HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-01-21 Airport Committee Minutes •
AIRPORT CONIMITTEE MEETING
CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM—THIltD FLOOR
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1999—4 PM
Present: 7im Tyler, Chair
John Rohman, Member
Judy Vardamis, Member
Michael Aube, Member
Bob Ziegelaar, Airport Director
7eff Russell, Airport Marketing Mgr.
Rod McKay, ECDD Dir.
Peter D'Errico, ECDD Staff
The meeting was opened by the Chair at 4:05 PM. Items were taken up as per
published agenda, with the exception of Item#5, which was taken up last.
Item#1 - Airport Improvements/AIP #24. The Airport Director explained that due to
congressional inaction, the traditional funding sequence for AIP monies has not been
� reestablished in a timely manner. This creates a scenario whereby funds will not be available
unless committed by late March of 1999. As a result the window for contracting, bid approvals,
etc. will be very short. To prevent problems the Airport Director is requesting approval i�
advance for approximately $2.2NIM in AIP grant solicitations, so that the final amount can
be approved by the City Council without having to go back to Committee first. The Airport
Committee voted unanimously to approve the request and recommended that it be placed on
the Fifiance Committee Agenda as soon as possible.
Item#2—Equipment Purchase. Delta Air Lines has offered for sale to the Airport Department, a
number of items that it would otherwise remove from the airport. Included are a passenger
loading bridge, de-icing truck, baggage carts and other service equipment. The Air}�ort
Director asked for Committee approval to negotiate for the purchase of up to $250,000 worth of
material. He explained that the most expensive item, the loading bridge ($150,000)may be
purchased by Comair, the successor company to Delta Air Lines, but that either way, the
airport should not be left without a loading bridge at Gate 2B. After some discussion regarding
the values involved and the use of the de-icing truck,the Committee voted unanimously to
authorize Mr. Ziegelaar to negotiate for the purchases involved and to refer a final agreemer�t to
the Finance Committee for approval.
Item#3 —Finnair/Update. Airport staff briefed the Committee about a recent visit with
Finnair in Helsinki. They reported that Finnair is extremely pleased with the start-up af its
operations via BGR and specifically cited the overall service levels, hotel accommodations
� and general community receptio�i: The company decided, for internal reasons, not to operate
its flights through the summer but will definitely be back at BGR in the fall (October).
• 2
Item#4—Domestic Air Service Update. The Airport Director briefed the Committee about
ongoing discussions with the domestic airlines about service improvements. He specifically
cited the strong possibility for additional flights from Comair for additional flights to Cincinnati
and possibly Boston. Mr. Ziegelaar also reported that he will be meeting with US Airways
on January 26�'to discuss the resumption of services to Philadelphia and expressed optimism
that such service will in fact come about again.
Item#5 - Executive Session/Legal Issue.
Item#6 - Business Overview. A brief discussion was held about the ongoing hangar
construction project. Additionally the meeti�ng place for future Committee meetings was
discussed and the consensus was to schedule meetings at the airport on Wednesdays at
noon.
The meeting was adjourr�ed at 4:45 P�1.
�
