Berlin Airport Authority
January 22, 2009
Members present were: Chair Bertrand, Commissioners Grenier and Donovan, Councilor Mark Evans sat in for Commissioner Goudreau; absent were Commissioners Lafleur, Goudreau, Cayer and Gagne. Others present were Eric Kaminsky and one member of the public.
Minutes
Commissioner Grenier moved to accept the minutes of the December 15, 2008 meeting; Commissioner Evans seconded and the motion carried.
Financials
Members discussed the financials affirming that the projection for $40,000 in sand sales in this year's budget is not likely to be met. Mr. Kaminsky reported that though the Coleman agreement is now nullified, the Water Works has been buying sand.
Commissioner Grenier clarified that the "general fund revenue" is the City subsidy. Mr. Kaminsky commented that fuel sales are down considerably and the BAA could be looking at a deficit in the revenue projections.
Commissioner Grenier moved to accept the financial report for December; Commissioner Donovan seconded and the motion carried.
Election of Officers
Commissioner Grenier noted that the election of officers has never been enforced; however statutorily the secretary should sign off on the minutes; and the treasurer has to attest to the financials relying on the information given by the city. Commissioner Donovan urged that the positions go to the city councilors that sit on the authority. Chair Bertrand stated that there are three positions to be filled: Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and there are only two potential candidates present.
Commissioner Donovan suggested posting a meeting prior to a city council meeting specifically to elect officers.
Potential for Donation of Wausau Building
Mr. Kaminsky reported that Wausau has a third party interested in the building and they have withdrawn their offer to give the building to the Airport. He added that Wausau has met their obligation to the airport by having offered the right to first refusal.
It was mentioned that the third party, Dalsco Air, Inc. has not paid their lease on the buildings they already own at the airport. They claimed to have sent a check that was lost and have stated that another check is in the mail.
A communication from Wausau Paper requests consent and agreement from the Berlin Airport Authority for the assignment of the lease held by Wausau to be deeded to Dalsco Air Inc. Consensus of the Authority was to authorize the Chair to sign off on the assignment when all leases held by Dalsco Air Inc. are paid.
Commissioner Donovan moved to send a letter to Dalsco Air Inc. so stating and copy Wausau; Commissioner Grenier seconded and the motion carried.
Budget
Mr. Kaminsky indicated that the City Manager's goal for next year's budget is to eliminate the City's subsidy to the airport. To achieve that goal, Mr. Kaminsky is recommending: no salary increases; and leaving the airport unstaffed for certain blocks of time.
There is an increase to the fuel oil line item to heat the new building. There are only three payments for the tractor in the new budget year. As long as there are no catastrophic break downs in equipment, it should be possible to stay within this budget.
Commissioner Grenier clarified that the BAA's portion of the loader purchase is not reflected in this budget because it will be paid for with a grant from the Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation. The check has already been received.
Mr. Kaminsky reported that Munce's cleaned the oil furnace and has declared it "condemned"; they will no longer service the unit. If the system has to be replace it will cost about $6,500. Authority members suggested investing in insulating the building. Commissioner Donovan suggested calling CAP's weatherization crew to do an energy audit of the airport terminal building.
Mr. Kaminsky went on to say that projects for the summer include restriping the runway and crack sealing. He noted that the SARA credit card reader will no longer be serviced after this year due to there being a lack of parts and the airport will need to upgrade the system at the cost of $8,300. Commissioner Donovan recommended that the fuel company be asked to participate in the purchase of a new SARA unit.
Manager's Report
SRE Building - Mr. Kaminsky reported that construction of the new snow removal equipment building is coming along. There are doors up and the cement will be poured on the floors Monday, 1/26.
Tillotson Grant - With regard to the Tillotson Grant, Mr. Kaminsky thanked Sue Tremblay for her help putting the grant narrative and documentation together.
Lease Payments - All are paid with exception of Dalsco Air.
Sand Prices - Mr. Kaminsky indicated that Pike is getting $6.00 per yard for sand and he is recommending that the BAA raise the price. In the discussion that followed Commissioners agreed to increase the price to $4.00 per yard for outside entities; however the price would remain at $3.00 for municipal functions.
Safety Inspection - in a recent inspection of the airport, the NH Aeronautics Department of the DOT inspected such items as the glide space, penetrations on the air field and brush clearing done last fall. All was found to be in order.
Loader Bid Results - the Airport's engineering firm recommended the Volvo loader which was the lowest bid meeting the specifications. Bids were very close in price between the Volvo and the John Deere. Mr. Kaminsky asked to be granted discretion to purchase the one that would best serve the airport.
Chair Bertrand noted that both meet the specs and the Volvo is the low bidder. The consensus was to go with the low bid unless there is a compelling reason not to.
Commissioner Grenier moved to accept the manager's report; Commissioner Donovan seconded and the motion carried.
Other
Sand Prices: Commissioner Donovan moved to increase the price of sand to $4.00 per yard for the public and to keep the price at $3.00 per yd for all Coos County municipalities; Commissioner Grenier seconded and the motion carried.
Wausau Building: Commissioner Donovan voiced that he felt the airport has missed out on a good deal by not taking the Wausau building when it was offered. The Mt. Washington Hotel was interested in using the building as a reception center for their hotel and they would have paid to renovate the building. It is a missed opportunity.
Snowblower: Mr. Kaminsky reported that the four wheel drive on the snow blower is malfunctioning and an effort is being made by the Public Works mechanics to fix the problem.
There being no further business to come before the Authority, Commissioner Donovan moved to adjourn; Commissioner Evans seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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