Chair Winnie Houston called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION: By Member Tom Polley, seconded by Member Nick David, to accept the meeting minutes of the January 24, 2002 meeting as written. Motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS

1. MANAGER'S AIRPORT UPDATE

   South Ramp Reconstruction - Manager Propst reported that the south ramp project is progressing better than he had anticipated. The pavement is down, most of the anchors for the tiedowns have been drilled, some have been poured with concreted, all the striping has been surveyed in, and the cement has been poured for the three helopads. The contractor still has to fix the low spots in the pavement and take out a strip of pavement in front of General Aviation that did not meet specifications. The project will probably be finished by mid-March, and planes will be moving back to the south side of the field by the end of March.

   Master Plan Update - This project is well underway. Most of the inventory work has been done. Pilot survey forms are being sent out. The goal is to organize a planning advisory committee.

   FAA Grant Application - Manager Propst reported that he will be applying for a $150,000 aviation entitlement grant from the FAA. He intends to use that money to design the pavement rehabilitation on the northwest corner of the airport. He wants to hire a consulting engineer firm to design the repairs. He also wants to use any money left over for security enhancements, such as, tying all the gate card readers to a central computer. He also intents to research biometrics as an alternative to the gate card system.

   Budget - The airport budget has been submitted to the City Manager. Manager Propst asked for approval to hire a half-time service worker. Two reasons for this are: 1) security, to have staff on duty from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day and, 2) to meet customer needs on weekends. The recruitment process will begin this summer. The impact on the next fiscal year's budget will be about $40,000 for this position, which includes salary and benefits. Rates and charges will not be raised in this budget cycle, but there are no guarantees after this budget cycle.

   Letter to Suzie Benson - In response to a request last fall from Member Chuck Blumer, the committee was asked to sign a letter of thanks written to Suzie Benson.

   Questions from Committee Members - Responding to Member Blumer, Manager Propst said, that despite the fact that building new hangars in the north west area is a possibility, and that it would require that the asphalt be torn up, the airport could not save money by putting in lower quality asphalt. This is because the FAA will be paying for the project, and they set the standards. He wants P401 asphalt around the hangars anyway. The money for hangars comes from Cal Trans (State). If they were paying for the asphalt, he would consider using a lesser quality.

   Responding to Member Denise Jennings, Manager Propst explained that the area will be given a skin patch that will serve as a "band aid" until the design work is finished and the area can be completely rehabilitated. It will probably be a year before the rehabilitation project begins.

2. AIRPORT SECURITY

   Gate Card Readers - Manager Propst reported that he is considering ways to tie the gate card readers together, one is by using phone lines. Using a Centrex system, this could be done relatively inexpensively.

   Security Tags - Manager Propst reported that he has not been given any feedback about this new security system, and that it is not being formally enforced.

   Gate Access Policy - Manager Propst suggested that the committee consider a new gate access policy that would address the issue of access by unauthorized visitors. He explained that when a vehicle enters the gate, it is easy for a vehicle to trail in behind before the gate closes. He asserted that, as a reasonable precaution, a policy should be in effect that allows only one car to pass through the gate at a time. This would help to ensure that only authorized gate card users would have access through the gates.

   Security Cameras - The security cameras are still not programmed to be viewed on the internet. Almost everything is in place to do so; the newest version of the software has been installed, but the program is still not user friendly enough to make it available to the public.

3. HANGAR WAITING LIST POLICY - WAITING LIST FEE

   Policy Changes and Enforcement - Manager Propst told the committee that he wants a consensus from them as to what they want to do about the Hangar Waiting List Policy. Unless they decide to make changes to it, he intends enforce it the way it was written in 1995. He fully intends to enforce the first sentence of the policy, and is not inclined to change it.

   In response to Member Blumer, Manager Propst explained that there are three waiting lists and one switch list. There is a waiting list for the executive, rectangular, and T-hangars. The metal and wooden T-hangars are combined into one list.

   Manager Propst discussed the history of the waiting lists, and the reason for the Switch List. Some people have been on the waiting lists for several years. They have gone to the bottom of the list, when they turned down a hangar, but have worked their way back to the top of the list repeatedly. He asked the committee to discuss the Hangar Waiting List fee. It is currently $21.00 to be on any or all lists.

   He suggested that before implementing any changes to the policy, all affected parties, especially those on the waiting lists, should be notified so these issues may be open for public discussion.

   He asserted that the revenue generated by the field use fee is not worth the time it takes to administer it. His main concern is whether all planes in hangars are insured. He explained that airport service workers inventory the hangars monthly, and if a plane is in the hangar that is not on the agreement, we have to question the renter about that plane. He explained the genesis of the field use fee. Mr. Bill Griggs, Sr., of Aviation Facilities, Inc. (AFI) added that it began when there were 75 to 100 aircraft accessing the airport, but that were not renting spaces. The practice of charging this fee was extended to the hangars when the Brian Douglas hangars were built.

   MOTION: The committee voted unanimously to eliminate the field use fee and to strike the following sentence from the Hangar Waiting List Policy: "A separate field use fee shall be charged for each additional aircraft stored in a hangar."

   Manager Propst said that he will present the recommendations of the committee to the City Council all at one time, and he will include this recommendation at that time.

   In response the Member Blumer, Manager Propst explained that the partnership policy was originally designed to keep people from buying an airplane and inheriting the hangar with it. He went on to discuss the hangar transfer fee. He read paragraph 5 of the policy on partnerships, suggesting changes to the wording. He went on to answer several questions by the committee, discussing in detail the issue of partnerships; what constitutes a partnership, and when does a partnership start, legally. He explained the ways pilot's have gotten around the policy to gain ownership of a hangar, without paying the required fees. He leaves it up to the city attorney's office to determine if a partnership is valid.

   The committee discussed possible ways to prove that a partnership exists and when one is legally established. Manager Propst said this issue has not been a problem, but in response, Chair Winnie Houston suggested that it was important to discuss it to preclude any future problems. Bill Griggs, Sr. interjected that he knows there are individuals who have joined into partnerships for the sole purpose of getting a hangar. Manager Propst suggested that this may have been a bigger problem in the early 90's than it is now. Member Jeff Harris suggested that the airport's authority on this issue needs to be clarified. Manager Propst said he would ask the city attorney to "write an opinion as to what constitutes a partnership evidencing ownership of an aircraft."

   The committee asked Manager Propst to prepare a staff report that addresses all of the key issues discussed in this meeting.

   In response to Member Tom Polley, Manager Propst explained that he uses discretion and takes his time when making decisions about hangar/plane partnerships when there is a fatality such as the most recent one involving Don Dirian. However, in another situation, he was very decisive about what he wanted to do. He gave the example of a man who was killed when his plane crashed. His son put another plane in his father's hangar. This was not acceptable. The plane had to be moved out of the hangar, and the hangar was rented to someone else. There are often gray areas in the airport Manager's decision making process. He summed up the real problem by saying that it is when pilots sell an aircraft and the new owner gets a hangar with it.

   In response to Member Nick David, Manager Propst agreed that part of the solution to these problems is to build more hangars.

   Committee members determined that the main issues to address in the staff report for discussion in the next meeting are as follows:

   • Waiting list administrative fee(s)
   • Switch List
   • Determining aircraft/hangar partnerships
   • Waiting lists maintenance

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business to report.

COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE

There were no comments from the committee.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

There were no comments from the public.

NEXT AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

The next meeting will be March 28, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

8:45 p.m.

Recorded by: Jackie Reinsvold, Administrative Secretary