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08/02/2023 Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes August 2, 2023 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 6 Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 2, 2023 3:00 PM Main Library - Council Chambers Airpark Advisory Board 1 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes August 2, 2023 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair Kelli O'Donnell, Board Member George Davis, Board Member Roger Schulman, Ex Officio Bruce Brock, and Board Member Thomas Crockett Absent 1 - Board Member John Renton Also Present— Michael MacDonald - Marine & Aviation Interim Director, 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. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approval of May 3, 2023, Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes. Member Davis moved to approve the minutes of the May 3, 2023 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. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Welcome new Board member Thomas Crockett. Member Crockett introduced himself and said he's a former flight instructor and retired with the FAA in 2007. 4.2 Fixed-Base Operator's Verbal Quarterly Update. Flight Based Operator(FBO) representative Barry Shevlin said he has been providing monthly updates to the Airpark staff who has passed it along to the Board. He said there is improved quality and frequency of fuel testing. There is overnight security on the premises so the airpark is staffed 24/7. A new access gate has been installed on Grant Ave., staff is waiting on power to be supplied to the gate and should be functional within the next couple of weeks. He said there are no updates on the instrument approach publication. There has been more communication with the FAA, specifically the tower at PIE. Ten additional derelict airplane notices were issued which resulted in activity, the old seaplane is gone and a couple more planes will 2 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes August 2, 2023 be removed by next week. There is now only one helicopter at the airpark for training, this is down from six helicopters that were there when the FBO changed hands. He said the neighborhood has been pleased with the reduction of activity. He said an advisory council has been created and consists of two tenant representatives, one flight school representative, one experimental aircraft leadership (EA) representative, and one neighborhood representative. The first meeting was two weeks ago and they will take action on feedback. He said the intensity of the airpark usage has decreased, which was the stated goal from day one. The fuel pricing remains competitive for the region. He said there was an accident on July 5, 2023, the plane experienced engine failure after take off. No one was hurt and the FAA and NTSB are working through the investigation. In response to questions, Mr. Shevlin said a consultant has been retained for the instrument approach. They submitted an obstacle report and are scheduled to meet again in a couple weeks to go over the report. He said he is in the process of getting a quote for a rotating beacon, he is working with city staff to find out if there is any grant funding available from FDOT. He said the biggest tenant complaint is the amount of golf balls that get hit onto the property from The Landings. He said he will research if a net would be approved by the FAA to be installed in between the properties. He said lawn mowers run over the golf balls and they fly out, a windshield on a plane was cracked recently. 5. Old Business Items 5.1 Airpark Project and Grant Updates. Marine and Aviation Interim Director Michael MacDonald reviewed the three grant projects that were approved by Council in May 2023. He said projects for next year include the design and construction of commercial hangars with $3 million coming from the state. He said he anticipates funding for corporate hangars to be constructed where the shade hangar is now as well as another corporate hangar next to the existing corporate hangars. He has requested funding for the parking lot expansion. In response to questions, Mr. MacDonald said the portable buildings may be moved in preparation of the parking lot expansion. The parking lot and new fbo facility design work will happen around the same time. He said he did not know yet how many parking spaces would be provided. He said he would provide the Board with information regarding the projects including cost, start date, end date, etc. He said shade hangars are passed their useful life and the plan is to remove all three and use the space for commercial planes. FIyUSA may make commercial hangar space available for a private owner if 3 City of Clearwater Airpark Advisory Board Meeting Minutes August 2, 2023 space is available. Mr. MacDonald said funds have been requested and received from the state to repaint striping on the runway and taxiway in 2025. He said $3 million has been allocated from the state for the new terminal in 2025. A capital improvement project has been created for the perimeter fence replacement. 6. Director's Report Mr. MacDonald said he was appointed the interim department director since Eric Gandy is no longer with the department. He said the Marine and Aviation Assistant Manager Bill Hodgson will take over some duties and will eventually present items to the Board. Mr. Hodgson said he has been with the Marina & Aviation Department since December 2022, prior to that he was a Sergeant with Clearwater Police Department and retired after 25 years where he ran the marine unit for four years. He said he was brought in to assist with the marina and that Mr. MacDonald is now involving him in all departmental aspects. 7. Board Members to be Heard Chair O'Donnell said the Board's annual report was presented to Council in November of last year and asked when it would occur this year. 8. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m. Chair, Airpark Advisor4j Board Attest: 4 City of Clearwater