Commerce Park Commission Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2011
GROSSE ILE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
AIRPORT COMMERCE PARK COMMISSION
GROSSE ILE TOWNSHIP 2ND FLOOR BOARD ROOM
Tuesday February 22, 2011
REGULAR MEETING – 5:00 PM
PRESENT: Ron Moran (Chairman), Peter Kantz (Liaison), Ron Baker, Walter Stoll, Chris Mans
EXCUSED: James Weaks (Vice Chairman)
ALSO PRESENT: Derek Thiel (Airfield/Commerce Park Manager)
1. Pledge of Allegiance
2. Call to Order:
Moran called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. in the Grosse Ile Township Hall, 2nd Floor Board Room.
3. Approval of Agenda – additions/deletions:
Baker motioned to approve the amended agenda with support from Mans. All Ayes. Motion Carried.
4. Approval/Correction to Minutes -
Regular meeting of December 20, 2010, Special meeting of January 10, 2011, and Special meeting of January 24, 2011. Baker motioned to approve the meeting minutes of December 20, 2010, Special meeting of January 10, 2011, and Special meeting of January 24, 2011 as presented with support from Mans. All Ayes. Motion Carried.
5. Financial Reports:
January 2011
Thiel: The financials are still going to appear negative because of the outstanding work that has been done for across the street. This should all balance out and we will have a better view of how things will look towards the end of the year. Discusses status of past due rents. Past due rents are generally collected through payment plans. Township legal consul is used if it gets it that point.
Motion made by Kantz with support from Stoll to receive and place on file the
January 2011 financial report as submitted. All ayes. Motion carried.
6. Manager’s Report:
a. Facilities Tour
Motion to adjourn for the facilities tour by Mans with support from Kantz at 5:12PM.
Motion to reconvene the meeting at 5:46PM by Stoll with support from Kantz.
b. Tenant Interest- Hangar 1 East Side
Thiel: there is some interest in a long term option from DHS. The packet was submitted in January. We are going back and forth on the rate but we feel that it is competitive. The packet is due March 1st for resubmission.
Kantz: where are we with the FAA in regards to the usage of the building?
Thiel: The FAA requires a land release for non aviation use. This is mandated for a lease over five years. The unit is a aero-marine unit and we are looking at providing hanger space for their transient aircraft which should satisfy the FAA verbiage.
Kantz: I feel that with the expertise that is present that we can handle the project management of this project which would save us some money. We should discuss this in the near future.
7. Action Items:
a. Recommendation of Airport Engineering Services
Mans motioned that based upon a recommendation by the Airport Engineering Services Sub-Committee, the Grosse Ile Commerce Park Commission hereby recommends to the Grosse Ile Township Board the approval of C+S companies as the preferred engineering firm for Airport projects listed within Grosse Ile Airport’s approved five year capital improvement plan. Support from Baker. All ayes. Motion Carried
Moran: Grosse Ile Airport has been in process of soliciting airport engineering services since October 2010. This process involved the establishment of guidelines with MDOT for the RFQ advertisement, advertising for services, establishing a sub-committee to review and grade proposals, and the interviewing of a “short list” of candidates. The result of this process is the recommendation from the sub-committee to utilize C+S engineers as the preferred airport engineering group. The current airport engineering firm (URS) came second in voting and Mead and Hunt came in third. If this action item is acted upon, the final approval will go to the Township Board for implementation.
Al Anderson (AAC Chairman): There are two concerns that the AAC has expressed. The first is that when the airport commission was dissolved in 2004 and the Commerce Park Commission and AAC were formed. The concern is twofold. URS in 2003 and 04 was an unfortunate project. It took a lot of work to fix the mistake that never should have occurred. The second issue is with regards to the Commerce Park Commission and the AAC. The AAC advises the airport manager. The AAC does not understand why we have a committee set up on top of a committee. We need to assess this and I recommend that we all look at the rules and regulations from the township.
Moran: the engineering subcommittee was set up with two members from the AAC, two members from the Commerce Park Commission and two township employees. Not in a position to comment on Anderson's comment.
Anderson: There is a process. 99% of the engineering processes presented are aviation related. It seems logical the AAC should be the decision makers.
Stoll: Do you feel that your committee was qualified to make that decision?
Anderson: We are not chartered to make the decision.
Stoll: it would have required three groups to make the final decision. This committee had all three groups represented and the discussion went from there. That made sure things happened the way they are going to happen. Do you object to that?
Anderson: Yes. You have 2 AAC who are qualified to make the decision on aviation matters. All we can do is advise the airport manager and this Commission. We could have done that internal rather than having a committee on top of a committee.
Kantz: I understand why you didn’t want URS to be the candidate. But why did you choose who you choose?
Anderson: I choose C & S by process of elimination. They are local, they have done as many Michigan and Great Lakes airports as the others, they have a local Grosse Ile connection.
Kantz: Financial terms did not enter into the scope as these are set by the State of Michigan.
Anderson: The Township is responsible for 2.5%
Stoll: The final vote was?
Anderson: 3-2 for C&S
Thiel: I voted for URS, but I am confident in all three companies that were interviewed.
Anderson: 50% of the airports that C&S has done are GA. 15% are in Michigan. They have experience with military facilities that transitioned to GA facilities. They are based in Livonia.
b. Budget Recommendation FY 2011-2012
Baker motioned that the Grosse Ile Commerce Park Commission hereby adopts a resolution of support for the proposed Airfield/Commerce Park budget for fiscal year 2011-2012. Second from Kantz. All ayes. Motion Carried
Moran: The following is a resolution of support for the proposed fiscal year 2011-2012 Airfield/Commerce Park budget. The proposed budget will be up for approval at the Township Board’s Annual Meeting, March 28, 2011. A copy of the proposed budget is attached and percentages are listed next to individual line items in the budget to show the amount of increase or decrease in the line item from the previous fiscal year. This year the proposal is for a balanced budget without the need to draw on retained earnings. The primary difference from this years “balanced budget,” and budgets presented in 2009 and 2010 was the addition of revenue from the leasing of building 63 (for inside storage) and building 61/62 (for our temporary DHS tenant).
Thiel: Discusses the budget.
Kantz: Airfield revenue? Why is Hanger 2 tenant Kuehnel not listed with the other hanger 2 tenants?
Thiel: It had to do with a past arrangement with Horizon. We can move that with your recommendation.
Kantz: When does the cell contract start?
Thiel: It is up in the air. It has been approved and I anticipate the first of the year.
Kantz: Maintenance of vehicles is high. How does the airport courtesy car work with the new FBO?
Thiel: They take it over. Maintenance of vehicles used to be handled by a separate employee. Our one remaining employee is being pushed to other items so some of the maintenance work is outsourced.
Kantz: Bad debt is under the airfield. Can we split this under the airfield and Commerce Park? This budget does not put anything away for capital improvements. We still need to improve on it.
Thiel: We do have assets that are not leased.
c. Adoption of meeting schedule FY 2011-2012
Mans motioned that the Grosse Ile Airport Commerce Park Commission hereby adopts the following Meeting Schedule for FY 11/12. Further the Grosse Ile Airport Commerce Park Commission requests the televising of all regular Airport Commerce Park Commission meetings contingent upon room and Township staff availability. Support from Stoll. All ayes. Motion carried.
Moran: Meeting dates are held the third Monday of each month (with the exception of January and February 2012, which will be held on the following day due to a conflict with holidays). All meetings will be held at Township Hall, Second Floor Board Room, at 7:00 p.m. (unless this room is being utilized by another Township sponsored meeting or event)
Kantz: How can we improve the process of public awareness for the meetings?
Thiel: Meeting information is in three locations. The Grosse Ile website, the agenda is published in township hall at least 48 hours before, and on the township website.
