Galesburg Reporter

City of Galesburg Airport Advisory Commission met July 18

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 3:02 p.m.

Roll Call: Present Ex-Officio

Aaron Repp Michael Doi (Public Works Director)

David Christensen Don Miles (Parks & Rec Director)

David Carlton Public Members in Attendance

Phillip Wolford (FBO Rep) Dave Scharfenberg

Ken Springer (KCAP Rep)

Absent

Councilman Liaison Bradley Hix

Minutes Approval:

A motion was made by Christensen and seconded by Carlton to approve the Minutes of June 20, 2024.

Springer abstained because he was absent from the last meeting. Motion approved by unanimous consent.

Updates and Reports:

• FBO Update (Phillip Wolford)

No Updates

• Airport Manager Update (Michael Doi)

◦ Stearman Event – Doi informed the commission that the event the final FAA comments stated that the event would be approved upon submission of additional documentation, the additional documentation was submitted.

◦ Project updates

◦ Airport Layout Plan: Mr. Doi informed the commission that Kristy Brod made comments about separating the plan into two phases, Jeff Olson was supposed to contact her to make sure everything is approved. Mr. Doi said that Jeff Olson is sometimes not responsive.

◦ Parking Lot Project: Mr. Doi informed the commission that the utility locates have been called in, but the request has been delayed.

◦ Fuel Island Project: Mr. Doi said he is waiting for utility locates to be completed so the surveyors can add to the plan.

◦ Maintenance building: Mr. Doi said the costs exceed the current budget and staff are working to find a solution.

• Airport Maintenance Update (Don Miles)

◦ Mr. Miles said the fence relocation is done, but the gate still needs to be installed.

◦ Mr. Miles said he is still working on getting bids to paint hangars.

◦ Mr. Miles said he is still working on providing lighting for the flag.

Old/Tabled Business:

• Regional Airport Classification

Mr. Repp and Mr. Wolford volunteered to be part of a work session to develop ways to advertise ways to obtain regional status.

• Status – IDOT inspection from September 2023

Miles: tree removal will be done this winter.

• Solar Project on airport land (revisited)

Mr. Doi said Jeff Olson needs to respond to Community Solar in a timely manner.

• Hangar Construction

◦ Set a goal for including taxes in hangar leases.

◦ Mr. Doi said he spoke with the city attorney. They came up with an idea for either a trust or an LLC as an option to give the leasee some control over the hangar and who they can sublease to, such as a family member.

◦ Mr. Miles suggested including “metal frame” for new hangar construction; Mr. Wolford said he is not sure if the frame must be metal.

◦ Mr. Doi said that Jeff Olson said that the pavement for a new hangar needs to be placed to the north of the hangar due to the possibility of a wingspan that will overhang the parking lot. Most of the commission agreed that a south facing door is preferable and Mr. Wolford said to consider shortening the parking lot.

◦ Mr. Wolford said constructing a hangar to the far north is a problem but expanding to the west is not.

• Mr. Repp said pilots need to be able to call AWOS from their cell phone which does not currently work consistently. He said someone should let the FAA know.

• Mr. Repp suggested rotating the commission chairman position – everyone else on the commission thought Mr. Repp was doing a fantastic job and wanted him to continue, so he agreed, and Dave Christensen will continue as the deputy chairman.

• Mr. Wolford asked for signage for the FBO, directing people to the front office. Mr. Doi to contact Justin McNaught.

• Mr. Wolford said he would like the terminal building demolished in the first part of next year.

• Mr. Repp said there is a group that is canvassing airports for threats of closure, lack of maintenance, etc.

• Draft Lease Agreement Review

◦ Mr. Repp made two comments: 1) Section 19, Miscellaneous – 14CFR Part 77 – it is very narrow and needs to be removed, 2) nowhere does it say in the lease that the hangar is to be used for aviation activities only.

New Business

No new business.

General Discussion of Other Airport Related Topics:

• Mr. Doi said that he received documentation that the AWOS system was inspected and passed by the FAA.

• Mr. Doi said that Nicole Rush with the TSA contacted him, and they had a meeting during which she provided information related to airport security.

• Mr. Wolford said that he received a grant for a permanent sound system at the airport.

• Mr. Wolford said that the exterior overhang facing the parking lot is deteriorating. It is pulling away from the building. He will send pictures to Mr. Doi. He wondered if there is any storm damage or  other funding that may pay for the repair.

• It was brought up that hangar door F3 has a broken door. The latch was repaired, according to Mr. Miles.

• Mr. Miles said that hangar door F4 is having mechanical issues due to the man door coming open while the hangar door was being opened.

Citizen Comments:

• No citizen comments.

Next Meeting: August 15, 2024, at 3:00 p.m., International Stearman Community Center, Stearman building, second floor.

Adjournment: A motion was made by Springer and seconded by Christensen to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by unanimous consent and the meeting was adjourned at 4:26 p.m.

https://cms7files.revize.com/galesburg/Document_Center/Agendas%20and%20Minutes/Airport%20Advisory/2024/Airport%20Advisory%20Commission%20Minutes%20071824.pdf