03-30-2017 APM+HUTCHINSON AIRPORT COMMISSION
March 30, 2017
REGULAR MEETING
Hutchinson Municipal Airport
1700 Butler Field Dr SW
Hutchinson, MN 55350
Airport Commission Agenda
Members present: Cheryl Dooley, Steve Hahn, Doug McGraw, Ross Peterson, Dave Skaar, Mayor Gary Forcier
Members absent: none
Others Present: John Olson, City of Hutchinson; Tom Ashenfelter, ASI; Tim Miller, tenant
Meeting called to order at 5:32 p.m. There was a quorum of members present.
1. Approve January 19, 2017 and February 16, 2017 Minutes
Motion made by Hahn, second by Dooley to approve January 19, 2017 minutes. Unanimous approval.
Motion made by Dooley, second by Forcier to approve February 16, 2017 minutes. Unanimous approval.
2. Airport Commission
Ross Peterson (to 09/17, second full-term) Steve Hahn (to 09/17, first partial term)
Dave Skaar (to 09/18, first full-term) Cheryl Dooley (to 09/19, first full-term)
Doug McGraw (to 09/21, first full-term) Gary Forcier (Council representative)
Review meeting schedules & find interest forms for serving on the Airport Commission at www.ci.hutchinson.mn.us
3. Hangars
All hangars full. 11 people on the waiting list (some of which are waiting for enclosed).
4. Finance/Budget
a) Airport financial statements — Reports attached for year-end 2016, which showed a small surplus,
meeting the goal of having airport operations be self-sustaining and to not use general property taxes
for ongoing operation costs.
5. Operational Issues (Open Proiects)
a) Consultant Selection — Advertisements for Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) were in the
Hutchinson Leader on February 8 & February 12. Potential consultants were also contacted via email.
Closing date for responses was March 9, 2017. SOQ received were forwarded to Commissioners, for
their review at the March meeting. During discussion, the work done by Bolton-Menk on the master
plan and the award winning work on the runway, taxiway and apron were acknowledged. It was noted
that FAA requires that independent fee estimates for larger projects be done to ensure consulting fees
remain reasonable. Olson was asked to identify consultant costs for recent projects. A motion was
made by Dooley, second by McGraw to recommend appointing Bolton-Menk as the airport consultant
for a 5 -year period. Unanimous approval.
b) MnDOT Aeronautics Needs Meeting Followup — At the needs meeting MnDOT Aeronautics staff
pointed out some things that we may want to follow up on, including:
• Review of 5010 inspection report —All items on the existing 5010 report have been
addressed.
• Identification of private airstrips whose based aircraft could be associated with us. —
Commission members were encouraged to idents potential private strips and notify those
people to idents Hutchinson as their base.
• Zoning changes for zones A, B and possibly C. Zoning for the crosswind runway. — It was
noted that if the desire is to construct a crosswind runway in the future, it would be good to
begin the zoning process soon to protect the property. In addition, with changes by MnDOT
Aeronautics in zoning, it may be worthwhile to review current zones A, B and C.
• Review of minimum standards using boiler plate available from the state. — It would be
worthwhile to review minimum standards, perhaps later this fall or early in the winter.
• NOTAM procedures —A review of NOTAMprocedures should be taken, perhaps
concurrently with emergency managementplanning would be a good time.
• Emergency management planning, to include potentially inviting MnDOT to the table when
this is discussed. — This effort will be done in the near future, and Rick Braunig from
MnDOT Aeronautics will be invited to assist in this effort. Once that is done, Sheri Police
and Fire departments will be invited to review the plan and to visit the airport with their
staff to familiarize themselves with airport functions.
• Review agricultural spraying operations. — Prior to the busy season this summer, a review of
agricultural spraying operations will be done using the AirTAP manual.
• Potential change in aircraft fuel (no lead) — Over the years, there have been discussions
about removing lead from aircraft fuel for some time. There are some efforts being made in
this regard, so it appears inevitable that fuel will change. It is unknown, however, how close
this time is, and how well new fuels will blend with existing 100LL fuels.
• Drone operations — Drone operators are required to communicate with local airports if they
intend to operate within S miles of the airport. To ensure good communication, the City has
established a webpage that is easily accessed where drone pilots can enter information
about their intended flights. There were some basic potential conflicts with drones
discussed, including: 1) regular traffic (for maintenance operations) that takes place year-
round; 2) agricultural operations which can take place any time, but are most busy during
the period July 15 to September 15 of each year; and, 3) helicopter emergency medical
services at the hospital that often also utilize the airport for refueling.
• Hutchinson Health helipad — Some discussion was held that it may be beneficial to zone
areas surrounding the helipad at Hutchinson Health to ensure safe ingress/egress routes for
helicopter emergency medical services are maintained.
c) 2017 AIP Project Update (Seal coat - Taxiway, apron) — The Airport was notified that an 80%/20%
MnDOT Aeronautics grant up to $60,000 may be available for a seal coat on the taxiway and apron,
depending upon final costs and available City funds. At this point, we are assuming a project of
$41,392.40, 80% MnDOT = $33,113.92, 20% City = $8,278.48. Engineering staff from Bolton-Menk
has helped prepare some basic documents for price quotes. Two contractors submitted price quotes,
with Fahrner Asphalt Sealers with the low price. The product will be FAA standard P-608 emulsified
asphalt seal coat on Taxiway A and the apron. The runway will be done at a later date after the initial
3 -year period, as necessitated for federal funding.
d) Review Letter to US Senators Klobuchar & Franken and Congressman Peterson —Commissioners
reviewed and approved Olson to send a letter regarding privatization of air traffic infrastructure.
e) Fuel system upgrade — From time to time, usually every 10 years or so, we've needed to upgrade our
fuel system. It's coming close to the time again. One option identified would be to utilize newer
cloud -based technology to avoid having to upgrade computers. The kiosk for both pumps would be
replaced with newer technology, which would allow the City view fuel records and enhance audits for
fuel revenues, as the information would be available online. Fuel systems are typically partially
funded by MnDOT (50%/50%). Olson contacted MnDOT Aeronautics about a potential grant for this
piece, but in any case, the desire was to proceed with getting additional information, including costs,
for review at a future meeting.
6. Other Discussions & New Business
a) Tim Miller, tenant, requested that Olson find out whether the lease and fees for the private hangar was
transferred from Tom Parker to his name.
b) Minnesota Airports Conference 04/12/17-04/14/17, Mankato, MN. Commissioners can let Olson know if
they'd like to register for a day ($125) or the whole conference ($225). Information can be found at
hilp://www. air tap.umn.edu/events/airportsconference/2017/. Olson will be driving down, for sure on the
12"' and 13th.
At 6:35, a motion to adjourn was made by Hahn, second by Forcier. Unanimous approval.
NEXT MEETING: Regularly scheduled meeting April 20, 2017