PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT, PARISH OF BEAUREGARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT REGULAR MEETING, JUNE 2, 2005.

The Beauregard Parish Airport District met in Special Session on Thursday, June 2, 2005 at 5:00 P.M. The following board members were present: Hollis Ray O’Neal, Chairman; Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer; Hugh Dubose, Wayne Hall and R.M. Simmons. Absent were: Eugene Loftin and Karl St. Romain. Also present were: John B. Jones, III, Airport Manager; Lee Lancon, Tim Lewis, Russell Williams and Mrs. Harold Williams.

The meeting was opened by Mr. O’Neal who asked Mr. Pickering to give the invocation. After the invocation Mr. O’Neal welcomed all those present to the June 2005 board meeting. Mr. O’Neal then asked if there were any amendments to the agenda.

Mr. Jones, airport manager, replied that he was requesting the addition of two items. The first was a request for support by the Louisiana Airport Managers Association (LAMA) for H.B. No. 778 of the Louisiana Legislature. The second was to consider changing the date of the July 2005 board meeting. There were no other amendments. A motion was then made by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Pickering to amend the agenda as requested. The motion was unanimously approved. The request from LAMA was added as Sub Item 4 under Grounds and Maintenance. The meeting date change was added as item A under Public Relations.

Mr. O’Neal then went to the next item which was approval of the minutes of the April 7, 2005 meeting. He asked if there were any corrections or additions to the minutes as written and mailed. There were no corrections of additions. A motion was made by Mr. Dubose to approve the minutes. The second was offered by Mr. Pickering and the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. O’Neal then recognized Mr. Russell Williams and Mr. Tim Lewis who were present to discuss and request permission for Mr. Williams to sub-let the building and property formerly known as B.R.A.T.S. to Mr. Tim Lewis. Mr. Lewis addressed the board and said that he would like to use the property to operate a trucking business. He said that he would also, at a future date, like to discuss leasing additional property. Mr. Lewis said he had been working to clean up the property and make it more presentable. However, he did not want to go any further until he knew the status of the lease and requirements of a sub-lease.

Mr. O’Neal explained that the airport leased only the property to Mr. Williams. The building was solely the property of Mr. Williams. He further pointed out that any sub-lease would be between Mr. Lewis and Mr. Williams. However, a condition of the original lease is that any sub-lease must first be approved by the airport board. This a feature commonly put in airport leases to allow some degree of control over use of the airport property. Should the sub-lease be approved, Mr. Williams would still be obligated to pay or have paid the property rental fee. The sub-lease arrangements would be between Mr. Williams and Mr. Lewis.

There was a lengthy discussion after which Mr. Pickering made a motion to approve the sub-lease conditioned and dependent on the following.

1. The property would be used by Mr. Lewis to operate a trucking business.

2. A letter would be sent to the airport from Mr. Williams requesting approval to sub-lease the property to Mr. Lewis.

3. Receipt of and insurance certificate from Mr. Williams or Mr. Lewis naming the airport as an additional insured.

Mr. Dubose gave the second and the motion was unanimously approved.

The next item on the agenda was to open bids on the Agriculture Lease. The bid invitation and specifications having been published, Mr. O’Neal asked Mr. Jones if any bids had been received. Mr. Jones replied that one bid had been received and he then opened that bid. The bid was from Mr. David Smith and Stephen Smith who presently are leasing the acreage under the name of Smith Farms. The bid was for the consideration of one sixth (1/6) of summer crops and one eighth (1/8) of winter crops. Mr. Simmons asked how many acres were on the lease. Mr. Jones replied that there were approximately 588 acres currently leased to Smith Farms. After a short discussion a motion was made by Mr. Simmons to accept the bid submitted by the Smith Brothers for a seven (7) year lease with three (3) one year options. Mr. Hall seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. O’Neal then recognized Mr. Lee Lancon, Lancon Engineers, for status reports on current airport construction projects.

Mr. Lancon first briefly mentioned Taxiway A. He said that with the favorable weather the phased portion of this project was almost complete and that the final construction date is Thursday June 9, 2004.

He then turned to Taxiway B. He said the completion or final date on Taxiway B is also June 9, 2005. Mr. Lancon said that a problem had just become apparent on the ramp portion of the taxiway. Directly in the path of striping between Taxiway B and Taxiway C there is an area where the concrete has buckled and there are also old utility connections from World War II days. He said that this area needs to be leveled and finished. Mr. Lancon told the board that he had obtained a price quote of $5640.00 from the contractor – this would remove the degraded areas and replace with level concrete. He said there were sufficient funds for the change but the work would require a change order which would have to be approved by the board, the FAA, and the state. A motion was made by Mr. Pickering, and seconded by Mr. Simmons to approve the change order conditioned on funds availability and approval by the FAA and state. The motion was unanimously approved.

Mr. Lancon then briefed the board concerning a cost overrun on phase III of TaxiwayA & B Inspections. He said this was due to the increased length of time that has been necessary for the project. He said that he was requesting board approval to raise the limit on the item by $3400.00. He did feel that the required funding was available. A motion was made by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Dubose to increase the requested funding limit. The motion was unanimously approved.

Mr. Lancon then begin his report on the Reconstruction of Taxiway E. He advised the board that the Pre-Construction meeting had been held and a Notice To Proceed was given for June 20, 2005. There was then a lengthy discussion on the options of a Displaced Threshold, Runway Closure, or Partial Runway Closure. The Partial Runway Closure, which is more favorable for business is, also, a more complicated and expensive process. After the discussion it was agreed that Mr. Lancon would obtain estimated cost for a Partial Runway Closure. Mr. O’Neal also asked for a summary of cost and improvement thus far on Taxiway A. This would enable the board to have a basis for comparison to costs to complete the runway. Mr. Lancon said he would have the info for the next meeting.

Mr. Lancon then presented a proposal by Fugro, Inc. for soil testing services on Taxiway E. The proposal was unanimously approved on a motion by Mr. Hall and a second by Mr. Simmons.

The next item was a request to change the date of the July board meeting. Mr. O’Neal told the board that he would be in Honduras on the regular meeting date and asked for permission to change the meeting date. A motion was made by Mr. Simmons and seconded by Mr. Dubose to move the meeting forward by one week to Thursday June 30, 2005. The motion was unanimously approved.

The final item of business was a request received from LAMA for support of House Bill No. 778 in the current legislative session. Mr. Jones read the bill summary provided by LAMA. The bill would exempt airports from some of the state bid requirements when leasing airport property. It shows that existing federal and state airport requirements insure fair and competitive practices. The present bid law requirements discourage private parties who wish to keep their development activities private. Several board members emphasized how important this bill was to this airport because of the large amount of property available for leasing. Mr. Hall made a motion for the board to go on record in strong support of House Bill No. 778 and to have that support conveyed to our legislative delegation. Mr. Pickering seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.

There being no further business Mr. Pickering made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Dubose seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.

Hollis Ray O’Neal, Chairman

Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer