PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT, PARISH OF BEAUREGARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT THE REGULAR MEETING, JULY 3, 2003.

The Beauregard Parish Airport District #1 met in Regular Session on Thursday, July 3, 2003 at 5:00 P.M. The following board members were present: Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman; Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer; John Sandlin, Wayne Hall, R.M. Simmons and Eugene Loftin. Absent was:  Karl St. Romain.  Also present were: John B. Jones, III, Airport Manager; Tim Cooper, Forestry Consultant, and Lee Lancon, Engineer.

Mr. O'Neal opened the meeting by asking Mr. Sandlin to give the invocation.

Mr. O'Neal then welcomed all those present to the July, 2003, meeting and asked if there were any amendments to the agenda.  Mr. Jones, Airport Manager, said that he would like to request one amendment which was a discussion and request to replace the exterior deck and stairs to the second floor.  There were no other amendments.  A motion was made by Mr. Pickering, seconded by Mr. Loftin to add the request as item “D” under Grounds & Maintenance and to approve the agenda as amended.  The amended agenda was unanimously approved.

Mr. O'Neal then addressed the first item of business which was approval of the minutes of the June 9, 2003 meeting and asked if there were any corrections to the minutes.  There being no corrections, a motion was made by Mr. Sandlin and seconded by Mr. Loftin to approve the minutes as written and mailed.  The motion passed unanimously.

The next item of business was to accept and open bids on the advertised pole sale.  Mr. O'Neal recognized Mr. Tim Cooper,  Forestry Consultant, and asked if any bids had been received.  Mr. Cooper replied that he had received one bid which was from Lufkin Creosoting Company, Inc.  Mr. Cooper opened and read the bid which was as follows:

     $65.00 a ton stumpage on poles selected by Lufkin Creosoting Co., Inc. and $5.00 a ton on pulpwood.

There was a short discussion during which the commissioners compared prices for pulpwood sales to prices for pole sales.  Mr. Cooper said that the bid was reasonable and recommended acceptance.  A motion was then made by Mr. Pickering and seconded by Mr. Loftin to accept the bid from Lufkin Creosoting Co., Inc.  The motion was unanimously approved.

The next item of business was a status report by the Airport Engineer on airport projects.  However, since Mr. Lancon, Engineer, was still out on the runway performing inspections, the report was moved down on the agenda.

The board then addressed Item C,  overnight ramp and hangar rental rates.  Mr. Jones told the board that under current policy there was a $10 per night fee for parking on the ramp.  In the past this fee was often waived if fuel was purchased for the aircraft.  The fee for overnight parking inside the hangar was also $10 per night and was also waived if fuel was purchased.  Mr. Jones said that he felt that there should be a difference in rates for the hangar and ramp.  He also felt that the ramp/hangar fee should be charged regardless of whether fuel was purchased or not.  Mr. Jones said that the airport offered a safe and secure place to park aircraft and that had a certain value in itself.  Mr. Hall added that the fees charged were less than were commonly charged for vehicle parking in most places.  Mr. Jones recommended that the overnight parking fee for the ramp be set at $10 per night, and the overnight parking fee inside the hangar be set at $15 per night.  There was a brief discussion after which Mr. Simmons made a motion to set the fees at $10 per night on the ramp and $15 per night inside the hangar.  Mr. Sandlin offered the second to the motion.  The motion was approved with Mr. Loftin opposing.

Mr. O'Neal then asked Mr. Jones to comment on the next item which was a discussion on replacing the exterior stairs and deck going to the second floor apartment.  Mr. Jones told the board that the stairs and porch were in poor condition and did not meet the fire and safety codes.  He requested permission to have the existing porch/stairs removed and replaced with one meeting all applicable codes.  He said that quotes had been requested but that only one had been received.  He said the replacement could be done, using treated lumber, for about $5,000.00.  Mr. O'Neal commented that the safety issue was the first priority but that appearance was also important with the high visibility at that end of the building.  He felt the replacement would improve the appearance.  There was a short discussion.  Mr. Loftin made a motion to accept the lowest quote available by July 15, even if there was only one quote received.  Mr. Sandlin seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.

Mr. O'Neal then recognized Mr. Lee Lancon, Engineering Consultant, to give an update on the planned parallel taxiway.  Mr. Lancon said that he had been in contact with Mr. Saupp, FAA Program Manager in Fort Worth.  Mr. Saupp had said that the intentions of the FAA, at this time, were to go ahead and award the grant based on estimated cost instead of bids received.  Because of that, Mr. Lancon said that he had gone ahead and prepared the grant application to be signed and submitted to the FAA.  The application will reflect project cost of $1,082,521.00.  This total would be broken down as follows:

     FAA                         $972,379.00

     State of La.                  77,102.00

     Beau. Reg. Airport      33,040.00

Mr. Lancon said that it was his impression that the board had already authorized Mr. O'Neal to sign all necessary documents for this project including the grant application.  Mr. Sandlin pointed out that this approval had been given and was reflected in the minutes of the June meeting as approved earlier in this meeting.  Therefore, no further authorization was required.

Mr. Lancon presented the drawings for the project for discussion with the board.  There was a lengthy discussion with input from the board on suggested changes to the plan.  Much of the input was based on personal knowledge of the airport features as well as experience flying into and out of the airport.  Mr. Lancon said that the information provided would be especially beneficial.

There being no further business, a motion was made by Mr. Pickering, seconded by Mr. Hall to adjourn.  The motion passed unanimously.

    

Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman

    

Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer