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HomeMy WebLinkAbout25.02.13 - Minutes, Hag Regional AirportHagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2025 Page 1 of 5 HAGERSTOWN REGIONAL AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION Minutes of the Open Meeting February 13, 2025 The Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission (AAC) held a public meeting on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. at the Hagerstown Regional Airport Terminal Conference Room, 18434 Showalter Road, Hagerstown, Maryland. Commission members present: Austin Colby (Chair), Curtis Berry (Vice Chair), Randal Leatherman, Rob Ferree, Laurence Gross, Samuel Cool, George Stone and ex-Officio County Commissioner Randall Wagner. County staff members present included Andrew Eshleman (Director of Public Works), Neil Doran (Airport Director), Gene Bolanowski (Airport Operations & Security Manager), Tina Smith (Airline Station Leader), and David Douglas (Administrative Assistant). CALL TO ORDER Austin Colby called the meeting to order on February 13, 2025, at 3:00 pm. CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION Tom Riford, Vice President of Rider Jet Center, spoke about various events held at the Rider Jet Center. On Friday, February 7th Rider Jet Center (RJC) and the Hagerstown Aviation Museum (HAM) hosted six GardaWorld Dogs in training. These dogs were at both facilities training to serve as future odor detection canines. Also, on Friday, February 7th, Robin Summerfield, Western Maryland Representative for U.S. Senator Van Hollen, was at the RJC for a tour of several companies on the airfield. Mr. Summerfield is very interested in the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) expansion and is concerned about the condition of the aging Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). Mr. Summerfield is working to have Senator Van Hollen visit the airport and to be involved in facilitating the proposed replacement of the ATCT. Mr. Riford reported that South Mountain Aviation is busy with the maintenance of many aircraft, including several jets. Rider Jet Center was very busy over the Maritn Luther King holiday weekend due to weather conditions (snow/ice events) and the presidential inauguration, with thirteen chartered jets specifically at the RJC for the inauguration. Eagle Air Aviation, a company partially owned by Ben Rider, has operations out of the RJC to transport by jet and helicopter - organs for transplant and medical research. Mr. Riford spoke about events happening later this year. Hangarfest will be held on September 20th. Hangarfest is a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. The 19th Aviation Career Expo will be held on November 7th. Mr. Riford anticipates the 2025 Expo will be larger than last year’s event. Mr. Riford reported that thirteen high school students earned internships during the 2024 Expo. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2025 Page 2 of 5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Mr. Gross and seconded by Mr. Leatherman to approve the minutes of the January 9th, 2024, meeting. The motion passed unanimously. VOTE TO RECOMMEND- CURTIS BERRY The AAC voted to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners that Mr. Berry be reappointed to serve a second term. Motion was made by Mr. Gross and seconded by Mr. Ferree. The motion passed unanimously. VOTE TO RECOMMEND - LAURENCE GROSS The AAC voted to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners that Mr. Gross be reappointed to serve a second term. Motion was made by Mr. Stone and seconded by Mr. Berry. The motion passed unanimously. AIRPORT DIRECTOR’S REPORT Neil Doran, Airport Director, provided his report including that HGR hosted, for the second time, a Global Entry Enrollment Event on January 28th. A meeting was also held with representatives from the Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC) to discuss how the federal government could utilize HGR in an expanded role and how HGR could potentially access federal funding from the military rather than civilian-FAA spheres alone. There was also a meeting with a military logistics planner and RRMC Fire Chief to discuss increased communication and mutual aid support between HGR’s and RRMC’s fire stations. Mr. Doran also reported that lighting on the terminal entrance sign was upgraded from solar to hard-wired lights. The parking lot project is making steady progress towards completion. HGR is waiting on the installation of a few additional components from the County IT department. The airport hopes to have the pay stations working by next week. HGR has also been working with Volaire Aviation Consulting’s Marketing department. Melissa Peterson from Volaire was able to contact Justin Ralenkotter, head of Allegiant Marketing, to discuss how HGR appears on their website. It was suggested to list HGR as a means of accessing nearby attractions in the Washington-Baltimore area and to reach nearby Civil War battlefields. If implemented, it is felt these measures would help increase the number of inbound tickets sold as Hagerstown would then be seen as more of a popular destination. Mr. Doran also provided updates on design of the east-side Terminal expansion, the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) expansion project and the proposed replacement Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) structure. Regarding the ATCT, on February 5th Congresswoman April McClain Delaney’s staff forwarded an inquiry letter to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) asking when HGR would appear on the list of eligible airports for a replacement Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2025 Page 3 of 5 tower. A response is expected within 30 days. Separately, HGR may also be eligible for state funding in the amount of $10 million to replace the tower. A meeting was held with Bruce Poole, John Porcari and Alex Hughes about tying this project into Maryland’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ambitions. Senator Corderman has also been working on securing state funding for the tower. Meetings and communications have been held with Chairman Guzzone. As a condition of potential state funding, the County has been asked for a commitment to take on the ownership and ongoing Operations & Maintenance (O&M) expense and responsibilities, should one-time capital construction funds be awarded. The AAC members discussed the pros and cons. Consensus was to continue pursing state funding and to recommend to the BOCC that Washington County assist the airport with these ongoing costs should a state grant be awarded. The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) expansion project is under review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA is requesting that the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) be updated. The FAA also states the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents from 2017 are outdated and a new NEPA determination will be needed. Design of east-side Terminal Expansion. HGR was awarded the FAA BIL-ATP Terminal Expansion grant in the amount of $5.25 million. The project is FAA-eligible for a 4,800 sq. ft terminal expansion. The grant covers certain designs concepts and HGR is trying to design the terminal to maximize the use of the $5.25 million. Mr. Doran showed the committee several design drawings of the expansion. Mr. Doran explained each design concept and grant amount associated with each design. HGR will be meeting with the FAA on Tuesday, January 18th, to further discuss these designs. Mr. Doran recognized and congratulated Tina Smith for being named Allegiant’s CX Celebrity for the month of December 2024. AIRPORT OPERATIONS REPORT Mr. Bolanowski, Airport Operations & Security Manager, provided his report including that HGR had five snow/ice events since January 9th. Mr. Bolanowski wanted to congratulate the team for their hard work and outstanding job during these events. Skyline, a fiber-optic company, completed the fiber line connection to the parking lot pedestals. Camera installation for the parking lot should be completed by next week. WPS, HGR’s parking lot vendor, will be out on Friday to work with Washington County’s IT department for final installation and to provide additional staff training. Representatives from the city of Cumberland, Maryland, will also be out on Monday the 24th to view the parking lot project. The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)’s Digicast platform, a web-based on-demand training system has been customized to fit HGR’s unique needs. Staff is beginning to complete assigned courses. The badge application process is now online and can accommodate renewal and new hires. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2025 Page 4 of 5 AIRLINE SERVICES UPDATE Ms. Smith, Airline Services Leader, provided her report including that her staff is being cross-trained, her department has two new employees, and she is still needs to fill one additional position. The 737s have been utilized for almost all flights during the month of February. Ms. Smith anticipates that 95% of the planes used over the next few months will be the 737. The only challenge with the Boeing 737 is efficiently boarding the additional number of passengers per flight. COMMISIONER UPDATE Mr. Wagner, County Commissioner, provided his report including that he attended several banquets recognizing the hard work and dedication of the county’s firefighters. The FY26 budgets have been submitted and are under review. Mr. Wagner stated the budget will be tight because of a last minute $8-9 million mandate for Maintenance of Efforts for the Washington County Public School system. Mr. Wagner also commented on how well the airport responded to recent snow and ice events. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Mr. Horowitz was unable to attend the meeting. No update given. AAC MEMBER UPDATES Mr. Gross praised the Washington County Highways department for keeping the roads open and operational during recent snow events. Mr. Colby informed the board that the Hagerstown Aviation Museum (HAM) signed a contract with Morgan-Keller Construction for pre-construction to begin phases one and two of the museum’s expansion. The expansion will include building out the connector building, administrative offices, and additional exhibit space. The project completion date is sent for the end of 2025. The museum is still looking to acquire the executive hangar for storage of larger aircraft within its collection. The 100th anniversary of the Fairchild Aviation Corporation/Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Company will be held on September 12th -14th, 2025. There will be six events for Young Eagles and an Open Airplane Day during the anniversary celebration including air flights and clinics. The museum is working with HGR to coordinate the event with the anticipated flyovers and logistics involved in hosting an anticipated 10,000 guests. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) headquarters has invited the museum to participate at Oshkosh, an annual fly-in convention, exposition and air show held in Wisconsin. The museum will have a booth, fly two aircraft to the event and HAM will share a featured exhibit with the EAA museum. ADJOURNMENT Motion made to adjourn by Mr. Gross. Motion was seconded by Mr. Berry. The meeting was adjourned at 4:18 p.m. Hagerstown Regional Airport Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2025 Page 5 of 5 David Douglas, Administrative Assistant Respectfully submitted,