The Carroll County Airport Commission met last Friday, and officially welcomed new airport manager Alan Hoos.
Hoos had been hired several weeks earlier in an email vote, and commissioners confirmed that vote with another vote at the table. Chair Dave Teigen complimented Hoos extensively regarding his first few weeks on the job.
In his first Manager’s Report, Hoos said a recent inspection of the fuel system suggested some upgrades to make the system more efficient, although the system meets all requirements. Hoos asked the commissioners for direction on repairs to courtesy cars. He also updated them on efforts to repair the east gate keypad.
Under previous manager Michael Pfeifer, mowing duties had been assigned to another airport employee. Hoos and the commission will sort out what portion of the mowing duties will return to the manager. Pfeifer had reduced his pay when he gave up the mowing portion of his job.
Consulting engineer Dan Clinton said he is still working on land acquisition opportunities. Commissioners have discussed hiring a contractor to approach landowners, and Clinton has repeatedly advised them that these specialized companies can navigate the procedures of the Federal Aviation Administration. He said the airport could include the cost of the contractor in the anticipated FAA grant. However, he acknowledged that three property owners are involved in the area the airport would like to acquire. The airport could incur costs as high as $50,000 for investigations and appraisals, but if the sale does not go through, the airport could not recover those costs. He said the picture may become more clear by the July 15 meeting.
Clinton also gave commissioners an update on surfacing hangar apron areas. The contract was awarded late last year, but the specialized product requires 24 continuous hours at 60° to cure. The contractor is expected in July. Clinton said the commission can pursue a state 90/10 grant to put a seal coat on the runway and taxiway.
In other business:
- This meeting had been postponed from June 17 because early voting was held at the airport. Teigen acknowledged the inconvenience to the commission since early voting before the May primary also forced postponement of a meeting. That was a small price to pay for the exposure, he said. Many voters mentioned that they had never been to the airport before.
- A preliminary meeting with state auditors noted several areas to correct. The checking account has not been reconciled properly, with procedures for outstanding checks. The airport’s bank account sometimes exceeded the $250,000 insured limit, when grant funds were received. In such cases, the airport must receive a collateral assignment letter from the bank.
- A Fly-in was planned for June 25, although very hot weather was expected, and organizers were not sure how many visitors to expect. Future events may focus on breakfast rather than lunch, but even then, higher costs may jeopardize the airport’s ability to make a profit serving a meal. Partisan politics rarely intrude at commission meetings, but commissioner Morris Pate made a point of blaming higher food prices on “the current occupant of the White House.”
- Flight instructor Danny Hendricks said he has all the students he can handle, and added that the airport needs to find other instructors to handle the demand.