PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT, PARISH OF BEAUREGARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT REGULAR MEETING, APRIL 3, 2003.
The Beauregard Parish Airport District met in Regular Session on Thursday, April 3, 2002 at 5:00 P.M. The following Board Members were present: Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman; Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer; Wayne Hall, R.M. Simmons and Eugene Loftin. Those absent were: John Sandlin and Karl St. Romain. Also present were: John B. Jones, III, Airport Manager; Mike Nothnagel, Police Juror; and Lee Lancon, Airport Engineer.
The meeting was duly convened by Mr. O'Neal, Chairman.
The invocation was given by Mr. Loftin.
Mr. O'Neal opened the meeting and welcomed all those present.
Mr.O'Neal then asked if there were any amendments to the agenda. Mr. Jones requested that three items be added to the agenda. The first item was to discuss the Louisiana Airport Managers Association (LAMA) Annual Meeting. The next item was to discuss the sale of surplus fence posts, and the third was to review the airport liability for recreational activity on the property. There were no other amendments requested. Mr. Pickering made a motion to accept the additions to the agenda as follows:
LAMA Conference Discussion - Item A under Public Relations
Surplus Fence Post Sale - Item D under Grounds and Maintenance.
Recreational Liability - Item E under Grounds and Maintenance.
The first item of business was to approve the minutes of the March 6, 2004 Regular Board Meeting. Mr. O'Neal asked if there were any corrections or changes to the minutes. There were none. Mr. Pickering made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted. Mr. Simmons offered the second and the motion passed unanimously.
The next item of business was a project report. Mr. O'Neal recognized the Airport Engineering Consultant, Mr. Lancon, and asked him to brief the board on the projects.
Mr. Lancon informed the board that the Fence Re-Location project had been completed. A final inspection had been performed on March 26, 2003, by Mr. Lancon, Mr. O'Neal, and Mr. Jones. Mr. Lancon recommended that the board approve and authorize Mr. O'Neal to sign a Certificate of Substantial Completion. A motion was made by Mr. Simmons and seconded by Mr. Loftin to approve the certificate and provide authorization to Mr. O'Neal. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Lancon told the board members that all work related to the Parallel Taxiway was on schedule. At this particular time we are waiting for a notice to proceed from the FAA. He said that a GeoTech Survey would be required to provide information regarding soil testing, soil classification, and soil strength. He recommended that the board give Mr. O'Neal and/or Mr. Jones authority to execute an agreement for this service. Mr. Simmons asked if there was any requirement for bids for this service. Mr. Lancon replied that this is considered professional services so bids are not required. Mr. Loftin then made a motion to authorize the agreement with a GeoTech Survey firm as recommended by Mr. Lancon. Mr. Hall offered the second and the motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Jones then advised the board that he had requested an Independent Cost Analysis on the Parallel Taxiway project as requested by the board. He said that the analysis had been completed and returned to the airport. The conclusion was favorable to the Engineering Service Agreement (ESA) provided by Lancon Engineers. Mr. Pickering then made a motion to authorize Mr. O'Neal to sign on Engineering Services Agreement with Lancon Engineers, Inc. as soon as federal/state funds were available. The motion was seconded by Mr. Simmons and passed unanimously.
Mr. Jones then briefly gave the status of the current state projects. He said that a Notice To Proceed had been issued for installation of the ODAL lighting system. The contractor would begin work on April 14, 2003. He said that the new NDB had arrived and was in the hangar awaiting installation instructions.
The next item was a report on land development. Mr. O'Neal asked Mr. Jones if he would report on his findings regarding more efficient land development procedures. Mr. Jones told the board that he had talked to Mr. Phil Jones at the DOTD Aviation Division, personnel at Houma/Terrebonne Airport, personnel at Chennault Airport, and economic development coordinators for Southwest Louisiana. Mr. Jones said that the purpose of all the conversations was to determine how to be able to lease property without delays created by the state bid laws. Mr. Jones reviewed the talks with the various parties contacted. In summary he said that, under current state law, there simply were not any ways to avoid the established requirements pertaining to leasing public property. The bid laws have to be followed. There was a short discussion after which Mr. Jones recommended that the airport might consider having certain parcels set aside and surveyed so that when a lease was being considered the minimum time would be required for finalizing the agreement. No action was taken.
The next item was a rental agreement with TraxEnergy. Mr. Jones told the board that the company had notified him that they wished to rent five (5) acres of land, as previously discussed, on Old Airport Road. The company had received a letter from DEQ stating that a permit was not required. The rental terms were for a month-to-month lease, $500 per month, with a $2,000 deposit which was refundable if the property was left as found. Mr. Jones said the agreement was being prepared and would be mailed when ready, based on the previous board approval. No board action was being requested by Mr. Jones.
Mr. O'Neal then asked Mr. Jones to discuss the surplus fence post left after the fence relocation project. Mr. Jones said that there were 172 fence post in the hangar that were available for sale. There were another 400+ posts out in the field with concrete still on them. He recommended that the board place the posts in the Police Jury Auction to be held on April 12, 2003. After a short discussion a motion was made by Mr. Pickering to sell the surplus post and any other items selected by the airport manager at the auction. Mr. Loftin offered the second and the motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Jones then reported on the liability of the airport regarding recreational activity at the airport. He said that he had contacted the airport attorney as requested. Mr. Lestage, Airport Attorney, had sent a reply which was in each members folder. The opinion of Mr. Lestage was that state statutes protected public bodies from liability when their property was used for recreational purposes. Liability would not be an issue unless there was an intentional act by an agent or employee at the airport.
The last item of business was the annual Airport Managers Conference. Mr. Jones told the board that the annual meeting was scheduled for May 11-14, 2003 in Monroe. He emphasized how important it was when board members attended and requested that anyone who could go to consider going and let him know within a week so reservation could be made. Mr. O'Neal also mentioned how important board attendance is at these functions and explained how much more attention and recognition the airport had received since the board had began to attend more meetings.
There being no further business before the board Mr. Pickering made a motion, seconded by Mr. Simmons to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously.
Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman
Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer