HomeMy WebLinkAbout24.03.21 - Minutes, Hag Regional AirportHAGERSTOWN REGIONAL AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION Minutes of the Open Meeting
March 21, 2024
The Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission held a public meeting on Thursday
March 21, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at the Hagerstown Regional Airport Terminal Conference Room, 18434 Showalter Road, Hagerstown, Maryland. Commission members present: Rob Ferree (Chair), Curtis Berry, Laurence Gross, George Stone,
Samuel Cool, Randal Leatherman, and ex-Officio County Commissioner Randall Wagner.
Airport staff members present were Andrew Eshleman (Director of Public Works), Neil Doran (Airport Director), Gene Bolanowski (Airport Operations & Security Manager), Tina Smith (Airline Station Leader), Giselle Butt (Administrative Assistant) and David Douglas (Office Associate).
CALL TO ORDER Rob Ferree called the meeting to order on March 21, 2024, at 3:00 pm. CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION
Douglas Lundgren was present to discuss the local wing of the Civil Air Patrol. He gave a brief
background about himself, discussed the mission of the CAP and their vision for the future, including an idea for an aviation high school. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion made by Mr. Leatherman and seconded by Mr. Cool. The motion passed unanimously.
AIRPORT DIRECTOR’S REPORT Neil Doran, Airport Director, provided his report including updates on a letter of intent (LOI) signed by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) with Maryland Aerial Mobility Partners,
LLC. This is a concept to make Maryland more competitive in the realm of advanced aerial
mobility (AAM). This includes a broad list of potential future/emerging technologies to explore including electric aircraft, autonomous aircraft, drones for package delivery, air taxi and other aircraft with vertical take offs and landing capabilities.
The airport is moving ahead with the reintroduction of a Passenger Facility Charge or PFC. HGR
is working with Newton and Associates, Inc. on a PFC application to be submitted to the FAA. This could allow for the collection of PFCs toward both past and future qualifying airport project expenses. HGR could be collecting this revenue stream by November 2024. Mr. Doran also had a meeting with Convention and Visitor’s Bureau representatives to discuss
enhanced marketing efforts. Andrew Eshleman has also been working hard on a marketing-related grant opportunity with the Appalachian Regional Commission or “ARC”. The Air Service Development services contract was signed with Volaire Aviation, Inc. The BOCC also approved a design, bidding and construction phase services contract with Airport
Design Consultants, Inc. (ADCI) for the Northwest Quadrant Utility Expansion and Digital Signage project on March 12th. Staff is still working on the terminal parking project and
determining which options would be best in terms of speed and cost considerations to complete that initiative.
Mr. Doran mentioned that the Maryland Aviation Administration’s Economic Impact of Airports
Report is now being updated. Between now and late July 2024, consultants from Landrum & Brown and Martin Associates will be reaching to collect economic data. It is hoped that all airport-area tenants will fully participate and thus HGR’s total economic impact will not be
understated due to non-response or non-participation. All information collected will be kept
confidential. Mr. Doran will be attending the NEC AAAE 2024 Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, March 24-27th, 2024. Revenue and expense reports for the first eight months of FY2023-2024 were
reviewed and several questions from AAC members were answered. Discussion about cost
recovery fees, terminal parking fees, parking lot expansion concepts, airport fire department responses to emergencies, and plans for additional discussions with the Landline company regarding prospects for airline-branded, luxury motorcoach service to one or more nearby major air carrier hub airports.
AIRPORT OPERATIONS REPORT Eugene Bolanowski, Airport Operations and Security Manager, provided an update on upcoming airport construction projects during CY24. The Taxiway F project should commence around April 1st. This upgrade will include new signage, LED light and paving. In a separate project,
Runway 09-27 will include new LED lights and signs. Paving and paint marking upgrades to the
Taxiway C Object Free Area along the edge of the West Apron and T-Hangar area are also expected. Skyline Technology Solutions completed their work along with Callas Contractors. This
completes the checked-baggage screening upgrade project located in the rooms behind the
terminal’s airline ticket counters. Another project was completed that provide local HGR TSA screeners with enhanced/increased access to the airport’s security camera system. Additional maintenance and repair work was also completed on other security cameras around the terminal area.
HGR provided standby services from March 1st through the 5th in support for movements by the President of the United States (POTUS). Mr. Bolanowski recently reviewed airline and airport emergency plans. HGR is still working to evaluate a potential transition from use of Veoci software to an in-house County-developed solution on the Laserfiche platform. The annual
airport badge renewal process is underway and will likely continue throughout the summer of
2024. Neil Doran mentioned the 2022 property acquisition of the old Fairchild Fire Station area adjacent to the New Heights property. There is a plan to install new and relocated fencing and to
demolish the old fire station structure along with older portions of the airport fence within the
Runway Visibility Zone (RVZ). Due to the historic use of firefighting foams, the EPA and MDE are interested in installing a few monitoring wells on airport property adjacent to this area.
AIRLINE SERVICES UPDATE Tina Smith, Airline Station Leader, reported that as previously announced, HGR will be
receiving more Allegiant flights during the summer of 2024. Increasing from four to eight and
then reaching as many as ten flights per week for portions of June and July. There is some hiring going on for a few additional part time staff to supplement what we now have. Supervisors are also being careful to monitor overtime-related costs when we must make use of full-time staff to work airline flights. Two Assessors from Allegiant and one from TSA visited this past week. All
audits went well. Mr. Doran added a request that AAC members and staff please promote and
“talk up” the available terminal adverting opportunities to the local business community. COUNTY COMMISSIONER UPDATE Randy Wagner, ex-Officio County Commissioner, shared that Kurt Downey, former County
Attorney had been appointed as a Circuit Court judge. The County Attorney’s office is now
composed of some four lawyer-staff-members and an announcement on the appointment of a replacement County Attorney will be made soon. Updates on the Emergency Management department position was shared along with the
County’s favorable revenue position. The BOCC is contemplating plans to potentially increase
wages for the county’s employees for the next fiscal year. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Mister Horowitz was unable to attend the meeting. AAC MEMBER UPDATES Mr. Gross will not be attending next month’s meeting. Mr. Doran reminded the AAC members that CY23 Financial Disclosure Statement forms need to be completed and returned.
ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Cool. Motion was seconded by Mr. Gross. The meeting was adjourned at 4:29 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
David Douglas, Office Associate