HomeMy WebLinkAboutAirport Minutes June 2005G:\pub-wrks\eng\dept-admin\AIRP\MINUTES\2005\June 7 2005 AC.doc 1
ASHLAND AIRPORT COMMISSION
JUNE 7, 2005
MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT:CHAIRMAN LINCOLN ZEVE, RICHARD HENDRICKSON, TOM BRADLEY, BILL
SKILLMAN, JOHN MORRISON, BOB SKINNER
STAFF: DAWN LAMB
MEMBERS ABSENT: VICKI GRIESINGER,CLAUDIA STOCKWELL, PAUL WESTERMAN, GOA
LOBAUGH
1.CALL TO ORDER: 9:30 AM
2.APPROVAL OF MINUTES:May 3, 2005, minutes approved as written
3.Public Forum: Presentation by Brammo Motors to be addressed under new
business.
4.OLD BUSINESS:
A.ALP Master Plan Update
The final draft of the ALP document was distributed with the packet with instruction to
review and return the comments to Lamb via email at the earliest opportunity. The
drawings were displayed and the Commission agreed to have the ultralight temporary
hangars depicted at the south end of the runway removed. If an ultralight pilot would
like to place a trailer on the airfield, the Commission and Skinner will address it on an
individual basis. There was discussion regarding whether to depict an area for the
temporary hangars on the airfield and it was felt that it did not need to be a set aside
area for the hangars.
John McLaughlin, Planning Director was present to discuss the zoning questions referred
to in the draft. Bradely questioned the impact of Measure 37 on the airport operations.
The airport is protected by the overlay zone and has been an established airfield for a
significant period of time. The encroachment of residential units is a concern for many
small airports. The state overlay zones need to be reviewed by the legal and planning
departments to ensure we are in compliance with new land use ordinances.
The commission will need to have reviews of the ALP back to Lamb within two weeks of
today. The revisions will need to be submitted to Century West who will then forward
the document to the FAA for adoption and approval. After the plan is accepted by
the FAA we will present the ALP to the City Council for adoption.
B.AIP Update
The trenching and installation of the medium intensity runway lighting has been moving
along for almost a week. The weather has been cooperative and LTM has been doing
a great job of clean-up and staying on time with opening and closing the airport. The
NOTAM will need to be reviewed later this week to see if the closure needs to be
continued past the 10th of June.
Commission asked about the progress of the beacon. Lamb thought the paperwork
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was still be worked on and that Olson and David Evans were attempting to negotiate
for a lower restock cost. The smaller beacon will cost less than the larger one and the
restock fee is exuberant. The cost of the new beacon is significantly less than the
original and even with the restocking fee the cost will be less and we will have savings.
Skinner asked if instead of restocking the beacon we could simply sell the beacon to
ODA or another buyer. Olson said that LTM actually bought it and has not been paid
for the beacon, so they own it and we wouldn’t be able to purchase it.
Commission would like the project manager to be sure and pay attention to the
punchlist items that are still outstanding; the washrack, the fence and the gate and the
sloppy concrete around the tie downs.
C.Strategic Planning Action Planning:
SuperUnicom Funding Avenues-No word yet from the letter sent to UPS and Fed Ex.
Economic Impact Study –Zeve presented a copy of the study from the students. It
gives a significant increase to the last study. The study shows that the airport direct and
induced cost is near $14 million. This is definitely motivation to attract more business to
the field. The study is somewhat conservative because of the time limits the students
were under.
D.Fee Increases
Bradely has some clarifications to make to the new spreadsheet and will need to meet
with Skinner and Lamb to verify some base rates on some of the leases. It will be
presented at the next meeting.
4.NEW BUSINESS:
A.Airport Inspection Progress
Margueritte Hickman and Keith Woodley had two open dates; June 14th and the 17th.
The 17th is better for Lamb’s schedule. Skinner agreed that the 17th was a good day
and that mid-morning would be a good time. Lamb will check with Hickman and
Woodley on a time of 9:30 AM.
B.Taxi Service Complaint
Morrison read the enclosed letter and will take the complaint forward to the Council for
action. Morrison will report back with information.
C.Brammo Motorsports Application
Craig Bramscher, President of Brammo Motors, presented a proposal to the Commission
to lease the commercial land adjacent to Airport Road. His company currently builds
specialized sports cars and will be expanding into manufacturing composite parts for
the motors. The business is also expanding into making composite tools for aircraft.
Bramscher resides in Ashland with his family and would like to keep his business in the
Rogue Valley if not in Ashland itself. He prefers establishing his business right here in
Ashland.
The proposed business manufactures specialized vehicles. Sports vehicles and
components for kit cars and composite pieces and tooling for aircraft use will be built
on the airport site. The site will consist of two 20,000 square foot buildings and
Bramscher is looking to lease either a 3.5 acres or 5 acres. The size could depend on
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the lease rate and the planning requirements. Bramscher would like the option to build
one building outright and have a clause giving him the right to build the second
building at a later date. The mortgage from the bank requires the length of the lease
to be at least five years longer than the lease term.
Staff has briefly met with Bramscher to discuss other areas within the City to build. There
was another option considered, but the land would need to annexed into the City. The
time factor for annexing is extensive. The land at the airport is zoned E-1 for business
and this area has been earmarked for this type of business. Bramscher and the City
would work at obtaining grant monies from OEDD for the utility extensions to the site.
