HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-06-13 Airport Committee Minutes • AIRPORT COMNIITTEE MEETING
CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM—THIItD FLOOR
TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2000—5 PM
Present: Gerald. Palmer, Chair Airport Committee
Judy Vardamis, Member
Dan Tremble, Member
Ed Barrett, City Manager
Rod McKay, Director Econ. Comm. Dev. Dept.
Kate Weber, Planning Officer
JeffRussell, Apt. Marketing Director.
Bob Ziegelaar, Apt. Director.
Terry Perez, MDOT
Ralph Nicosia-Rusin, FAA
Steve Berardo,E&K Engineering
The meeting was convened at 5 PM.
Items were discussed as per published agenda.
1) Hangar 600 Improvements. The Airport Director explained that, as part of the larger
• effort to develop the Aircraft Maintenance activities in the 600 area, a number of
improvements need to be made to the Hangar facility. These include ceiling
replacements, reconfiguration of offices and a boiler replacement. The estimated total
expense is $80,000, as per quotes received from a local construction company. The
Airport Dept. has analyzed the estimate and considers it to be reasonable for the work
involved. Telford Aviation has offered to fund the work in exchange for payments
currently owed to the Airport Dept. The Airport Director recommended approval of the
proposal, stating that the Airport does not have a budget allocation for the work but that
it should nevertheless be accomplished in view of the developments in and around the
Hangar. After a brief discussion the Committee decide to endorse the proposal, with the
stipulation suggested by Councilor Tremble, that the Airport Director negotiate a less
than 100% credit offset, based on the fact that the leasehold improvements would
benefit the tenant as much as the Airport itself. Mr. Ziegelaar agreed that he would do
so.
2) Airport Master Plan Discussion. As part of the project to update the Airport's Master
Plan, the remainder of the meeting was dedicated to a public discussion and a progress
report by the Airport's engineering consultants and Airport and City management.
Steve Berardo, Airport Planner with E&K Engineering, introduced the matter by
explaining the function of the Master Plan and the relationships between the Airport's,
State's and Federal planning efforts. He furthermore provided an overview of the
improvements achieved within the past ten years. He reported that the Airport meets all
current FAA design criteria.
•
• 2
The underlying assumption of the planning effort is the relative stability of the
aviation activity levels at BGR. From that perspective the primary focus of the
planning effort is the array of facilities of the airport. Councilor Palmer asked about
the future of aircraft sizes and runway requirements. Mr. Ziegelaar responded that
the current plans would preserve the critical dimensions, at its current length of
11,440 ft and proposed width of 200 ft. He further explained that the standard
runway length is 150 ft. While the plans call for a reduction in width, the new width
still should be more than sufficient for the new aircraft types expected in the future.
Katherine Weber, City Planning Officer, presented the Committee with an overview
of the land-use issues connected with the lands located either within or around the
Airport boundaries. In addition she explained that there is ongoing communication
with the surrounding communities with regard to zoning issues and possible
obstacles to the Airport's approach paths. The objective, from the planning
perspective, is to ensure efficient use of the available land areas. Further discussion
focussed on the expected population and business trends for the Bangor area. Most
speakers expressed the opinion that the pessimistic forecasts prepared by the State
more than likely will be surpassed, based on the recent development in the Bangor
market and the City's continuing growth as a regional service center. The most
recent retail statistics demonstrate strong growth in the region and outpace the
numbers found elsewhere in the State. The FAA representative, Ralph Nicosia-
� Rusin, asked if the Intermodal Transportation Facility, would be serving both local
and regional traffic demand. MDOT representative Traci Perez explained that the
State, which will provide most of the funding for the facility, anticipates that the
Intermodal Facility would serve primarily to facilitate visitor flows in and out of the
region, with air, bus and rail services connecting the Airport to the regional tourism
areas as well as the national and international markets. Bob Ziegelaar explained that
the new facility would replace two local bus stations, which are not located in
optimal locations. In addition the local City bus service would be expected to
include stops at the new facility.
Final discussion centered on various airport marketing issues. 7effRussell reported that
Delta and American both had reduced airfares into BGR by 30% from a large variety of US
cities. The Committee was presented with an overview of Bangor vs Manchester fare
comparisons, showing that Bangor's fares are often below Manchester fares and are, on
average not more than $100 more. Also discussed were inbound tour packages, developed
at the Airport's initiative, for use in markets served by PanAm and other carriers. Russell
reported that the final ad footage for use in the Orlando and Pittsburgh markets was nearly
completed and ready for launch during the third week of June. Mr. Ziegelaar reported that
the Airport is supporting the proposed merger between USAirways and United Airlines. He
expressed concern that USAirways will not survive by itself and that an alternative merger
with American Airlines would be less favorable for Bangor.
Meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.
•