8. Sub-Committee Reports:
a. Duathlon and Boat Show
Kantz: Discusses Duathalon.
Baker: Discusses boat show.
9. Discussion Items
a. Tennis Center Lease Negotiations
Thiel: Discusses tennis center lease negotiations. We received a proposal for leasing. The tenant will be responsible for utility costs.
Moran: Any discussion to continue the current agreement?
Thiel: The idea was to move away from that agreement.
Moran: So where do we stand?
Thiel: There has been back and forth. They are butting up against numbers they feel they can achieve. Not saying best and final, but it is getting more competitive.
Moran: Mr. Shade (Tennis Center Director), are you willing to extend the current arrangement?
Shade: That would be an option, but we haven’t discussed that route.
Thiel: The arrangement proposed moves us away from a management agreement.
Kantz: The time frame for a signed lease agreement has come and gone. There have been other parties interested in the building. We need to entertain those interests. The proposal presented falls 35% short. In the interim, we should keep the current arrangement going.
Mans: I disagree. I don’t remember discussing looking at other bids. Why can’t we just tweak the proposal? I don’t understand where this is coming from about outside bids.
Kantz: We are off by 35%. We should continue to work with the current management.
Mans: The tennis center is a community asset. They pay their bills. Why are we trying to run them out?
Kantz: We are not running them out. The plan was to negotiate exclusively. The offer as it stands returns nothing to the airport. This is unsustainable. As the offer stands, I would have to take this to the Township board because it is not in the best interest of the Township.
Moran: The action item is in a different direction than what the Township board wants.
Kantz: Accepting 35% less than what the finance director says is needed is what the board needs to be made aware of.
Moran: (at Thiel). Do you agree with Kantz that this proposal, if approved, would than need to go to the board for action?
Thiel: If approval of this lease is carried, and Kantz feels that the Commission is failing in its charter, than it is his responsibility to take it to the township board.
Kantz: Anybody with a financial conflict of interest needs to declare that now.
Mans: I am a member and I have contributed funds to the Tennis Center, but that is beside the fact.
Moran: I will declare that I am a member.
Stoll: I don’t care if we look at others to rent. But I feel that we have enough to accept/deny the lease.
Motion by Kantz to authorize Derek Thiel to investigate other tenants to occupy the building currently occupied by the Tennis Center. Support by Baker. Vote: Mans no, Baker aye, Stoll no, Kantz aye, Moran no. Motion fails on a vote of 3-2
Thiel: Discusses quorum vote. States that he and the Township Manager researched the guidelines of quorum vote on this issue prior to the meeting and came to the conclusion that any vote that carried less than the majority of the Commission would not be valid. A vote on this issue would require the majority of the whole Commission and not just the majority of those present at the meeting.
Motion by Mans that this lease is accepted on the terms of two, two year options with CPI. Support from Stoll. Motion has a majority 3-2 vote, but fails on quorum.
Mans: We owe it to the Tennis Center to exhaust all options before looking at others.
Moran: We should move this to the next meeting when all six members will be present as it is obvious that we will not come to agreement tonight.
b. Commerce Park Zoning Ordinances
Thiel: Discusses zoning ordinances.
Kantz: The planning commission is adding things to Commerce Park that we have not requested be added.
Thiel: We have input, but they are ultimately in charge of the island.
Kantz: We need to add this to the next meeting.
Moran: I agree.
Thiel: The planner has stated that there was a deficiency.
Stoll: I thought the restrictions on Commerce Park were from the Federal Government.
Thiel: There are some FAA restrictions, but the Township has some control.
Moran: Let’s make this an action item on the next agenda.
10. Chairman’s Report:
Thiel: DCC has recommended that downriver communities adopt similar ordinances.
Moran: The township supervisor wants us to look at this and accept responsibility. Recommendation to add this to the next agenda.
11. Public Comment:
NONE
12. Adjournment of Regular Meeting:
Motion to adjourn by Kantz with support from Stoll at 7:37PM. All Ayes. Motion Carried.
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