Okaloosa County BOCC — April 7, 2015 — ACAC Minutes - February 24 2015 — reading text

MINUTES AIRPORT COMPATIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (ACAC) MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2015 10:00 AM DESTIN CITY HALL BOARDROOM 1. Call To Order: Vice Chair Pati Stapleton called the meeting to order on Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in the Destin City Hall Boardroom. 2. Roll Call: Citv of Destin Representatives City of Destin Staff Jan Barr City Clerk Rey Bailey Pati Stapleton Planning Manager Ashley Grana Tony Diez Okaloosa County Representatives Okaloosa County Staff Present Jim Link Airports Director Sunil Harman Armand 1zzo Deputy Director of Airports Mike Stenson Absent William Phillips, Okaloosa County Larry Greene, Eglin AFB 3. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman The committee agreed to defer election of new chairman and vice-chairman to the next meeting 4. New Business: A. Status of Contracts — Destin Jet/Vertol Systems Okaloosa County Airports Director Sunil Harman provided the following statement relating to the County’s negotiations with Destin Jet/Vertol. e Destin Jet has desire to acquire ownership in Regal Air through a negotiated settlement agreement. e Proposed settlement agreement was presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) as an agenda item in October 2014. There were certain concessions in that agreement including increasing revenues for the Department of Airport through the fuel flowage fees that Destin Jet pays, but also some concessions with regards to Vertol and their operations; specifically the MI-8 Helicopters they use for training purposes. Destin Jet has advised the County they could no longer proceed with the negotiated settlement agreement and could no longer negotiate on behalf of Vertol citing a clear separation between Destin Jet and Vertol. Vertol had previously conceded to the following conditions during initial negotiations: o No rotorcraft or rotary-wing (helicopter) operations (engine running) on the Destin Jet’s north leasehold ramp between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 8:00 am., 7 days a week o Relocate all helicopter operations at all times to the south ramp within five years. Vertol withdrew from the negotiations because they felt these concessions were excessive and unnecessary and were burdensome in their ability to conduct business; and that Destin Jet should not have presented these conditions as negotiation items. BOCC did not act on the proposed negotiated settlement agreement and instead sent it back for the County Attorney to work with the attorneys of the involved parties and finalize the agreement in legal documents. Destin Jet has agreed to increase the fuel flowage fees at Destin Jet by 50 percent from 5 cents a gallon to 7.5 cents a gallon. Regal Air of Destin, which Destin Jet wanted to assume, will go from 6 cents a gallon to 7.5 cents a gallon; which is a 25 percent increase. This would result in approximately $175, 000 additional dollars in the course of 5 years in revenue. Reasons for the negotiations were FAA opined this was a permissible activity as it did not create economic discrimination and there was no exclusivity guaranteed to a single operator because they operate one FBO. It is becoming more common and more prevalent because of mergers and acquisitions of FBOs. It would enable Destin Jet to operate both locations as FBOs under the same brand so there is no misunderstanding from a consumer standpoint that there are competing FBOs. The County Attorney felt the County was vulnerable in litigation because they already have a lease. The County has negotiated the best agreement they could with Destin Jet, and it would be presented to BOCC next month. FAA essentially has remained silent on the issue because they believe this is a lease administration matter and not a regulatory or grant-compliance matter. The Department of Airport has had no communications with Vertol. Negotiations between the County Attorney and Vertol’s attorney have reached an impasse. Vertol contends it is grand-fathered for it has been at the airport for over a decade and there are no requirements that could be imposed upon it with respect to environmental studies or other matters because it has legitimate aeronautical activities and the concessions that were originally offered are no longer on the table. Page 2 of 7 Committee member Barr noted there had been some allegation of deceit involved in Vertol being at the airport in the first place that could change the entire scenario. Mr. Harman stated he cannot respond to this allegation and that it would be impossible for him to allege deception on. the part of Vertol as he has no knowledge of it; adding it has been in operation at the airport for over a decade. Committee member Link asked what factors lead to the airport asking for an increase in fuel flowage fees. Mr. Harman replied that the revenue to operate the airport is becoming an issue — operations have declined and fuel sales have correspondingly declined. All the airports operate as independent profit center; and that they do not subsidize one airport for the other. He continued that in order for the Destin Airport not to become a liability, from the airline’s perspective, they would need to adjust the revenue stream of the airport. He added that one of the noise mitigation proposals being considered was to construct a noise wall in the most impacted area; and that some of the revenues from the negotiated agreement would be used for this purpose. He also added that once the air traffic control tower becomes operational, they would start putting in very specific operational procedures in place to start minimizing the noise. B. ACAC Membership Discussion Committee member Barr noted that they still do not have anybody from Eglin Air Force Base attending the meetings. Mr. Ashley Grana informed the committee that Mr. Larry Greene was appointed as the Eglin representative; and that documents for this meeting have been sent to him. Committee member Barr stated that having a representative from Eglin present at these meetings is very important for providing information on what is going on in the military that impacts the airport; such as information relating to military helicopters. Mr. Harman noted there is an individual that represents the airport advisory committee for Destin/Fort Walton Beach Airport (formerly Northwest Florida Regional Airport) and a civilian employee at Eglin who is very knowledgeable about the area. He added they could ask him to participate in these meetings as a substitute for the Eglin representative if this committee so desires. ‘Committee member Link noted there have been changes made to the inter-local agreement and voted upon by this committee two years ago. The Destin City Clerk detailed the recommended changes to the interlocal agreement that was approved by this committee in July 2010. He also noted the proposed amendments have previously been approved by the Destin City Council; however, it is unknown if they have been approved by the County. Page 3 of 7 The vice-chair asked for a motion to bring the amended interlocal agreement before the County Commission for their consideration. Hearing none, the committee moves on to the next item on the agenda. C. Review and Recommendation of Ordinance 15-03-LC, which amends the Land Development Code by amending Section 7.15.08. Noise zones established to include the 2013 Official Noise Exposure Map from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 150 Noise Compatibility Study. Mr. Grana explained this ordinance would amend the Land Development code to integrate the current federal recommended noise zone mitigation standards into the code, and change/update the noise zone map and associated text changes to reflect the current standards. He added this ordinance would need further amendment to reflect the recent airport name change to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. Committee member Barr noted that the current map was not an FAR Part150 Study map and suggests removing the red highlights on some of the parcel as shown on the map as it could be intimidating to some people not familiar with the study and will negatively impact the ability of the homeowners to sell their properties. Mr. Grana stated the main purpose of the map was to show incompatible zone locations for permitting purposes, indicating further restrictions and to meet certain requirements for construction; such as meeting the noise mitigation standards. He added it should not be a problem removing the red highlights on these particular parcels. He also added he would bring the ordinance back at the next meeting. D. Operations and Fleet Data (Master Record Data) Mr. Mike Stenson, Deputy Director of Okaloosa County Airports, discussed the recent renaming of the Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. He stated that based on the very extensive marketing research study conducted by Okaloosa County Airports, it was determined that the previous name was vague and confusing with neighboring airports. The new name would simplify matters for out of town travelers and promote more travel to the area. A survey that was conducted resulted in an overwhelming support to rename the airport Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport; and that the renaming of the airport was recently approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Stenson noted that upon approval of the name change, they have updated the Master Record Data to indicate the number of based aircraft at the Destin Airport to 23, which has been submitted to the FAA. E. Airport Operations (VSC and Military Operations) There was a question as to whether or not VSC and military operations data are captured anywhere; and if they could be made available to this committee. Page 4 of 7 According to Mr. Harman, there is no way to capture these operational data; adding the only way to do so would be to either introduce active control or radar. He also stated even though they operate civilian services out of a military airport, they do not have access to Eglin Air Force Base’s radar data for security reasons. He added, there is no way to capture these data until the air traffic control tower is constructed. F. FAR Part 150 Records of Approval The committee posed the following questions: e How many have been funded — anywhere — since 2005/2006, and for how much? e What has been projected for approval in 20157 ¢ What can Destin do to compete most effectively for grants? Mr. Harman stated that only a small number of Florida airports have been funded and most of which are in South Florida. He also stated these are commercial air service airports with capacities needed; and that the funds are really focused on acquiring properties and changing the land use, and introducing aeronautical use in those areas. He continued there have been no general aviation airports funded other than Naples Airport, which has not had a Part 150 Noise Study since the late 70s. He added it would cost $80,000 to $100,000 to do another study for Destin and that it would not really do much for the City. G. Environmental Studies — Vertol Contracts - Freedom of Information Act Committee member Barr noted that she submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on September 29, 2014 to the US Army asking for any environmental impact statement, analysis or studies for the Vertol Systems Company and did not receive any kind of response at all. Mr. Harman stated all the County did as part of the negotiation was reviewed all the Department of Defense contracts Vertol has received. He added regardless of who submits the FOIA request to the military, there are no assurances they will be able to obtain the documents because of security reasons. H. National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems There was a question as to what is included in the $22,633,333 for Destin’s “2015-2019 Development Estimate.” Mr. Harman stated this was just a capital improvement program estimate;