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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-02-22 Airport Committee MinutesAIRPORT COMMITTEE MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1995 - 4 PM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS Present: James Tyler, Chair Don Soucy, Councilor Chris Popper, Councilor Edward Barrett, City Manager Bob Ziegelaar, Airport Director Eric Stumpfel, City Attorney Bruce Schibles, Assist. City Attorney Absent: William Cohen, Councilor The meeting was opened at 4:02 IN. The agenda was handled in the following sequence: 1. Grasshopper Shop Lease. The Airport Director asked the Committee to approve an assignment of the lease with America -To -Go to the Grasshopper Shop, Owned by Montage, Inc. America -To -Go had advised the Airport, pursuant to terms in their lease, that it would want to shut down its retail shop at BGR, as part of a larger national cutback in retail operations by DFI (Duty Free International, holding company). Subsequent to that decision, America -To -Go reached an agreement with Montage, Inc. concerning an assumption of the lease and a buy-out of certain leasehold improvements. Mr. Ziegelaar ex- plained that he favored the assignment because the terms of the lease would remain unchanged and because it would allow for a fast resorption of sales (and airport revenues) in time for the comingspring/season. Upon a brief discussion, the Committee unanimously voted for approval of the assignment. 2. Washington Representation. The Airport Director explained that he had been asked to raise the issue of the airport's Washington (legal) representation, as a result of the larger discussion regarding outside legal counsel for the City of Bangor. He informed the Committee that although the airport is represented in Washington by a law firm, the work is more akin to that of a lobbying representative. The work performed typically involves the representation of MR's views regarding a variety of i ranging from interpretations of existing rules and regulations, t ointernational traffic rights issues, the functioning of federal agencies and the air - part's -port's eligibility for federal funding programs. Mr. Ziegelaar referred to several examples of situations where the representa- tive, Ms. Joanne Young, had successfully argued in favor of Bangor's position, as a result of which the airport had gained significant revenues and/or grant monies. He further stated that while he would not oppose a directive to seek competitive bids for this type of representational work, he did believe that Me. Young provides excellent services that would be difficult to duplicate and that a competitive bid situation would not likely yield significant cost savings. He explained that, as result of many years of working with various firms in Washington who repre- sent other aviation interests, he believed the current firm to be the most effective for BGR's particular role. The City Attorney and the Assistant City Attorney pointed out next that they were troubled by the lack of detail provided on the invoices received and they suggested that, as presented, the invoices would not be acceptable incourt setting. The Airport Director responded by pointing act chat, while he agreed in part, the work performed was not strictly legal work and that the individual tasks are itemized but not by "time spent", he re- f erred to an outline of the past two years of billings to show that he has been instructing the law firm to reduce its activi- ties and to not undertake any assignment without specific approv- al. As a result, reduced expenditures are being budgeted, show- ing a decrease of 304 when compared against payments of two years ago. Upon further discussion, the Committee members directed the Airport Director to establish a "Letter of Engagement" with the law firm, which should stipulate the manner in which the firm is to be engaged in which should outline a more defined billing practice. Mr. Ziegelaar stated he agreed with that approach and indicated he would discuss the same with Ms. Young in the near future. 3. Hermon Bog Next Mr. Ziegelaar briefed the Committee about a request he had received from a private party, Mr. Peter Smiles, regarding possi- blepeat mining on airport land, in the area known as the "Hermon Bog". Mr. Bellew appears to have been a major player in the sludge treatment industry, having developed facilities in various cities in the U.B. prior to selling his interest to a major U.B. corporation. Although now semi -retired, he is interested in setting up a peat processing facility, possibly in conjunction with Bangor's contemplated sludge treatment facility, for the purpose of producing landscaping and nursery garden sail treat- ment materials. The Airport Director stated that he had reacted Positively to the request, indicating a willingness to support Mr. sellewPs further investigation of the project, subject to City, DEP and other governmental approvals. He then requested input from the Airport Committee. Upon discussion, the Committee, along with input from the city Manager and the City Attorney, instructed the Airport Director to further pursue the project and to seek financial compensation on the basis of a lease agreement, whereby Mr. Bellew or his organi- sation would agree to pay the airport a lease fee based an gener- ated revenues. The lease would furthermore obligate the lessee to paying applicable real estate taxes to the town of Hermon. The effort of obtaining all of the proper licenses would fall to the lessee as well. 4. Other Business. The Airport Director briefed the Committee of an offer he re- ceived from Laurel -Ming Entertainment, to accept the donation of a movie set used in last summer's production of "The Langoliers•. He stated that he believed that accepting the set, which consists of an actual aircraft fuselage/cabin, might allow the airport to generate additional revenues in the future and that, even if that should not materialize, the salvage value would outweigh the cost of removal. He further states that he had received a tentative offer of $40,000 for a part of the set, for a movie to be shot elsewhere. The Committee voted unanimously to endorse the donation and refer the same to the city Council for final action. As a final matter, Mr. Ziegelaar explained to the Committee that he had been approached by a consulting firm purporting to repre- sent 10 Fortune 500 Corporations as well as certain other enti- ties who desire to seek a change of U.S. policy on Cuba. Mr. Ziegelaar stated that he was interested in pursuing this matter further to determine the legitimacy as well as the politi- cal acceptability of the effort, inasmuch as the airport could conceivably benefit substantially. He stated that there appears to again be a Substantial volume of traffic that is by-passing Bangor because of the current ban on servicing Cuba -bound air- craft. He stated further that the ban appears to be outdated inasmuch as European and Canadian interest are making significant investments in Cuba, with an eye to post -Castro developments, creating a potentially huge disadvantage for American business. He suggested it might make sense for the airport to he aligned with a number of progressive U.S. business firms, providing the overall effort is properly organized from both business and political perspectives. The Committee unanimously endorsed the concept and asked to be kept informed of further developments. The cammitte voted to adjourn at 4:50 PM