “the lessor will provide the government all services, utilities and maintenance required for the proper operation of the property, building and premises, in accordance with the terms of the lease, including but not limited to all inspections, modifications, repairs, replacements and improvements required to be made thereto to meet the requirements of the lease.” He stated that same exact clause is in the TSA’s lease and we do not pay their phone bill. He stated both leases state that “the government reserves the right to contract its own telecommunications to include voice, data, video, internet, and other emerging technologies. The government may contract with one or more parties to have inside wiring or other transmission medium or telecommunications equipment installed pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement."

Mr. Dobberstein stated the proposed upgrades are estimated at $54,070.00. He stated we do have a zoom meeting today with CBP officials to discuss these matters. He stated we are responsible for the equipment upgrades but he does not feel we are responsible for the monthly phone and internet service.

Chairman Linn asked how this came up now.

Mr. Dobberstein stated it came up in an internal audit. He stated he will get more specifics on that in our meeting later today.

Mr. Engen asked if we have the best capability from all of the regional providers of data and internet feeding the airport from all four sides.

Mr. Dobberstein stated both MidCo and CenturyLink have fiber in the south general aviation area. He stated MidCo serves the north general aviation area. He stated he believes there are at least two or three providers in the terminal. He stated he is not certain who FedEx or UPS use but that is all taken care of by the tenant.

Airport Construction and Security Update:
Mr. Terry Stroh, TL Stroh Architects, was recognized (via zoom). He stated the structural steel is up for the SRE Building and they are working on getting the in floor heat installed so they can start to pour the flooring. He stated after that the joists will go up. He stated wall panels should be coming in the next ten days or so. He stated they will start digging for the addition to the existing building this week. He stated they had a bit of a rain delay and the steel has been somewhat delayed but materials are coming. He stated we hope to have the building enclosed before the snow flies.

Mr. Jeff Klein, Mead & Hunt, was recognized and stated Industrial Builders will be pouring some of the walls on the glycol vault this week. He stated Northern Improvement is anticipating to begin the concrete paving of 31st Street sometime next week. He stated 31st Street is basically the ervice road on the north side of the project side. He stated from a utility perspective he would say 80-90% of the utilities are installed. He stated the precast walls for the UPS facility are being installed this week. He stated things are looking great up there.

Gen. Haugen stated he took a tour of the project with Darren Anderson and he encouraged other board members to do the same as this is a massive project. He stated it would be a good perspective to see the project up close.

Other Business:
Mr. Dobberstein stated we received a special assessment notice for $8,183.70 for the 216.5 feet of sidewalk north of the air museum. He stated he plans to pay that October 6 without interest.

The meeting of the Municipal Airport Authority was adjourned until the next Regular Meeting to be held Tuesday, September 22, 2020.