The road improvements will need to be defined by the Planning application. At this
time, Bramscher needs to have a draft lease to take to the lenders and to OEDD before
he can get approval to finance the building. If funding can be obtained and the lease
rate is acceptable, Bramscher will move forward with the application with the City. If
the funds can not be secured, Bramscher will look elsewhere for a suitable location.
There are opportunities for the business to be more involved in aviation related tooling
and manufacturing. The commission has agreed that the commercial leasing of this
area should be referenced in the new Airport Master Plan as Future Aviation Related &
Non-Aviation Development. The current master plan refers to aviation related
businesses, but the Airport Commission and FAA do not have a set percentage or policy
on the amount or type of aviation related business. The Airport Commission needs to
be sure that the lease agreement quantifies that the funds collected from the site are
directly applied back to the airport. That is the requirement from the FAA since the site
was purchased with FAA funds.
Bramscher has checked with the State to ensure the emissions from the business will not
be an issue. John McLaughlin, Planning Director, addressed the commission.
Bramscher has worked with staff to research different sites within town that would be
appropriate for the business. The airport land works well for this purpose. It is zoned
properly and has sufficient utilities. The employment creation is in line with the airport
strategic plan, high end technical jobs. The business fits into the City’s comprehensive
plan. The lease agreement with the City will need to be worked out for this area.
Morrison asked if the site is large enough to support the buildings. McLaughlin said the
site was large enough with correct site planning. The 3.5 acre proposal should be
adequate for the usage. DeBoer reminded the commission that income from the lease
would need to be applied directly to the airport. There was talk during the Master Plan
that the area could be used for helicopter operations. The demand has not been
presented to exclude the area to other options. Skinner felt this proposal was a suitable
use of the area. Bradley supported the proposal as this land could be an income
generator and it could be far into the future before it could be used for hangar space.
Zeve asked if the lease length would be a concern. Bradley commented that the
banks base most on a 25 year amortization for lending. The Jackson County airport is
up to 50 year leases. There needs to be a percentage for buy-out in the lease. The
clause would protect the airport if the business fell through. Skinner and staff felt that
the lease was not applicable to the Specialized Aviation Services Operations fees. The
SASO fees are for businesses that benefit and depend on the airport infrastructure for
the business to function. Zeve was concerned that FAA may not approve the use
because of the aviation related clause. There is no set percentage or description of
what aviation related pertains to. The tooling and motor work in the proposal for this
business does mean they will be doing aviation related business. There should be no
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concern from the FAA for this business.
The building design and planning approvals will include all the public process and the
plan will need to go to the City Council for their review of the lease and the grant
applications. The lease will need to be created. Hendrickson suggested appointing a
sub-committee to work with staff on the lease. Zeve, Bradley and DeBoer agreed to
work on a sub-committee.
Zeve asked the commission to consider the downsides of the proposal. If Bramscher’s
business fails in the first five years, what is our recourse. The lease will have buy-out
options and reversion clauses. The buildings should be designed to support separate
businesses if the parent business vacates the premises. The buildings would belong to
the City. The height of the buildings will need approval by Engineering and ODA. The
type of building that Bramscher is researching resembles a large hangar. He will keep
the aesthetics of the building in line with airport schemes. The business employees
include engineers and designers as well as living wage type jobs for the actual
manufacturing. Bramsher’s expects projected employment of 30 professional jobs and
20 living wage positions. Skillman voiced his support as long as the land remains in the
control of the airport. He voiced concern over losing the land to commercial or
residential developments in lieu of airport expansion. At this time the area is nearly
unusable for aircraft because it is so far away from the taxiways and the excavation of
the land required to make it feasible for taxing aircraft is far too expensive. But in the
future this will be where we will need to grow and the technology will catch up with the
use. The commission agreed that the land would only be leased to a commercial
operations and that the lease would contain language about domain rights of the City.
Bradley was still concerned over the aviation related language and felt a statement
should be made so that the process is not stopped. The current master plan does have
the aviation related wording, but there is no outlined criteria. The aviation related
clause will not be a concern because it is too subjective. DeBoer agreed that the
wording in the new master plan should be adopted and used; the land should be
leased to be compatible with airport usage. Commission agreed that this wording was
sufficient.
Hendrickson motioned to approve the conceptual business design for Brammo
Motorsports. Bradley seconded the motion, vote passed unanimous.
5.OTHER:
A.Quarry on Dead Indian Memorial Road
Stockwell distributed a letter for Commissioner signatures if they were in not in
support of the proposed quarry. The Commissioners discussed briefly that the
proposed number of truck trips a day would not be a large impact; positive or
negative on the airport. No commissioners signed the letter.
6.AIRPORT MANAGER REPORT/FBO REPORT/AIRPORT ASSOCIATION:
A.Status of Airport, Financial Report, Review of Safety Reports
Skinner has not had a large increase in traffic. Partly because of rainy weather. He
commented that the LTM crews working on the lighting installation have been superb in
cleaning up and being prompt in finishing by 8 AM for the runway to be opened.
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Airport Association –Clark Hamilton said that the enrollment of members has dropped
from 208 in 1992 to 3 today. He and DeBoer will be working on reviving the association
by sending out mailings.
7.NEXT MEETING DATE: July 5th, 2005, 9:30 AM
ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 11:15 AM