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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-12 Airport Committee Minutes Meeting Agenda City of Bangor Airport Committee rd City Council Chambers 3 Floor January 12, 2016 The following City Councilors were in attendance: Airport Committee Chair Joseph Baldacci, Councilors Gibran Graham, David Nealley, Sarah Nichols, Joseph Perry, and Nelson Durgin. Also in attendance was City Manager Cathy Conlow, General Manager for Republic Parking, Parke Clemons. Airport Director Tony Caruso, Assistant Airport Director James Canders and Marketing Director Risteen Bahr. Agenda: 1. Airport’s Jet A & Avgas Fuel Supply contract-renewal with Irving Oil. Airport Director Caruso indicated that this order will authorize a contract extension with Irving Oil, Inc. for the supply of jet fuel and avgas to the Bangor International Airport. The supply agreement allows for the automatic renewal for up to three (3) successive three (3) year terms. Throughout the initial 3 year term and the first 3 year extension, Irving Oil has been a responsive partner for fuel supply to the Airport, and have been very reliable with supplying quality product. Irving is a responsive and reliable. We have had a contact with Irving since 2009. Councilor Nealley asked if it would be prudent to put this back out to bid. Director Caruso responded that we anticipate only two possible vendors would respond and Irving, most likely, will be the most cost effective. Their refinery is located in St. John, which is the closet refinery to our location. Motion to approve by Councilor Perry and seconded by Durgin. 2. Republic Parking-Airport parking annual report by Parke Clemons, General Manager. Airport Director introduced Parke to the Committee, who reviewed the 2015 annual operations as well as providing recommendations for consideration. Parke indicated that in the overnight lot (long term) the strongest months were February, March and April. These are the months that people tend to go to Florida and leave their cars in the Long Term lot and use our Shuttle lot. For our parking rates, we still are the lowest for the long term rate, so we will not up our rates, which we did adjust the rates in January 2014. The Airport has 3 lots. The main lots are for airport customers who park for a short term of time (hourly lot or short term parking) or for longer periods (Long term Lot). We also have the Shuttle lot. The shuttle lot was created in 2013 to meet the increasing demand for long term parking during the peak travel period. This period starts in mind-February and continues through the first of May. The Shuttle lot will be open again this year, but not as long due to the decline in the Canadian passengers, due to the decrease in the Canadian dollar, which reduces the number of Canadian travelers using the Airport. Parke also discussed some recommendations for the Airport. The majority of the Long Term lot was built and paved 24 years ago and has not been repaved since. The lot has significant deterioration. Three years ago, the Airport had a portion of the Short Term lot milled and paved. Two years ago the Short Term was completed and a portion of the Long Term was paved. No paving will be done in FY 2015. The milling and paving process revealed areas of the lot that have poor base materials. In these areas, the old materials were removed and replaced with a suitable base before applying new pavement. We recommend that the Airport initiate an assessment of the remaining old lot. This assessment would identify what actions are required, prioritize a repair program and help with the budgetary process for the repairs and paving. The next recommendation is a Cell Phone lot. Portland, Manchester, and now Burlington all have what is known as a Cell Phone lot. This is a lot or small area beside the road where people can wait with their vehicles until their passenger arrives. The passenger then calls the driver who proceeds to the front of the terminal for pick up. Over the past few years, we have noticed an increase in drivers waiting in their vehicles for passengers. However, rather than being in a designated area, drivers park along Godfrey Boulevard, in front of the terminal or simply circle around and around until their passenger arrives. We recommend that the Airport look at areas around the Airport that could be used as a free Cell phone lot. This area could be as small as 12 spaces used specifically for this purpose. Questions/Comments The Committee discussed the lot assessments and funding for this project from the Enterprise fund. Director Caruso and airport staff will respond to the Committee once a paving assessment is complete and a plan is recommended, as well as a recommendation for a cell phone lot. 3. Airport statistics-December 2015 Marketing Director Bahr indicated that December was not as strong as we had hoped, but we had a total of 477,244 YTD passengers. We were down by 2.56%, this was due to cancellations at the beginning of the year due to weather. Our load factors were weak for the month of December with Allegiant at 81%, Delta at 67%, and American (USAir) at 74%. The market share was Allegiant at 27%, Delta at 28% and American (USAir) at 46%. Our operation figures were not available at the time of the meeting, but will present at the next meeting. Delta has had the DTW flight pulled out for a few months, just like last year. United had a shortened season last year, and not sure what they will do this year. Questions/Comments The Committee discussed the leakage study and discussed other airline opportunities 4. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS’s)/Drones Assistant Airport Director Canders provided the Committee with a briefing on the topic of unmanned aircraft systems, also known as drones. There has much media attention on the operation of drones and the airport will provide the Committee members with additional information on how BGR is working with the FAA and the local community. Over the last few months there has been an increase of close proximity sightings of drones/UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) over large airports by commercial aircraft. The number of these close proximity sightings reported to the FAA for 2015 has increased by more than 270% from the previous year. The UAS themselves are typically very small and all commercial aircraft are all designed to take a hit from a 5 pound bird and keep flying. In additional to this increase in proximity sightings there has also been an increase in incidents involving UAS and people on the ground. In an effort to address the potential collision hazards and minimize risk, the FAA has recently implemented requirements and informational campaigns for operators of UAS. All this information can be found at www.faa.gov/uas or www.knowbeforeyoufly.org. There is also a B4UFLY app for iOS. With these new requirements you may have members of the public approaching you with questions. The key information that all operators need to know is as follows:  All UAS flights conducted within 5 miles of an airport require airport owner and air traffic control permission.  Flights must be conducted below 400 feet for private/hobby use.  Operator must maintain visual contact with UAS personally or by communicating with another individual acting as a spotter.  Remain well clear of, and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations.  Don't fly near people or stadiums.  Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs.  Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft.  Do not photograph people in areas where there is an expectation of privacy without the individual’s permission.  Do not fly under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Violations of FAA UAS regulations can involve fines up to $27,500 and up to 20 years in jail.  ALL UAS weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds must be registered with the FAA as of December 21, 2015. A unique identification number will be assigned by the FAA and must be affixed to the UAS. This registration is free until January 20, 2016. After that date it will cost $5 to register. Registrations are valid for 3 years. This registration can be accomplished on the www.knowbeforeyoufly.org website. Airport Assistant Director Canders also indicated that BGR has posted a link to the FAA requirements on our website. The Airport has also listed on the website contacts for the BGR tower. Questions/Comments The Committee discussed several items related to this topic, such as safety, continuing to monitor for the final FAA regulation, what BGR is currently doing to help inform the public, and recommending that any personnel should contact the airport before any operation. Meeting Adjoined at 6:30pm.