Loading...
02/01/2023 Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 e Meeting Minutes Wednesday, February 1, 2023 3:00 PM Main Library - Council Chambers Airpark Advisory Board 1 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023 Roll Call Present 4 - Chair Kelli O'Donnell, Board Member John Renton, Board Member George Davis, and Board Member Bruce Brock (Ex Officio) Absent 2 - Board Member Roger Schulman, and Board Member Greg Art Also Present— Eric Gandy — Marine & Aviation Director, Michael MacDonald - Marine & Aviation Operations Manager, Bill Hodgson — Marine & Aviation Assistant Manager, and Nicole Sprague — Deputy City Clerk 1. Call To Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. at the Main Library. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approval of November 2, 2022, Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Member Renton moved to approve the minutes of the November 2, 2022 Airpark Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None. None 4. New Business Items 4.1 Presentation of Greenprint by the City Sustainability Coordinator Greenprint presentation by the City Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability Specialist Melody Yin provided a PowerPoint presentation. Concerns were expressed regarding city vehicles that sit idle for hours and with the environmental impacts of the neighboring property's business.. In response to questions, Ms. Yin said the actionable strategies in Greenprint 2.0 guide the sustainability efforts in the city. She is working on educational outreach to increase public awareness for environmental protection to include how residents can save energy in their homes. Marine and Aviation Director Eric Gandy said the Sustainability Office 2 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023 can be a resource to the Airpark tenant, FIyUSA, to help them make informed decisions on purchases such as vehicles. He said incorporating Greenprint 2.0 requirements in the lease could have been a deal breaker for the tenant but FIyUSA is interested in EV charging stations for the new parking lot. It is in their best interest to track fuel and energy usage as part of their business plan. Comment was made that sustainability is a big issue among aviation groups and other airports. 4.2 Welcome new Board member Greg Art At their January 12, 2023 meeting, the City Council appointed Mr. Greg Art to fill a vacant seat on the Airpark Advisory Board. It was said that the new board member, Greg Art, was recently hired as a city employee and had to resign from the board. 4.3 Elect 2023 Chair and Vice Chair Elect 2023 Chair and Vice Chair for the Airpark Advisory Board Member Davis moved to reappoint Kelli O'Donnell as chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Member Renton moved to appoint Bruce Brock as Vice Chair. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 5. Director's Report 5.1 Director's Verbal Report Verbal report from Director on Clearwater Airpark Mr. Gandy said Council approved the FIyUSA lease agreement on January 12, 2023. It is a multi-faceted agreement to manage and operate a public use general aviation airpark. The turnover to FIyUSA will occur on March 1, 2023. Staff posted informational flyers at the airpark today which included FlyUSA's contact information. He said FIyUSA is moving forward on an approach for runway 1-6 which was negotiated in the lease agreement, but the City must own the approach and staff is working through the scope of that project. FlyUSA's CEO Barry Shevlin has been in touch is The ARC Tampa Bay for their fundraiser event in early March. Mr. Shevlin has also been in touch with the Civil Air Patrol. Mr. Gandy said Penny for Pinellas dollars are 3 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023 available for the terminal project with hopes of obtaining FDOT funding earlier in the process than what is incorporated into the CIP and development plans, Penny funding would be used as a match for the FDOT funds. He said staff is aware of the issues with the western fencing which is overgrown with palm trees and Brazilian peppertrees, etc. He said the work to remove the overgrowth will be an extensive project, which includes replacing the fence with an 8 ft. triple strand barbed wire for security purposes. He will discuss replacement of the entire fence structure around the airpark with finance and determine if FDOT grants or Penny funds may be suitable. He estimated the entire fence project cost would be several million. Mr. Gandy said staff is working on a pavement management plan engaging contractors to do mill and overlay in areas known to be substandard and to do maintenance overlay in other areas. It is an expensive project and staff will work with FIyUSA to determine where future development may be planned so as not to repair pavement where it may not exist in the near future. Concerns were expressed with replacing existing shade hangars now with corporate hangar space and that the surface in the tie-down area is unusable because of flooding when it rains. In response to a question, he said the current fencing structure is mis-matched with different heights and materials. There will be inspections and site assessments as part of the process to turn the airpark over to FIyUSA. If any tenants are displaced due to maintenance or construction, a safe and accessible area will be provided. He said airpark rules and regulations are being reviewed and updated as part of the turnover. FIyUSA will conduct regular inspections of the property and will report areas needing attention. Any structures built must comply with code to include landscaping and parking requirements. He said the airpark will not support charter type services. The only change in the operating procedures from the current operator to FIyUSA is the flight school operations related to the number of helicopters allowed and flight training hours. He said FAA grants will not be pursued as a funding source due to the requirement of having 24/7 operations at the airpark. He said the north gate/fence that had been damaged last year was being replaced and delivery was set for later in the month. A comment was made that FAA grant funding should still be pursued because the city appeased the surrounding neighborhood's concerns by implementing flight school restrictions in the new lease agreement. Just because the airpark may be open 24/7 does not mean there will be flight activity after hours. 4 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board 6. Board Members to be Heard 7. Adjourn Attest: Meeting Minutes February 1, 2023 Member Davis said he received endless correspondence and phone calls from residents regarding the airpark property being declared surplus by the City and the skepticism it created. He said there is a pollution problem on the north end of the property abutting Sarnago & Son's. Mr. Gandy explained that the city charter requires any city property that is leased for more than five years be declared surplus and said confusion is created when individuals opine what it means. He said there is no way to combat incorrect information being distributed. Chair O'Donnell said she feels the City should have done a better job informing the public about the new lease agreement with FIyUSA and the surplus declaration. She said the recent tree inventory issue in the city was widely advertised and the airpark should have received the same attention. She said she would be providing the Board's annual report at the February 2, 2023, Council meeting. Ex -Officio Member Brock said there is a Young Eagles event on March 11, 2023 and he will communicate the information with FIyUSA. The meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m. Board Reporter City of Clearwater Ch ir, Airpark Adviso Board 5