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HomeMy WebLinkAbout23.01.12 - Minutes, Hag Regional AirportHAGERSTOWN REGIONAL AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION Minutes of the Open Meeting January 12, 2023 The Hagerstown Regional Airpmi Advismy Commission held a public meeting on Thursday Januaiy 12, 2023, at 3: 15 p.m. at the Hagerstown Regional Airport Terminal Conference Room, 18434 Showalter Road, Hagerstown, Maryland. Commission members at the meeting were: Rob Fe1Tee Chair, Gaiy Bockrath Vice Chair, Curtis Beny, Laurence Gross, George Stone, John Barr County Commissioner President, Ex-Officio County Commissioner Randall Wagner, Jonathan Horowitz Director of Business Development. Airport staff members present were Andrew Eshleman Director of Public Works, Neil Doran Airport Director, Gene Bolanowski Operations Manager, Peggy Siler Airline Station Leader, Richard Lesh Administrative Assistant and Amy Blair Office Associate. CALL TO ORDER Rob Fe1Tee called the meeting to order on January 12, 2023, at 3:07 p.m. CITIZENS PARTICIPATION No citizens wished to paiiicipate. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion made by Mr. Gross seconded by County Commissioner President John Barr to approve the minutes of the November 03, 2022, meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Vice Chair Gary Bockrath a1Tived at 3: 17 p.m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Mr. Doran repmied the following: Land Acquisition Update -Still awaiting court decision regarding the condemnation. Mr. Doran also had a phone conversation with the County Attorney regarding a proposed amendment to an old access agreement from 1986. Terminal Roof Leaks-Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR) met with Norm Morin with Bushey Feight Morin Architects (BFM) and shared drawings and proposed improvements. Fenestration Expe1is were out and did tests to try and determine a solution on the water leaks. The experts believe the ve1iical columns are leaking water through the mortar. The Airport will be using local funds for this project, and the start date will be sometime in 2023. Industrial Permit -Mr. Eshleman received notice that the permit will be issued sometime in February 2023. Operating Budget -Mr. Doran thanked staff for their efforts in preparing the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023 Page 2 of4 Site H&I -The site plan has not yet been pushed forward. No new developments to report. GRANTS • FAA -Hagerstown Regional Airport, Reconstruct Taxiway F Pavement and Lighting -A quarterly rep01i was submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Environmental categorical exclusion (CA TEX) documents were signed and submitted. Independent Fee Estimates (IFE) were completed. The Airport received the welcome news that it does not have to use its Bipmiisan Infrastructure Grant funds for the Taxiway F project. Rather, annual entitlement and discretionary funds can be utilized. The project is proceeding on schedule. • Grant 60 Closeout -Grant 60 has been closed out. • MAA-Terminal Access Control Grant -$60,000 (75% MAA, 25% Local Match) This grant was closed out. • Infrastructure Grant -The overall grant is $5,000,000 over 5 years. HGR and ADCI are still working on a list of grants that are eligible for funding. Possible projects for this grant funding would be a new Air Traffic Control Tower and the Passenger Terminal Expansion. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Doran and Mr. Eshleman discussed the grant funded Capital Improvement Projects that were submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for approval. The list of projects was streamlined to figure out how these funding scenarios would play out and the best way to maximize the funds. This is the most optimistic schedule of projects. Now that the airport no longer pmiicipates in the Essential Airline Service (EAS) program with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT)-the airport for the first time may qualify for the Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) grant program. Preparing applications for the SCASD program typically is a service that Air Service Development consultants assist airports with. It is hoped that a technical services RFP for on-call Air Service Development services can be published in the Spring of 2023. Sustainability Plan -Mr. Doran and Mr. Eshleman had another discussion regarding a separate grant opportunity with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There are three different grant items that Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR) can apply for: • An energy audit can be conducted to see where the Airport spends the most money on electricity. ADCI would assist with the application to get grant forms in by the January 31 st deadline. • Airfield LED lighting upgrade for both runways. This project is placed in the capital improvement plan. This cost could potentially be moved and placed under this environmental grant if approved by the FAA. • The Airp01i is looking into an electric pushback tug and a backup that could push large aircraft with one possibly to be leased out to the Rider Jet Center. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023 Page 3 of 4 Mr. Eshleman and Mr. Doran will give an update to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on January 24th about recent happenings at the airport. They will also seek pe1mission to apply for and accept grant funds if awarded by the FAA for these three environmentally- friendly projects. Strategic Plan -Mr. Doran received a proposal from Airp01i Design Consultants, Inc. (ADCI) for an Airport Strategic Development Plan. ADCI will facilitate and manage subconsultant R.A. Wiedemann & Associates, Inc. (RAW A). These services would be procured through ADCI at no additional cost to the County. The project would include three separate tasks including: Developing an Airport Branding and Marketing Strategy, Developing Business Planning Strategies and Reviewing Airport Operations. This project would be a 4-6-month process. AIRPORT DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Doran reported the following: Hagerstown Regional Airp01i hosted Shepherd University sports charter flights on 12/8 to Denver, CO and returning to Hagerstown, MD on 12/11. This was the Airp01i's second year hosting the charter flights. The Airport received a donated 3,000-gallon reserve fire truck from the Baltimore- Washington International (BWI) Airport. Mr. Doran has had introductory meetings with businesses of the Airport including Rider Jet Center, Sien-a Nevada, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Royal Aircraft and Air Tech. AIRLINE REPORT Ms. Siler rep01ied an update on our inbound and outbound numbers: Sanford/Orlando has an inbound passenger load of 16,223 and outbound passenger load of 16,547. St. Pete/Clearwater has an inbound passenger load of 9,076 and outbound passenger load of 11,004. Myrtle Beach inbound passenger load of 3,576 and outbound passenger load of 4,325. Total passengers 61,147 and pushed 27,829 bags. There were 211 flights and 6 of those were cancelled. Ms. Siler spoke with the Allegiant area manager and 2022 was HGR's best year yet. The last 3 months HGR has been in the top 10 for performance. So far in January 2023, there has been a total of 1,750 passengers. 890 passengers for Sanford/Orlando and 860 for St. Pete/Clearwater. Total of 793 bags pushed. Myrtle Beach begins May 26, 2023 and the schedule is out through August 14, 2023. OPERATIONS REPORT Mr. Bolanowski reported that the new FIDS (Flight Information Display System) is installed and up and running. There was an intelligence briefing regarding human trafficking and this topic will be added to staff training this year. COUNTY COMMISIONERS UPDATE Mr. Wagner and County Commissioner President John Ban-thanked the staff at HGR for always doing a job well done. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advismy Commission Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023 Page 4 of4 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORT Mr. Horowitz reported the following: Friday, February 3rd is the Groundhog Day pmiy at the Sharpsburg Agricultural Center. The Business Development Department was granted approval of expanding the enterprise zone around the City of Hagerstown. This is an economic development tool that is state-driven and provides business property abatements. The county gets 50% of the money back to use towards private and public pminerships. First Breach had their grand opening at the New Heights Industrial Park (NHIP) on January 12th. The Langer group just signed a new lease at (NHIP) and will provide 70 machine- operating jobs. Business Development is still working to solidify a few other leases. Washington County also has an economic tool known as a foreign trade zone established with the federal government, however it has not yet been fully activated. The Business Development Department is working on this process to transition from a traditional site framework to an alternate site framework, which would allow for the establishment of magnet sites. MEMBERS COMMENTS Mr. Ferree asked if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pre-check and Global Ent1y interviews could be scheduled in the future at HGR. Ms. Siler confamed that the Airpo1i has been trying to get this arranged due to many inquiries and could possibly be scheduled sometime this Fall. CLOSED SESSION No topics to discuss in Closed Session. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Barr made a motion, seconded by Mr. Bockrath to adjourn the meeting at 4:33 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Respe<Jfylly submitted, U!M(c@lcuiL Amy Blair, Office Associate