HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-05-04 Airport Committee Minutes
City of Bangor Airport Committee
Virtual Meeting
May 4, 2020
Meeting Minutes
The following City Councilors attended: Airport Committee Chair Dan Tremble, Councilors Rick
Fournier, Ben Sprague and Laura Supica. Also in attendance were City Manager Cathy Conlow,
Airport Director Tony Caruso and Airport Marketing Manager Aimee Thibodeau.
Agenda and Discussion:
1. CARES Act – Apply and accept relief grant funds
Airport Director Caruso requested Committee approval of a Resolve ratifying the City Manager’s
execution for the application and acceptance of a grant in the amount of $4,170,711 from the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act for Bangor International Airport. The funds may be used for operating and capital
expenses that are defined as permitted uses of airport revenue (i.e. aeronautical purposes). Airports
submit payment requests for reimbursement similar to the Airport Improvement Plan (AIP) program
administration. We believe funds will be available for up to four years.
Motion made, seconded and approved by unanimous roll call vote. The Resolve will be presented
to the City Council for final approval.
2. Faith Group
Director Caruso requested Committee approval of an Order authorizing BGR to be a case study
airport for the Faith Group’s Work Plan for the National Safe Skies Alliance Program for Applied
Research in Airport Security (PARAS) 0030 “Guidance for Access Control System Transitions.” If
the Faith Group is selected to conduct the study, BGR will contribute information and feedback
about our system. There will be no sensitive security information released. The study is focused on
the system itself. The Airport will see a direct benefit because we will receive copies of the
guidance for our staff when the study is complete.
Motion made, seconded and approved by unanimous roll call vote. The Order will be presented to
the City Council for final approval.
3. Airport Advertising and Marketing
a. Airport Statistics – February & March 2020
Marketing Manager Aimee Thibodeau reported that February passenger count was the
highest February in the past 5 years. Load factors were down slightly, but were still strong.
Our monthly Total Operations were up 9% with Military Operations showing a 13%
increase over February 2019. Total monthly fuel sales were up 54%
March numbers show the beginning effects of COVID-19: enplanements declined and load
factors dropped. We will see significant declines when April numbers are reported.
Social Media stats are also down primarily due to the fact that people aren’t engaging as
much.
b. Marketing Update
Our marketing efforts emphasize that we are open and have increased cleaning. Our focus is
on keeping our website Coronavirus FAQ information current and providing regular
communications with our employees and tenants.
Since in-person greeting is on hold, we are working with the Troop Greeters to create more
signage and a video. We are also discussing options for the ceremony traditionally held
around Memorial Day to remember greeters who have passed during the last year.
c. Maine Discovery Museum – Discover from Home project
The Museum is working with local businesses who are unable to do tours at this time. We
would create a video showing what we would typically show during a tour: who we are,
what we do, our role in the community, etc. We’d share information about our industry and
have employees talk about different jobs at the Airport. The video would be done in-house
with some limited editing support from our Marketing firm.
Meeting Adjourned