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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-2026 Fairhope Airport Authority Meeting MinutesMinutes of Fairhope Airport Authority April 7, 2026 The Fairhope Airport Authority met April 7, 2026, at the FBO Building at the Fairhope Airport at 16797 Edward Laird Way. Present: Pel Henry, Chairman, Will Bruce, Don Ward, Len Strickland, and Susana Freeman. Jack Burrell An� Ronnie Holyfield were absent. Also present was Dave Friedel, Airport Manager, and special guest Jimmy Conyers, City Council President. The Minutes of the March 1 o,. 2026, Regular Meeting were considered and approved with a motion by Don Ward, second by Len Strickland and unanimously passed. Airport Manager's Report: Dave Fridel stated that the traffic count for March was 5,9 12 compared to March 2025 which was 6,349. Dave said that they are still waiting for final reflective striping for the Runway and Taxiway Alpha. fhey have had it scheduled twice but had to cancel because of the dewpoint. Dave reported that the PAPI Lights are installed but will be of until FAA flight check. Dave reported that the Marines will have Military Jumpers back April 10th & 11th and they are expecting CH-47s and C-130 aircraft .. Dave stated that he has talked to Josh Myrick, Attorney, about the eviction of the aircraft owned by Mr James in T-Hangar 5. Josh stated that the Authority needs to consider authorizing an Eviction Lawsuit in Baldwin County District Court to evict him as the T-Hangar lease does not expressly authorize the Authority to remove a tenant's aircraft from a T-Hangar even if the tenant has defaulted on the lease. The order of eviction from the court would allow the Authority to remove the aircraft without liability for damage either in moving the aircraft or after it is exposed to the elements. Len Strickland made a motion to have Josh Myrick move forward with the lawsuit for eviction in Baldwin County District Court, second by Don Ward and unanimously passed. Flightline First Report: Ethan McDonald reported that the War Birds event last month went well with 25 to 30 planes each day. He also said that there was 16,000 gallons of fuel used during the event. Ethan stated that the fuel sales for March were 9,118.2 gallons of AV-gas, 48,563.7 gallons of Jet-A for a total of 57,681.9 gallons. Ethan said that the fuel prices have more than doubled in the past five weeks. He also said that the fuel prices he is charging now are $8.25 for AV-gas and $8.99 for Jet-A. Ethan requested that the hours for the FBO be changed to 7:00am to 8:00pm for summer and 7:00am to 7:00pm for winter. Any afterhours fueling is scheduled ahead of time and they are charged and after hours fee. Ethan said the he is looking for a new General Manager to replace him here and he has been interviewing applicants and has more interviews this week. He will still be coming back for the monthly Airport Authority meetings and the monthly breakfast. He said that there were about thirty people that showed up for the breakfast today. Len Strickland made a motion to change the FBO hours during Daylight Savings time to 7:00am to 8:00pm and Standard time hours to 7:00am to 7:00pm, second by Susana Freeman and unanimously passed. Aspire Aviation Report: Lewis Lofton reported that they had 75 hours of Flight Instruction, 155 hours Ground & Flight Instruction, and three Solo Flights. They had a total of $22,000.00 in charges and $20,000.00 in payments. Engineer's Report: Luke Hicks presented a summary report regarding the Replacement of the AWOS. The project consists of the removal and replacement of the existing AWOS P/11I system. He went over the project scope, timeline, and the Final Cost Estimate. The lowest quote received was from DBT Transportation Services for $102,943.00. The engineering administrative cost will be $9,215.77 and the total cost to be submitted with the grant application is $112,158.77. The FAA 95% match will be $106,550.83, the ALDOT 2.5% match will be $2,803.97 and the Airport Authority 2.5% match will be $2,803.97. Luke presented two resolutions for the Authority to sign. One is to accept the proposal from Volkert for construction administration for the grant, and the second resolution is approval to submit the grant application. A resolution will also be given to the City Council to approve the Mayor, Sherry Sullivan , to sign the grant application so that Luke can submit it before the May 15th deadline. Luke stated that the City Council will also need to approve the grant application for the taxiway reimbursement at the next City Council Meeting. Don Ward made a motion to approve the grant application resolution as presented, second by Will Bruce and unanimously passed. Don Ward made a motion to approve Volkert's proposal for grant construction administration services, second by Susana Freeman and unanimously passed. Treasurer's Report: Don Ward presented and went over the Revenue and Expense report for March. He stated that everything is on track. Legal Report: No Report. Board Discussion/Approval Requests: No Report: Other Business: No Report: Comments from the Advisory Council Members: Larry Anderson stated that he is encouraged about the new AWOS and says it has been a real problem for a Long time. He Like the new runway surface and the new Lights also. Comments from the General Public: David Roberts, who is building a hangar on Lot P 27B, ask if he could give a personal guarantee instead of getting a bond on his hangar project. Pel Henry and Don Ward both responded to David and stated that they W<?uld need to speak with the Airport Authority's Attorney, Josh Myrick, before they would be able to give him an answer for that. Dave Freidel stated that the person with the Letter of Intent for Lot P-45 in the southwest corner would like to install a Box Hangar rather than a T-Hangar in that location. Both Dave and Volkert have talked to him and stated that is not the intent for what they want to have for that part of the Airport. It would change the Airport layout plan and the taxi requirements for that location and then the original plan would be lost as others may also want to install Box Hangars instead of T-Hangars. Luke Hicks stated that he would draw in the Hangar in a couple of locations to see how it might fit in with the plan so that the Authority could decide if they would like to allow it. Don Ward stated that the parcel on the West Side that is intended to become an Industrial Park has gotten the EPA study finished by Volkert about a month ago. The City has received a grant for about three and one half million dollars to develop the Industrial Park. The bond issue the Airport has on the property will mature in 2028 and the Airport will continue to service the bond until maturity. At that time, the City will pay off the bond, and the Airport will deed the property to the City. The bond also included some property that is inside the Airport fence so beginning in 2029 the Airport will pay the City about $50,000.00 to $60,000.00 a year for the next twenty years. The Attorneys are drafting the paperwork to accomplish everything, and they may have something to present to the Authority by the meeting next month. The attorneys are also investigating if the land can be turned over to the City sooner so that they can start developing the industrial park. A motion was made by Will Bruce to adjourn the meeting, second by Don Ward and unanimously passed. There bein o tu the b siness, the meeting was adjourned at 6:08PM.