PROCEEDINGS OF THE AIRPORT DISTRICT, PARISH OF BEAUREGARD, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT REGULAR MEETING. MAY 6, 2004.
The Beauregard Parish Airport District Board met in Regular Session on Thursday, May 6, 2004 at 5:00 P.M. The following board members were present: Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman; Elton Pickering, Sec./Treas.; Wayne Hall, Karl St. Romain, and Eugene Loftin. Those absent were: R.M. Simmons. Also present were: John B. Jones, III, Airport Manager; Lee Lancon, Consultant Engineer; Rev. Bruce Crosby, Mike Harper, Police Juror; and Jody Campbell.
Mr. O'Neal ask Rev. Bruce Crosby to open the meeting with the invocation. Mr. Crosby was attending as a guest of Mr. Pickering.
Mr. O'Neal then welcomed all those present to the May meeting and asked if there were any amendments to the agenda.
Mr. Jones, Airport Manager, requested the addition of the Annual Audit Compliance Resolution as item 5 ½ on the agenda. There were no other amendment requests. A motion was made by Mr. Pickering and seconded by Mr. Loftin to amend the agenda as requested. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. O'Neal then asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes. There were none. A motion was then made by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Pickering to approve the minutes as printed and mailed. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. O'Neal then asked Mr. Jones to discuss HB 1616 which was currently in the legislative process. Mr. Jones then explained that HB 1616 concerned leasing and rental of airport property. Under current state laws all leasing and/or rental of airport property or facilities had to be in accordance with state bid law. Therefore, regardless of the circumstance involved, all leases had to be advertised for 30 days as required by state statute. This could often be a problem to airports seeking economic development -especially when there was timelines required. The bill currently being considered would no longer require an airport to adhere to the state bid law if fair market value was obtained for the lease. The fair market value determination is obtained through appraisals and comparable sales. Mr. Jones said that if the board wished to support the legislation there would need to be a motion and he would communicate the boards support to the legislative delegation. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Mr. Loftin and seconded by Mr. Pickering to support HB 1616 and write each legislator urging support of the legislation. The motion passed unanimously.
The next item was the Audit Compliance Questionnaire Resolution. Mr. Jones explained that each year an Audit Compliance Questionnaire must be competed and adopted as a resolution and then provided to the auditor. He said the questionnaire was required of all state agencies / subdivisions and, basically, verified that state requirements had been met regarding financial and compliance accountability. Upon a motion by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mr. Loftin the compliance resolution was offered for approval. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. O'Neal then recognized Mr. Lee Lancon, Consultant Engineer to discuss the airport projects currently underway or planned. Mr. Lancon first talked about the project “Construction of Taxiway A&B”. He told the board members that this project was currently underway. Because of the soil condition and amount of water the progress was very slow. However, the contractor has mobilized and is currently clearing areas involved in the project. Mr. Lancon said he had been informed by the contractor that the required gate to Graybow Road was to be installed next week.
Mr. Lancon then turned to the newer project “Taxiway E”. He said that this project had been set up to be done through two grants instead of one. Due to financial factors and limited grant funds the first project would be the Design and Engineering Phase for Taxiway E. Then the actual construction would be under a separate grant.
He said that the airport had now been advised to accelerate the first phase so that, if, funding was available the airport could go out for bids on construction by July 6, 2004. This would only be done if so advised by the funding source - the FAA.
Therefore, he had prepared the required Engineering Service Agreement between the airport and Lancon Engineering for Phase I - Design & Engineering for Taxiway E, a motion was made by Mr. Pickering and seconded by Mr. Loftin to accept the Engineering Service Agreement and authorize the board chairman to sign the agreement. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Lancon then discussed the Grant Application for Design Phase I & II for Construction of Taxiway E. Mr. Loftin made a motion seconded by Mr. Pickering to authorize the chairman to sign the Grant Application and any and all other documents pertaining to the Design Phase I & II of the Taxiway E project. The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Lancon then presented a contract service agreement between Fugro South and the airport. He explained that this was for the soil boring and testing services for Taxiway E. There was a brief discussion after which a motion for approval was made by Mr. Hall. Mr. Loftin offered a second and the motion was unanimously approved.
There was then a brief discussion on the actual construction phase of Taxiway E. Mr. Lancon explained that the construction portion of the project would require a separate grant when funding did become available. A motion was then made by Mr. Loftin to approve and authorize the chairman to sign any and all documents pertaining to the Construction Phase of Taxiway E including the application and grant agreement. The second was made by Mr. Hall and unanimously approved.
The next item on the agenda was renewal of the lease between the airport and the Beauregard Parish Airport Sportsman's Assn. Mr. Jones explained that the current agreement would expire in June. Mr. Harper, Police Juror, asked if the agreement took into consideration the proposed nature trail. Mr. Jones replied that the trail was one of the areas that were specifically excluded from the agreement. A motion was made by Mr. Hall to renew the agreement for another year under the same terms and conditions. The second was made by Mr. Loftin and the motion was unanimously approved.
The last item of business was an update report by Mr. Jody Campbell on the WWII Memorial program scheduled for May 29, 2004. Mr. Campbell briefed the board members on progress to date his coordination with law enforcement and known participants. The actual dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be shown here by using a rear projection large screen. He also reported that the Leesville EAA Chapter will provide short aircraft rides to WWII Veterans. No action was required from the board.
There being no further business Mr. Pickering made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. St. Romain and passed unanimously.
Hollis Ray O'Neal, Chairman
Elton Pickering, Secretary/Treasurer