PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT, PARISH OF BEAUREGARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT REGULAR MEETING, March 4, 2004.
The Beauregard Parish Airport District Board met in Regular Session on Thursday March 4, 2004 at 5:00 P.M. The following board members were present: Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman; Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer; Wayne Hall, Karl St. Romain and R.M. Simmons. Those absent were: Eugene Loftin and John Sandlin. Also present were John B. Jones, III, Airport Manager; Carlos Archibald, Police Juror; Lee Lancon, Construction Engineer; and Jody Campbell.
Mr. O'Neal opened the meeting by giving the invocation. He then welcomed all those present to the Board of Commissioners meeting for March 2004.
Mr. O'Neal then asked if there were any amendments to the agenda. There were no amendments to the agenda requested.
Mr. O'Neal then asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. There were no corrections to the minutes and Mr. O'Neal asked for a motion to adopt the minutes. A motion was made by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Simmons to adopt the minutes as written and mailed. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. O'Neal then moved to the first item under Grounds & Maintenance which was Mr. David Brumby from Lassco concerning the conversion of the AvGas fuel system to self-service. Mr. Jones informed the board that Mr. Brumby was not able to attend but had called regarding this conversion. Mr. Jones said that Mr. Brumby had talked to three different vendors of self-service equipment. Based on the information he had and the credit cards required by the airport, there was only one supplier who could accept all the credit cards needed. The only equipment that could accept BP, AvCard, and Multi Service was applied Technology. Therefore, Mr. Brumby would be getting equipment specifications from that company. He had told Mr. Jones that he would also need to check the airports present system to see what was necessary for connecting. Since Lassco was already scheduled for meter calibration checks at the airport, they would also examine our equipment at the same time. There was no action required or taken on the project.
The next item was renewal of the lease agreement between the airport and Dumont Air, LLC. Mr. Jones told the board that the Dumont Air hangar lease was for one half of the new hangar. He said the lease amount was $400.00 per month that the current lease would expire on April 7, 2004. Mr. Pickering asked how that rental had been determined. Mr. Jones said that when the hangar was built it was originally leased to Amerisafe for $800 per month. After Amerisafe sold their aircraft the lease was changed to Dumont Air for the same amount. At the time that the Army AN-2 was moved into the hangar the lease amount was reduced to $400 month. Mr. Hall asked it the rental was comparable to what would be received for the same space at other airports. Mr. O'Neal relied that the same rental at another airport would undoubtly be more. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Hall to increase the new lease amount to $450.00 per month. Mr. Pickering offered the second and the motion was unanimously approved.
The next item of discussion was a report by Mr. Lancon on airport projects. Mr. O'Neal recognized Mr. Lancon and asked for his report. Mr. Lancon told the board that there had been a pre-construction conference earlier in the day on the Taxiway Project. The starting date for the project was agreed on and will be May 1, 2004. Mr. Lancon said that one of the items that came up during the conference was a request from the contractor, Apeck Construction, for permission to store materials and bill for those materials prior to the start-up date. Mr. Lancon said he was not sure of the legality of this and would have to check before giving permission.
Mr. Lancon also said that our contacts and communications with the FAA indicated that permission was forthcoming that would add alternate #1 to the project. Since that final word had not been received yet, he suggested that the board pass a motion to approve the Change Order conditioned on actual receipt of the approval from the FAA. Mr. Pickering then made the motion to approve the Change Order if and when approval was received from the FAA. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hall and passed unanimously.
Mr. O'Neal then asked what had been decided regarding the Hold Short Markings at the junction of 14/32 with 18/36. Mr. Lancon replied that according to all the information he had seen the markings were correct as they were. Mr. Jones then mentioned that in his talks with Mr. Chaisson, Safety & Compliance officer, the Aviation Division still was convinced that the marking should not be there. As a result the airport was being shown as having non-standard markings. Mr. Lancon said he would continue to work on this issue.
Mr. Lancon then told the board that a proposal for testing services from Fugro-South had been provided to Mr. Jones. Mr. Lancon said that Fugro South provided construction materials testing service. The services were necessary for federal participation and had to be done by a certified firm. Fugro-South had an office in Texas that was certified. These services were required and necessary to verify the tests being done by the contractor. Mr. Lancon said that there was a $25,000 budget for this service included in the project and recommended approval.
After a short discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Simmons, seconded by Mr. St. Romain to approve the proposal from Fugro-South. The motion was approved unanimously.
Mr. O'Neal then recognized and introduced Mr. Jody Campbell. Mr. Campbell told the board that he was working as part of a larger effort concerning Memorial Day weekend - May 29, 30 and 31, 2004. Mr. Campbell told the board that the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. would be dedicated on that weekend to honor all who had served in World War II. Realizing that all who served cannot be in Washington, companion ceremonies and events are being planned in various locations throughout the nation. Mr. Campbell said that he was hoping to organize and promote a companion date of remembrance here in DeRidder using the airport and possible the WMCC - both facilities having been born as a direct result of World War II. Mr. Campbell briefed the board on the possible activities including a static aircraft display and movies. He said that this could result in a very large attendance since he was not aware of any other similar ceremonies in this area. After a lengthy discussion a motion was made by Mr. Simmons to actively support this project. The motion was seconded by Mr. St. Romain and unanimously approved.
Mr. Jones then reminded all those present of the FAA Partnership Conference in Ft. Worth on March 10th and 11th. He asked to be advised if anyone planned to attend.
There being no further business, Mr. Pickering, made a motion to adjourn. Mr. St. Romain offered the second and the motion was unanimously approved.
Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman
Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer