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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BEAVER COUNTY, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH, 2022
[1. CALL TO ORDER]
BUFORD COUNTY AIRPORT'S MEETING.UM, PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF THE SPEEDING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, POSTED AND DISTRIBUTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
UH, AND IF YOU ALL GET BACK TO MY RIGHT PAGE HERE, UH, FUEL ALL, UH, PLEASE STAND AND JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
BY NOW, YOU'VE ALL RECEIVED A COPY OF TODAY'S AGENDA.ANY COMMENTS, ADDITIONS CHANGES TO THE AGENDA, HEARING NONE.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, TODAY'S AGENDA.
OKAY, THEN I'LL GIVE YOU THE SECOND ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY WIPING HAND OR SAYING I, IF YOU HAVEN'T TURNED ON YOUR VIDEO, ANY OPPOSED, NAY HEARING ON THE AGENDA OF TODAY'S MEETING HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JANUARY 20, 2021]
BY NOW, EVERYBODY'S RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES FROM ELENA.UM, ANY COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, OR ADDITION TO TODAY'S MINUTES OR LAST MONTH'S MINUTES HEARING NONE.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH, TOM, WE GOT MOTION SOMEBODY ELSE'S SECOND, PLEASE OR NOT TO THE SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, SIGNIFY BY HAND OR SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSED NICK? THAT WAS, UH, I WAS IN FAVOR OF GREG .
YEAH, I HAVEN'T DONE THE, UH, THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
WE NOW COME TO A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
WE HAVE PUBLIC AVAILABLE TODAY AS HE'S STILL IN DAVID HERE TODAY.
AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, UH, PLEASE DO SO AT THIS TIME.
UH, JOHN MEETING NOW COMES TO YOU.
WE'VE UH, WE'VE GOT, UM, TOWN, COUNCILMAN STANFORD ON THE LINE TO NO HEARING NONE.
MY APOLOGIES, BUT I DIDN'T SEE IT.
WELL, HE'LL GET ANOTHER SHOT AT THE END.
ANYWAY, HOWARD SAID TO NICK OF SOMETHING AND JOHN, BACK
[7. DIRECTOR’S REPORT]
TO YOU PLEASE.I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN NOW.
SHOULD BE GETTING A POWERPOINT SHOWING UP HERE IN A SECOND.
JOHN IS TALKING IF EVERYBODY CAN JUST MOVE THE MICROPHONE, PLEASE.
CAN EVERYBODY SEE HOWARD'S NEW G SIX 50 JUST TO LET THE DEPOSIT.
LET'S FLIP THROUGH THE REPORT.
WE'RE GOING TO START OUT ON THE ARW FIRST AND WHAT I'M NOT GOING TO SHOW TODAY ARE ALL THE STATS THAT YOU GOT IN YOUR, YOUR BACKUP INFORMATION.
SO, YOU KNOW WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE.
IF ANYBODY'S GOT A QUESTION OR COMMENT ON THE NUMBERS, WE CAN CERTAINLY GO BACK TO THAT.
UM, I WANT TO TRY TO KEEP THIS RELATIVELY SHORT AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDES.
SO THE FIRST THING TO TALK ABOUT IS, UM, OVER A DAY, W IS GOING TO BE OUR, UM, TERMINAL RENOVATION PROJECT.
SO THOSE OF YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE AIRPORT ARE PROBABLY USED TO SEEING THE, UH, THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT.
THAT'S WHAT THE, UH, THE AIRPORT LOOKED LIKE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS AND THE TERMINAL.
AND, UH, IT'S KIND OF SHAPING UP TO LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO THAT'S AN ACTUAL PROGRESS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE LOOK LIKE TODAY, UNLESS WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, SOME ADDITIONS DONE TODAY.
SO IT'S MOVING ALONG ANOTHER ANGLE, UM, KIND OF THE SAME AREA, BUT YOU CAN SEE
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WHERE THE OLD, UH, THE KITCHENETTE AREA WAS BACK BEHIND THAT WALL.YOU WENT THROUGH KIND OF TWO DOORWAYS TO GET TO THE, UH, THE KITCHEN AREA.
UM, AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE CURRENTLY.
SHE CAN KIND OF SEE THAT SAME AREA COMPLETELY OPENED UP.
WE'VE GOT A VISIBILITY FROM THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK INTO THAT KITCHEN, THAT AREA, UM, OPENED EVERYTHING UP, TOOK OUT ANY, UM, KIND OF NON LOAD BEARING WALLS AND JUST REALLY, UH, OPENED THE TERMINAL UP BRAND NEW WINDOWS THROUGHOUT TOO.
I DON'T THINK I'VE GOT A GREAT SHOT OF THE WINDOWS, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE OLD STYLE WINDOWS IN THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT AND EVERYTHING HAS BEEN UPGRADED.
SO THOSE OLD STYLE WINDOWS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT WERE TRIPLE PANE GLASS, BUT THEY WERE JUST, THEY WERE TOUCHING EACH OTHER.
SO THERE WAS, THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO INSULATION IN FACT, IN, IN THE WINDOWS.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS IN OUR FINANCE SIDE, JUST KIND OF FOR FUN, BUT SERIOUSLY AS WELL, WE'RE GOING TO TRACK ENERGY COSTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF GAUGE THE LEVEL OF, OF IMPROVEMENTS IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY THAT WE'LL HAVE JUST BY VIRTUE OF THIS, THIS RELATIVELY SMALL RENOVATION PRODUCT.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE SICK ENOUGH AGAIN.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A HUGE PIECE OF EXCITEMENT OVER AT AIR W UM, SO DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE NUMBERS OR ANYTHING FROM ARW OR ANYTHING ELSE? I WOULD JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT A CHANCE TO SEE THOSE IMAGES.
I'M NOT HEARING FROM ANYBODY, SO WE'RE GOING TO LOAD HER ON HERE.
WE'LL STRETCH OUT MY SCREEN SO I CAN TRY AND SEE PEOPLE AS I DO SOME WORK IN THREE DIFFERENT SCREENS HERE.
UM, OUR, UH, SHE KIND OF OUR SENIOR FIREFIGHTER, UM, ESAU BROWN RETIRED LAST WEEK.
SO HE DID 22 YEARS IN THE MARINE CORPS AS A CRASH FIRE RESCUE GUY.
THEN HE TRANSITIONED TO THE AIRPORT AND HE DID 28 YEARS AT THE AIRPORT.
SO HE'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, AND HE'S FINALLY GETTING A CHANCE TO, UM, I WON'T SAY RASH BECAUSE HE NEVER RESTS, BUT HE'S GOING TO GO HOME AND DO ALL THE OTHER PRO BONO STUFF HE DOES.
AND YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DRIVING THE HILTON THAT A COUPLE OF DAYS A WEEK.
THE EAST SIDE, HE'S BEEN WITH US A LONG TIME AND DID AN AWESOME JOB.
SO I'M SAD TO LOSE HIM, BUT WE'VE GOT SOME NEW NEW GUYS COMING IN.
WE'VE GOT THREE NEW HIRES COMING IN, UM, TWO NEXT WEEK.
AND THEN I THINK ONE NEW WEEK, OR MAYBE TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT.
SO WE'LL HAVE SOME NEW FOLKS OVER THERE AND THEY'LL BE EXCITING TO GET THEM WORKED INTO THE MIX.
ALL RIGHT, THAT IS THE APRIL EXPANSION PROJECT.
IT IS ONGOING AND ASPHALT IS BEING INSTALLED AS WE SIT HERE AND MEET TODAY.
UM, ONCE THAT ASPHALT IS INSTALLED, THEN VERY SHORTLY THEREAFTER, UH, WE'LL BE PUTTING, UM, CONCRETE ON TOP OF THAT.
YOU CAN KIND OF SEE IN THE LOWER LEFT WHERE THOSE BARRICADES ARE.
YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE SECTION KIND OF LOOKS LIKE.
SO ASPHALT IS WHAT WE'RE USING AS THE BASE.
UH, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT IS GOING TO BE CONCRETE.
SO HAVE A NICE SUBSTANTIAL APRON OUT THERE.
GOOD TO SEE THE PROGRESS, OUR OWN BRIAN, THERESA, WHO I, I DON'T SEE IT LET'S SEE JOINED LATE.
I DON'T SEE HIM ON HERE, BUT HE, UM, WAS AWARDED THE WRIGHT BROTHERS MASTER PILOT AWARD.
AND, UM, THE PICTURE OF THE TOP OF THE SCREEN IS BRIAN'S FIRST FLIGHT LESSON THAT HE TOOK WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, JUST A LITTLE BIT YOUNGER.
AND THEN HE'S STANDING THERE WITH HIS, A CIRRUS SR 22 TURBO THAT, UM, THEY LIKED TO FLY AROUND HILTON HEAD AREA, BUT, UM, HE WAS AWARDED LAST WEEK AT THE SOUTH CAROLINA AVIATION ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE.
AND ALONG WITH HIS AWARD, YOUR, UH, OUR FORMER COLLEAGUE DAN HEARN WAS ALSO RECOGNIZED AS THE CONFERENCE AND HE WAS THE FAST TEAM MEMBER OF THE YEAR.
SO DAN HAS ORGANIZED OR KIND OF TAKEN OVER LEADERSHIP OF THE FAST TEAM FOR BUFORD, UM, HAS BEEN PRETTY ACTIVE.
HE DOES A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS AND EDUCATION SESSIONS, AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM AT THE CONFERENCE AS WELL.
SO GOOD STUFF FOR DAN CONGRATS AND MOVE RIGHT ON.
I'VE GOT A FEW NEWS NUGGETS FOR YOU.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
SO I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING THE SCREEN AND JUMP INTO SOME NEWS BRIEF.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT AN AIR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT WHO, WITH WHOM WE WORK ON MARKETING ISSUES, AS WELL AS OUR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND EACH WEEK OR SO, THEY SEND OUT KIND OF A, A PRETTY EXHAUSTIVE NEWS REVIEW OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRY.
UM, AND SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY, VERY, UM, GERMANE TO OUR BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY AT HOME, THAT ISLAND IS AN INTERVIEW THAT WAS WITH THE POINTS GUY AND THE CEO OF THE REGIONAL AIRLINE
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ASSOCIATION.UM, AND, AND THAT KIND OF THE, THE TOPIC OF THAT WAS HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH AIR SERVICE IS GOING TO BE LOST THIS YEAR BY AIRPORTS THAT HAVE REGIONAL CARRIERS.
YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT 66% OF ALL COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS IN THE US ARE SERVED ONLY BY REGIONAL AIRLINES.
MAIN LINES ONLY SERVE 34% OF THE COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS IN THE UNITED STATES.
SO MOST OF THE ONES THAT YOU THINK YOU THINK YOU'RE FLYING MAINLINE, YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE FLYING A REGIONAL CARRIER.
UM, SO THAT THE REGIONAL AIRLINES ASSOCIATION, THIS IS KIND OF A BLEAK MESSAGE.
SO I'M NOT TRYING TO BE, UM, DONNY DOWNER HERE, BUT, UH, IT'S NOT, NOT GREAT NEWS.
AND I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHY AS I GO THROUGH AND HIT SOME OF THESE POINTS, BUT THE RA IS SAYING THERE'S A BLEAK PICTURE FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON AIR SERVICE FROM REGIONAL CARRIERS.
UM, AND A QUOTE FROM THE CEO IS I THINK, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO RIGHT NOW, MORE COMMUNITIES ARE GONNA LOSE AIR SERVICE.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE AT RISK OF THAT BECAUSE WE'RE BIGGER THAN A LOT OF THE SMALL COMMUNITIES.
AND WE'VE GOT SOME ESTABLISHED AIR SERVICE, BUT LIKE I TELL FOLKS IN OUR ADMINISTRATION WITH OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, DO I KNOW YOU'RE ON THE LINE? IS IT JUST BECAUSE WE'VE GOT AIR SERVICE AND WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AIR SERVICE TOMORROW.
AIRLINES ARE VERY, VERY FICKLE.
TOM, YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT, UM, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT TELL YOU THAT THEY'RE LEAVING.
SO WHEN WE GO OUT AND WE GO AFTER A SMALL COMMUNITY OR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS, WELL, WE ARE LOOKING AT FUNDING OPTIONS FOR TERMINALS.
WE NEED EVERYBODY BEHIND US THE WHOLE TIME WHEN WE GO OUT FOR MORE MARKETING DOLLARS, WE LOOK WHEN WE APPLY FOR A TAX DOLLARS, WHEN PEOPLE SAY, WHY DO YOU NEED ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, $150,000 TO MARKET? WE HAVE GOT TO DO OUR PART AS A COMMUNITY TO KEEP THE AIR SERVICE HERE.
GETTING AIR SERVICE IS ONE THING.
THAT'S THE EASY PART, KEEPING YOUR SERVICE IS THE HARD PART.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU MAKE THE MONEY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S PRETTY EASY TO, TO HIT A HOME RUN EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, BUT YOU STILL MIGHT HAVE A 1 67 BATTING AVERAGE, AND THAT'S NOT GOING TO GET YOU IN THE HALL OF FAME.
SO WE GOT TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS.
UM, THE CAUSES FOR THE, THE CONCERN AT THE REGIONAL AIRLINE LEVEL, IS IT BECAUSE OF COVID-19? THERE WERE SO MANY EARLY RETIREMENT WHEN THEY WERE OFFERED UP, NOT JUST FROM THE REGIONAL SIDE, BUT FROM THE MAIN LINE SIDE.
SO WHEN FOLKS RETIRED FROM THE MAIN LINE SIDE, FOLKS WHO STAYED AT THE REGIONAL SIDE, SAID, I'M GOING TO SLIDE INTO A MAIN LINE JOB, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DID.
UM, SO THAT, UM, THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE 13% OF ALL PILOTS IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, YOU HIT MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE, 13% OF ALL THE PILOTS.
UM, SO THE PILOT HIRING CYCLE IS ON STEROIDS AS THEY DESCRIBE.
AND THEN ADD TO THAT WHEN YOU TRAIN PILOTS WHO CHECKED PILOTS OFF, BUT PILOTS.
SO YOU TAKE IN PILOTS, OUT OF THE COCKPIT TO SIGN OFF THE PILOTS WHO ARE TRAINING TO GET IN THE COCKPIT.
SO NOT ONLY ARE YOU TRAINING THESE GUYS LIKE CRAZY, YOU HAVE TO PULL PILOTS OUT TO GET THESE GUYS CERTIFIED AND CHECKED OUT.
SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A, A PROBLEM THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO EXACERBATE UNTIL IT PLAYS OUT.
UM, THE CEO IS ESTIMATED IT'S GOING TO TAKE BETWEEN FOUR AND FIVE YEARS FOR REGIONAL AIRLINES RETURN TO THEIR PRE PANDEMIC NUMBER OF THE CARTRIDGE.
SO JUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE WILL VARY.
WE WILL SEE FEWER FLIGHTS THIS SUMMER THAN WE DID LAST SUMMER, WHICH ISN'T AN ENTIRELY BAD THING BECAUSE IT WAS, IT WAS SOMEWHAT CHAOTIC ON A FEW DAYS LAST SUMMER.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE HAVE MORE OF A BETTER LOAD FACTOR THIS SUMMER ANYWAY.
SO I'M HOPING THE NUMBERS AREN'T, AREN'T TERRIBLE, BUT EXPECT TO SEE A DROP IN EMPLOYMENTS AND DEPLOYMENTS.
I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE, UH, READY FOR.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A REAL BENCHMARK YEAR YET AT HILTON, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD DEBT SERVICE FOR, THIS'LL BE OUR, OUR FOURTH SEASON OF DEBT SERVICE.
SO WE'RE STILL IN THE INFANCY STAGES OF DEBT SERVICE.
AND WE REALLY, WE HAVEN'T HAD TWO YEARS UNDER THE SAME YET, SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO REALLY ESTABLISH A GOOD BENCHMARK.
SO THIS ONE'S GOING TO SWING, I THINK, A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN LAST YEAR.
UM, SO JUST BE READY FOR THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE, THERE'S GOING TO BE OKAY.
AND LIKE THE CEO SAID OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, IT'S GOING TO FIND SOME TYPE OF EQUILIBRIUM.
UM, BUT I CONTINUE PERSONALLY TO ENCOURAGE ANYBODY WHO SHOWS INTEREST IN TAKING FLIGHT LESSONS, ESPECIALLY YOUNG KIDS, UH, MAYBE THEY'RE IN CIVIL AIR PATROL OR THINGS LIKE THAT TO, TO CONTINUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE GOING TO BE GREAT JOBS OUT THERE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU GET IN THE COCKPIT OR YOU BECOME AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER OR IN AVIATION, THE INDUSTRY IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO NEED FOLKS.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT YOU GUYS CAN ADVOCATE ON THAT TOO, UH, THERE'S DEFINITELY A NEED.
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UM, THAT'S KIND OF THE BAD NEWS, BUT I LIKE TO LOOK AT A SILVER LINING BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE CHANCES FOR US TO GROW AND AS W AS LONG AS WE CAN MARK IT AND REMEMBER, WE'RE, WE'RE IN A GREAT PLACE, MAN, HEAL THAT ISLAND IS THE NUMBER ONE ISLAND AGAIN.SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING FOR US.
AND WE JUST NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR ON WHAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH? OKAY.
R ON JOHN, UH, TALKING ABOUT THE REGIONALS WITH A DELTA COMING IN ON MARCH 7TH, AGAIN, WHAT ARE THEIR DESTINATIONS GOING TO BE, UM, RIGHT NOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT JUST ATLANTA JOHN, ON THE, UH, THE NEW PIT THAT HILTON HAD, THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON, WHEN THAT GETS DONE, THE CONCRETE POURED AND FINISHED, HOW MANY AIRCRAFT CAN WE PARK BY THE TERMINAL SIMULTANEOUSLY? WELL, THAT THAT'LL BE THE NEW TERMINAL AND THERE'LL BE THREE.
WE SIMULTANEOUSLY, WHEN A BED IS DONE IN THE TERMINALS DONE YES.
IN THE INTERIM BEFORE THE TERMINAL GETS DONE, BUT THE PAD GETS DONE, SAME ANSWER THREE, THREE AIRCRAFT, THREE AIRCRAFT ON THE EXISTING APRON, NOT THE NEW APRON, THE NEW APRON IS GOING TO SERVE AS A CONSTRUCTION LAY DOWN AREA FOR THE TERMINAL BUILDING.
UM, THERE MAY BE SOME ROOM AVAILABLE CLOSER TO THE AIR SIDE, BUT WE HAVEN'T QUANTIFIED THAT YET FOR RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE'RE TELLING FOLKS IS FOR THE MOST PART, EXPECT TO HAVE THAT UNUSABLE UNTIL THE TERMINAL IS OPEN.
THEN CAN YOU GIVE US A, JUST A BRIEF UPDATE ON TERMINAL EXPANSION? YEP.
UM, COUPLE OF JUST REAL QUICK ONES.
UM, STEVE AND PAUL AND I ALL WENT TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA AVIATION ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE LAST WEEK THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
I THINK THAT OUR STATE ASSOCIATION PUTS ON A BETTER CONFERENCE THAN SOME OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS PUT ON.
SO I REALLY ENJOY GOING TO THIS ONE AND IT'S PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR STEVE AND PAUL.
UM, BECAUSE MANY TIMES I ABANDONED THEM.
I HAVE OTHER THINGS I'VE GOT TO DO DURING THE DAY BECAUSE I TYPICALLY HAVE ALL MY CONSULTANTS THERE.
SO I GRABBED THEM AND WE SNEAK OFF AND GO DO SOME WORK, BUT PAUL AND STEVE ARE ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND MAKE SOME REALLY GOOD CONNECTIONS AND MEET WITH OTHER AIRPORT STAFF FROM THE STATE.
UM, SO IT'S A VERY REWARDING CONFERENCE.
UM, AND WE HAD ON THURSDAY, WE HAD A GOOD ROUND TABLE WITH ALL THE COMMERCIAL AIRPORT DIRECTORS IN THE STATE.
UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, THE FUNDING THAT AERONAUTICS HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOR COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS.
AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, THE ONLY TWO COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS WHO'VE RECEIVED FUNDING SUPPORT FROM AERONAUTICS, FROM STATE OR AN ONYX IS HILTON HEAD AND, UM, FORUMS UNTIL RECENTLY THIS PAST YEAR, UM, THE SENATE BILL WAS PASSED AS YOU REMEMBER FROM THE SUMMERTIME.
AND WHAT THAT DID WAS OPEN UP SOME FUNDING FOR ALL SIX COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORTS.
SO THE FUNDING FORMULA HAS CHANGED, AND WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THAT NOW, BUT THE NEXT ITEM YOU ALL SAW ON THE EMAIL THAT WENT OUT, I THINK FRIDAY MORNING, UM, WAS A 50,000,001 TIME FUNDING THAT'S BEING REQUESTED AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND THAT 50 MILLION WOULD BE SPREAD BETWEEN THE SIX COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DAY THEY WERE VOTING.
I THINK THERE WERE TWO VOTES THIS WEEK.
I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A STATUS REPORT YET, BUT, UM, IT LOOKED LIKE EVERYTHING WAS, WAS VERY, VERY POSITIVE ON THAT.
I HOPE THAT SOME OF YOU WERE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO OUR DELEGATION AND SUPPORT THAT.
UM, THE REASON THAT'S SO IMPORTANT IS OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH AND TO THE SOUTH NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA ARE HEAVILY FUNDING.
THEIR COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS, GEORGIA IS GOING TO BE SOMEWHERE IN THE BALLPARK OF 80 TO A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS GOING TO THEIR AIRPORTS.
THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE HARTSFIELD.
SO THE NEXT LARGEST AIRPORT THAT'S GOING TO DRINK THAT FUNDING IS ABOUT 40 MILES FROM US.
SO AGAIN, ADVOCACY FUNDING, IF YOU THINK IN A NEW TERMINAL HERE IS NOT IMPORTANT, YOU'RE WRONG BECAUSE SAVANNAH'S ABOUT TO GET A TON OF STATE FUNDING.
SO WE NEED TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO GET SOME FUNDING HERE.
UM, AND NORTH CAROLINA IS I THINK SEEING ABOUT 75 MILLION THAT GOES TO THEIR COMMERCIAL AIRPORTS.
SO OUR STATE HAS GOT TO COMPETE WITH THAT.
SO, UM, I ASKED YOU TO JUST STAY IN TOUCH WITH OUR DELEGATION, SHANNON AND BILL ARE THE TWO WHO ARE ON WAYS AND MEANS, AND THEN OF COURSE, TOM IS ON SENATE FINANCE.
SO WHEN THIS MOVES TO SENATE FINANCE TO TOM DAVIS IS GOING TO BE KEY ON THAT.
[00:20:01]
UM, AS FAR AS THE TURMOIL GOES, HOWARD, UM, WE ARE, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH COUNTY ADMINISTRATION.UM, STU HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP ON THIS ONE TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE TO MOVE QUICKLY.
THE FAA HAS DEFINED A SCHEDULE FOR US BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING TO ISSUE THE SECOND $10 MILLION GRANT TO US IN THE LATE SUMMER OR EARLY FALL, OR AT LEAST GET THAT EARMARKED, SO TO SPEAK FOR US.
UM, THAT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THAT.
UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO COMPLETE, UM, IN ORDER TO GET THAT GRANT.
ONE OF THOSE IS BIDDING THE PROJECT AND HAVING A BONIFIED BIDS.
SO THAT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE BIDDING WITHIN, WITHIN MONTHS.
IT'S NOT GOING TO BE TOO MANY MONTHS.
IT'S DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO BE A YEAR.
IT'LL BE SOMETIME, I'LL SAY WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS EASILY THAT WE BID THAT PROBABLY SOONER.
UH, WHEN I GET A DATE, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT DATE, BUT, UH, THAT'S GOING TO MOVE ON PRETTY QUICKLY.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH COUNCIL AND WORK WITH ADMINISTRATION, WITH ADMINISTRATION FIRST TO PUT A PROPOSAL TOGETHER, TO TAKE THE COUNCIL.
UH, BUT AS WE PUT THAT TOGETHER, WE'RE REALLY GOING TO NEED TO LEAN ON YOU AS BOARD MEMBERS, UM, AND PROBABLY TO PUT TOGETHER A UNIFIED VOICE, SOME A MESSAGE THAT NEEDS TO GO TO COUNTY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT THIS.
SO, UM, PROBABLY NEED ONE PERSON ON THE BOARD AND MAYBE TAKE THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT ISSUE.
I'LL HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU AND PROVIDE THE DATA POINTS, BUT I THINK IT'D BE GOOD.
UM, FOR COUNCIL TO HEAR FROM THE AIRPORT'S BOARD ON HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS, WHETHER THEY SHOW UP IN PERSON OR WHETHER YOU DELIVER A, YOU KNOW, A LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT.
I THINK THAT'S, IT'S USUALLY IMPORTANT THAT, UH, THE G FOLKS ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF THE TERMINAL PROJECT, UH, ALONG THOSE LINES, I'LL BE GOING BACK UP TO THE STATE HOUSE NEXT WEEK, SOUTH CAROLINA AVIATION ASSOCIATION SPONSORED THE LEGISLATIVE DAY EACH YEAR AND IS NEXT WEDNESDAY.
SO I'LL BE GOING UP THERE AND HANDING OUT MY LITTLE, UH, INFORMATION CARDS ON THE TERMINAL PROJECT AND GOING FISHING FOR MILLIONS AGAIN.
SO IF ANYBODY KNOWS ANYBODY UP THERE, I NEED TO TALK TO OUTSIDE OF OUR DELEGATION, LET ME KNOW I'VE GOT THEM COVERED.
UM, BUT IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO LOOK OUT FOR ME OR ME, LOOK OUT FOR THEM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, BUT I'LL BE UP THERE ALL DAY NEXT WEDNESDAY.
AND THEN ALSO ON TERMINAL FUNDING, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THAT AS PART OF THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION.
UM, THERE'S $5 BILLION OUT THERE FOR AIRPORT TERMINALS AND THEN AIRPORT OWNED AIRCRAFT CONTROL TOWERS.
THAT'S A COMPETITIVE PROGRAM, NOT UNLIKE THE SECOND $10 MILLION THAT WE WON FOR THE TERMINAL.
UM, AND THERE'S FOR OUR SIZE AIRPORT.
UM, THERE IS ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY FOR FIVE YEARS, THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR TERMINALS AND TOWERS.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA APPLY FOR THAT.
IT'S A REAL SHORT FUSE IS DUE IN MARCH.
SO WE'RE WORKING HARD ON THAT ALREADY.
UM, IT IS, IT IS A COMPETITIVE PROGRAM, LIKE I SAID, UM, I THINK WE SET UP PRETTY WELL FOR IT BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO BE SLANTED TOWARDS, UM, UPGRADES AND IMPROVEMENTS AS OPPOSED TO STRICTLY NEW TERMINALS AND AIRFIELDS.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'RE STANDING IN GOOD SHAPE FOR THAT, BUT WE'LL BE WORKING FEVEROUSLY ON THAT TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME FUNDING THERE.
SO THERE ARE SOURCES OF FUNDING OUT THERE, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, IN ORDER TO BID THE PROJECT, WE'RE GOING TO NEED THE COUNTY TO BOND IT.
UM, THAT'S BECAUSE WE JUST SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO WAIT ON ALL THIS OTHER FUNDING TO COME IN BEFORE THE FAA TIMELINE EXPIRES.
SO IT'S A $10 MILLION ISSUE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET ALL THIS IN PLACE AND GET THESE BONDS ISSUED.
SO, UM, THAT IS MY PLEA FOR ADVOCACY FROM THE BOARD TODAY IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED, LIKE I SAID, A UNIFIED VOICE COMING FROM Y'ALL TO, UH, ADVOCATE THE COUNTY COUNCIL ONCE WE GET THAT PROPOSAL PUT TOGETHER.
SO HOWARD, I'M HAPPY TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOU IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
BE GLAD TO WORK WITH JOHN ON THAT.
AND STILL, IF YOU CAN JUST HANG ON FOR A MINUTE UNTIL WE GET TO THE CLOSE OF THE BUSINESS AND I PROMISE WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU, UM, OR ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO STEP IN AND HELP AT THE COUNTY LEVEL.
JOHN, YOU AND I WILL DEAL WITH IT.
AND ALSO, JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW, I'LL, I'LL BE FILLING HIS HEAD WITH EVERYTHING THAT I CAN DO SO SHE CAN TAKE IT UP TO THE AERONAUTICS COMMISSION WHEN SHE GOES UP THERE TO NATE.
UM, AND I'M SURE THERE'S PROBABLY ONLY SO MUCH YOU CAN SAY ABOUT YOUR HOME AIRPORT, BUT, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SET YOU UP.
THAT'S ALL I'VE GOTTEN WAS CHAIRMAN.
UH, ANY BOARD MEMBER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR JOHN AT ANYTHING HE'S JUST REVIEWED? NOPE.
HEARING NEITHER BOARD MEMBERS, ANY, ANY, ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS? UH, YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE REVIEWED AT THIS TIME.
[00:25:01]
HERE WE NOW WE'LL MOVE DOWN TO NEW BUSINESS AND[Items 10 & 11]
JOHN IS, HAVE COME, UH, COME RIGHT BACK TO YOU AGAIN.UM, THE FIRST ONE HOPEFULLY SAW IT IN THE BACKUP INFORMATION.
THERE'S A WORK AUTHORIZATION FOR TALBOT RIGHT IN ELLINGTON.
AND THIS WAS ACTUALLY DID WORK, CONTINUE WORKING WITH THEIR FINANCIAL SUB-CONSULTANT WITH HIM.
WE'VE WORKED IN THE PAST TO PUT TOGETHER OUR AIRLINE PERMITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THE NEXT PHASE OF WORK IS TO ASSIST WITH SOME OF THE AIRPORT TERMINAL FINANCE ANALYSIS, AND THEN TRANSLATE THAT INTO AIRLINE NEGOTIATIONS.
AS WE'VE PROBABLY DISCUSSED IN THE PAST, IT'S PRETTY COMMON THAT A NEW TERMINAL AND AIRPORT IS, IS FUNDED, UM, IN PART BY THE AIRLINES WHO USE THAT TERMINAL.
SO THIS FINANCIAL CONSULTANT WILL WORK ON THOSE AIRLINE NEGOTIATIONS AS OUR LEAD.
THIS THAT'S WHAT THEY DO FOR A LIVING.
UH, AND THAT'S WHAT THIS WORK AUTHORIZATION PROVIDES FOR.
JOHN, WE WANT TO MOVE DOWN AND DO YOU NEED SOME VOTES TODAY ON THE AMENDMENT AND THE A, A C A S D P GRANT, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH.
SO WE'LL GET A VOTE ON EACH ONE OF THOSE.
I CAN GO AHEAD AND DESCRIBE THE SKYZONE GRANT IF YOU'D LIKE AS WELL.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, BOTH OF THESE ITEMS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY A PUBLIC FACILITIES COMMITTEE OF COUNTY COUNCIL, BUT SINCE WE'RE KIND OF OUT OF SEQUENCE, AS FAR AS THE COUNTER GOES, I DO ALWAYS LIKE TO BRING THESE TO THE BOARD AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT YOU'RE HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM AND VOTE ON THEM AS WELL.
SO THE GRANT IS KIND OF WHAT I ALLUDED TO BEFORE ABOUT GOING AFTER MARKETING MONEY.
THIS IS A GRANT THAT, THAT COMES OUT IT'S, UM, UH, ADMINISTERED BY USDA T UM, THIS YEAR THERE'S ACTUALLY MORE MONEY IN THE POT, WHICH IS GOOD.
WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE, UH, THE GRANT LAST YEAR.
UM, WE HAD A DEBRIEF WITH THE OT AND THEY LET US KNOW THAT THEY SIMPLY RAN OUT OF FUNDS.
SO OUR GRANT APPLICATION LAST YEAR WAS, UM, RANKED VERY, VERY HIGH.
AND THEY SAID, HAD FUNDS, YOU KNOW, HAD THEY HAD ENOUGH FUNDS AND WE WOULD HAVE BEEN AWARDED LAST YEAR.
SO WE'RE ENCOURAGED TO PUT TOGETHER A VERY SIMILAR APPLICATION TO REAPPLY THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING, LOOKING FOR BETWEEN 450 TO $500,000 WORTH OF FUNDS THAT WILL BE USED FOR MARKETING JUST AS I DESCRIBED BEFORE.
SO KEEPING PEOPLE IN THOSE INBOUND CITIES, AS BIG CITIES, WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, PHILADELPHIA, DALLAS, THOSE PLACES WHERE A LOT OF FOLKS COME FROM NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE THERE'S NONSTOP SERVICE DIRECTLY TO THE ISLAND.
SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT, UM, WE'LL HAVE SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY.
BUY-IN, I'M WORKING WITH, UH, BILL AT THE CHAMBER AND HE'S GOT A GROUP TOGETHER OF, OF RESORTS AND OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS WHO DEPEND ON TOURISM.
AND SO THE DLT LOOKS AT THESE APPLICATIONS AND THEY WANT TO SEE, UM, MANY STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO JOINED IN.
LET'S SAY, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN SUPPORT AS, AS MATCHING PLEDGES.
WELL, TWO PEOPLE OR TWO ENTITIES PLEDGING $50,000 IS, IS LESS GOOD AS A, UH, AS A REVIEW ITEM WITH VOT AS 25, WHO ARE GOING TO OFFER UP 4,000 A PIECE, THEY WANT TO SEE A MASS OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO PUSH ON THAT WITH BILL AT THE CHAMBER.
IF ANYBODY HAS OCCASION TO TALK TO BILL AND CHECK OUT HOW THAT'S GOING, HE PROBABLY GETS TIRED OF HEARING FROM ME.
UM, SO WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT, BUT ANYBODY WHO BENEFITS FROM TOURISM, IT ALWAYS GETS, PUTS ON, PUT ON THE RESORT.
SO I'M, I KNOW THEY'RE THE BIG GUYS, BUT SOMETIMES YOU FEEL BADLY BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ASKING THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THIS MONEY IS PART OF THE PASS THROUGH PROGRAM.
SO IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE TOURISM PASS THROUGH, UM, PROGRAM THAT THE CHAMBER MANAGES FOR THE RESORTS AND THESE DIFFERENT ENTITIES, IT'LL JUST COME OUT OF THERE.
SO IT'S NOT A SEA PAWS WRITING US A CHECK.
IT'S NOT THE OMNI WRITING US A CHECK.
IT WOULD BE COMING THROUGH THEIR PASS THROUGH DOLLARS THAT ARE ALREADY COLLECTED ON EACH ROOM NIGHT AND THAT, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF THE RESORTS AND ALL THOSE ENTITIES NODDING THEIR HEAD AND SAYING THEIR RENT.
AND JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, THAT WE PLAN ON APPLYING FOR THAT.
MAY I ASK HIM MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I ASK A QUESTION, PLEASE, JOHN, I WILL ADMIT THAT I READ THROUGH ALL THESE THINGS LAST NIGHT.
I WILL ALSO CONFESS I DON'T THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND IT.
I DO HAVE QUESTION THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELEVANT TO THIS POINT, AND THAT IS THE DISCUSSION ABOUT PFCS.
DO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPACT THE LEVEL OF THE PFCS? AND IF SO, HOW COULD WE BENEFIT FROM THAT? OR DID I MISREAD OR MISUNDERSTAND?
[00:30:02]
AND I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU READ THERE, JIM, BUT RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NOT INABILITY TO IMPACT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PFC.WE'RE, WE'RE MAXED OUT ON THAT.
W WE COLLECT THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWABLE BY CONGRESS, AND THAT HAS TO BE CHANGED BY CONGRESS.
IT'S NOT BEEN CHANGED SINCE 2000.
SO FOR THE LAST 22 YEARS, WE'VE BEEN STUCK WITH $4 AND 50 CENTS PER PASSENGER.
SO, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE WORKED ON ON THE CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL FOR YEARS.
IT HASN'T CHANGED BECAUSE YOUR LINE OPPOSE IT.
SO, UM, IT'S A TOUGH, TOUGH HILL TO GET UP THERE, BUT IF WE HAD IT, IT'S, IT'S THE HUE THAT'S MONEY THAT CAN BE USED TO, UH, ASSIST WITH THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE DO AT THE AIRPORT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR JOHN? ALRIGHT, HERE WE, THEN JOHN WILL, WE'LL MOVE DOWN THEN TO THE VOTE ON THE TWO ACTION ITEMS THAT ARE LISTED ON THE AGENDA AND LAST CHANCE TO GO AROUND.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON EITHER ONE OF THOSE ACTION ITEMS? ALL RIGHT.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO IMPROVE, TO APPROVE THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND AIRPORT WORK AUTHORIZATION 2 1 1 9 DASH 1803 AMENDMENT TO, UM, THE EMOTION FROM A BOARD MEMBER, PLEASE.
JIM WILL GIVE YOU A SECOND IF THAT'S OKAY.
ALL IN FAVOR, SIGNIFY BY WAVING YOUR HAND OR SAYING AYE.
VERY KNOWN THAT MOTION PASSES, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SCA SDP GRANT.
THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND AIRPORT NEED A BOARD MEMBER TO MAKE A MOTION.
UH, ANY DISCUSSION, ANY COMMENTS, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR HAND OR SAYING AYE.
ANY OPPOSED MOTION PASSES AS WELL? EXCELLENT.
[12. CHAIRMAN UPDATE]
DOWN TO THE COMMITTEE REPORTS AND NOT HAVING MY COMMITTEE LIST IN FRONT OF ME TODAY.DIDN'T I THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD BE HERE, BUT IF NOT, ARE ANY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN AVAILABLE WITH REPORTS, UM, FOR MATERIAL FOR THE LAST 30 DAYS? VERY NONE.
I'LL REMIND THE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN THAT THE COMMITTEES WILL BE A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE, BUT I THINK TREY WILL BE CONTACTING YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND TOMMY AND I, YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ASSIGNED OR A GROUP REQUEST TO COMMITTEE YET.
UH, EITHER TREY OR I WILL GET TO YOU IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO AND ASK WHICH ONE OF THE COMMITTEES YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN PARTICIPATING ON.
[13. CITIZEN COMMENT]
TO OUR CITIZEN COMMON PERIOD AND STILL MY APOLOGIES AND PUTTING YOU UP BEFORE, BUT, UH, WE'RE READY.AT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR JOHN, THEY, UH, THE 15 MILLION THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKING THE DELEGATION FOR, DOES THAT FALL WITHIN THE 50 MILLION THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IT OR IS THAT A DIFFERENT REVENUE STREAM? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S DUE AND IT IS NOT PART OF THAT 50 MILLION THAT THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE 15 MILLION IS IT WILL SOMEHOW BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE SIX.
CAUSE I THINK, UH, OUR DELEGATION THINKS THAT THAT 15 MILLION IS, UH, IS A HIGH PRIORITY.
UH, SECONDLY, ON THE 500 MILLION THING WAS THE NUMBER THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT THE FEDS ARE LOOKING AT, UM, UH, FOR TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS AND TOWERS WE'VE BEEN CAPPED AT THE 20 MILLION BASED ON OUR SIZE NOW WOULD, WOULD WE BE ELIGIBLE FOR MORE THAN THE CURRENT 20 THAT WE'D BEEN TAPPED UP, KEPT AT YOU THINK AGAIN, AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, STU AND YOU'RE DEFINITELY A STUDENT OF THE GAME HERE.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THIS IS SUPPLEMENTAL TO THAT SO THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE MAXED OUT THE TYPICAL 20 MILLION, BECAUSE THIS WAS PART OF THE, UM, THE NEW IS BECAUSE OF SPIRIT OF THE LEGISLATION.
UH, MY LAST WOULD JUST BE A COMMENT WHERE IT RELATIVE TO THE REVENUE BOND THAT JOHN MENTIONED.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL STREAMS OF MONEY THAT A GOOD REASONABLE PROBABILITY WE'RE GOING TO GET SOME OF THOSE SO THAT THE BOND SHOULD NOT BE MUCH OF AN ISSUE.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, WE'VE GOT TO GET THE BOND GOING.
I'M THINKING WE MAYBE EVEN THE MONTH OF MARCH, WE MIGHT START TO BRING THAT FORWARD ON READINGS.
IF WE HAVE SOME GENERAL IDEA WHERE WE ARE FINANCIALLY.
UM, AND SO THE KEY WILL BE TO LOOK AT IT FROM A WORST CASE SITUATION OF IF WE DON'T GET SOME OF THESE OTHER MONIES, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THE BOND IS, UH, FUNDED SO THAT WE, UH, WE DON'T MUDDY UP THE CONSTRUCTION AND LOSE THE 20 MILLION.
[00:35:01]
I SEE US COMING FORWARD SOONER RATHER THAN LATER ON THAT, THAT REVENUE BOND.AND WE, WE WILL BE LOOKING TO THE TOWN TO HELP PARTICIPATE IF THEY WOULD.
UM, I KNOW JOHN HAS ALREADY THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP, BUT ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, WE'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE CONTINUING HELP AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE AIRPORT ISSUE.
AND LIZZIE, YOU HAVE A THING TO DO NOTHING TO SAY THAT YOU'RE ON MUTE, UNMUTE YOUR MIC WISELY, PLEASE.
WERE YOU SPEAKING TO ME? NO, THIS IS FOR LESLIE.
I HAVE A QUESTION AND IT MIGHT BE ONE THAT STILL WILL WANT TO ANSWER, BUT I THINK I'LL DIRECT IT TO JOHN.
UM, THE, THE PFC CHARGE THAT WE'VE, UM, TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF DUE TO OUR LAST SEASON AND THE FACT THAT WE'VE TRIPLED OUR PASSENGER LOAD, UM, IS THAT MONEY GOING DIRECTLY TO THE COUNTY? AND IS THAT GOING BACK INTO OUR TERMINAL PLAN OR WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THAT AND THE MONEY THAT HAS TO HAVE INCREASED OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS? I DON'T THINK JOHN SENDS US ANY MONEY, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD LOOK INTO THAT.
WE HAVE TO GET THE NEXT GUY TO DO THAT.
STU THAT'S A FEDERAL VIOLATION.
YOU DID THE ECONOMIC IMPACT LIKE THE DOWN DOES, BUT THE, THE ANSWER TO THAT LAISSEZ, AND THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
WE DEFINITELY HAVE INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF COLLECTION BECAUSE OF THE EMPLOYMENTS.
UM, BUT THAT, THAT MONEY IS STILL PAYING BACK PAST PROJECTS.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THOSE PAST PROJECTS WERE EXPENSIVE AND THE PAST COLLECTIONS WERE SO LOW THAT WE STILL OWE ON THOSE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE NOT USING THE PFCS.
WE CAN'T USE THE PSES FOR NEW PROJECTS YET, BUT THE INTENT IS TO DO THAT AS THE OLD PROJECT LIST IS PAID OFF.
ANYBODY ELSE WITH QUESTIONS, ANY OF THE PUBLIC LAND OR, OR, UH, DAVID GO RIGHT AHEAD.
UM, OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE ALWAYS ASKED ABOUT RADAR FOR HILTON HEAD.
THE FACT THAT THERE'S MAYBE A LITTLE BIT EXTRA MONEY FLOATING AROUND AT THE MOMENT.
IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT CAN BE DIRECTED TOWARDS EQUIPMENT FOR HILTON HEAD? YEAH, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION TO DAVID.
AND, UM, THE GOOD THING IS, LIKE I SAID, THAT THE, UM, THE NEWEST OPPORTUNITY IS AVAILABLE FOR TOWER WORK AS WELL.
AND IT'S ONLY FOR AIRPORTS WHO OWN THEIR TOWERS, WHICH WE DO MANY DON'T MANY HAVE VFA ON THE TOWERS, BUT WE DO SO IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO US.
I DON'T KNOW IF RADAR IS, IS ELIGIBLE, SO WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT.
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS WE HAVE HAD ONGOING DISCUSSIONS WITH AAA E AND THEIR CONTRACT TOWER STAFF, AS WELL AS WITH THE AIR STATION.
UH, STEVE AND I WERE UP THERE TWO WEEKS AGO AND WE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH THEIR RADAR FACILITY OR THEIR TOWER FACILITY IN ORDER TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH WHAT THEY DO AND TO ACTUALLY SEE THE NEED THAT THEY HAVE FOR OUR TOWER TO BE ABLE TO SEE CERTAIN THINGS AND, AND, UM, AFFECT THE HANDOFF A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UH, TO MAKE THINGS FASTER FOR EVERYBODY.
AND WE'VE MADE THE CASE, I'VE MADE THE CASE WITH AAA E WITH THE FAA TECHNICIANS WHO DEAL WITH THIS, UM, WITH RADAR THAT BECAUSE OF THE SHARP INCREASE IN JET TRAFFIC AND HOW IT'S QUICKLY BECOME THE MAJORITY OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF OPERATIONS THAT HILTON THAT ISLAND, UH, W WE SIMPLY NEED TO DO BETTER THAN WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE EYEBALLS OF RETIRED FAA CONTROLLERS, FINDING THESE AIRPLANES WHEN THEY GET THE HANDOFF FROM ONE OF THE OTHER FACILITIES, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO OTHER WAY TO SEE THEM EXCEPT WITH THEIR EYES.
AND THAT, THAT TO ME, IS, IS CONCERNING.
DOES HE AIRPORT BOARD HAVE ANY ROLE TO PLAY IN EXPEDIA AND EXPEDITING THAT? UM, I THINK PROBABLY SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD SETUP.
UM, I THINK WE'LL ADD THAT TO OUR LIST, HOWARD, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME LEGISLATIVE THINGS TO TALK ABOUT, AND, AND IN FACT THAT MAY BE A SUB COMMITTEE OR A TASK FORCE THAT, THAT WE ADD TO THE BOARD THAT IF ANYBODY'S GOT SOME POLITICAL SAVVY, UM, I HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE DOING THAT KIND OF THING.
THAT MIGHT BE A GREAT SUB COMMITTEE TO HAVE JUST TO DEGENERATE THESE ADVOCACY PIECES.
UM, JOHN, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY GAINING AN ILS FOR OUR AIRPORT? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE TALKING THE, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? THE ABILITY FOR OUR CONTROLLERS TO LOOK AT A SCOPE, THE WAY WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR MONITORS RIGHT NOW AND SEE WHAT'S IN THE SKY, THEY CAN'T DO THAT.
WOULDN'T ILS EQUIPMENT ON THE JET PLANES MAKE
[00:40:01]
IT SO WE CAN, THEY CAN LAND DURING HEAVY FOG AND STORMS AND WHATNOT.WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE AIRPLANES LANDING.
WE'RE ABOUT TO WORRIED ABOUT THE CONTROLLERS, KNOWING WHO'S OUT THERE, WHERE THEY ARE, HOW FAST THEY ARE.
AND THAT SORT OF THE REASON I BRING THAT UP IS, YOU KNOW, BACK IN MY PREVIOUS JOB ON CAPITOL HILL, THE ILS WAS ALWAYS A VERY POLITICAL ISSUE AND ALWAYS WORKED WHEN IT HAD THE HELP OF THE CONGRESSMEN AND BASICALLY AIRPORTS BACK THEN USED TO JUST HAND THEM OFF AND GIVE THEM THEIR MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF EQUIPMENT AND HAND THEM OFF TO DIFFERENT AIRPORTS.
JOHN, I'D LIKE TO CHIME IN LESLIE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TWO GREAT GPS APPROACHES INTO OUR AIRPORTS NOW, WHICH BRING US DOWN, UH, ACTUALLY THE 200 FOOT CEILINGS WHEN WE NEED THEM.
SO IN THE ILS IS A QUOTE OLD TECHNOLOGY, AND THAT'LL START TO FADE AWAY, UM, ANOTHER COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT THE GPS APPROACH HAS GIVE US EVERYTHING.
AND I THINK WE CAN HOPE FOR, UM, AT HILTON HEAD.
LET'S JUST, JUST TO CLOSE OFF MY COMMENTS, UH, JOHN, I LIKE THE IDEA OF A SUBCOMMITTEE LOOKING INTO THAT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN A PRIORITY FOR YEARS.
SO IF THE BOARD AGREES, THEN I THINK THAT'D BE A GREAT STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THANK YOU, DAVID GLENN, I NOTICED BEFORE YOU HAD A, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, THANK YOU, HOWARD.
UM, I ATTEND THE LAST MEETINGS ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN AND OF COURSE I ATTEND COUNCIL AS WELL.
AND EACH OF THOSE VENUES, I HAVE HEARD REPORTS FOR PALMETTO BREEZE AND SHE HAS BEEN BRINGING UP THE SHUTTLE SERVICE HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT AT THE AIRPORT.
MY QUESTION IS, HAS THERE BEEN ANY RANDOM SURVEY OF PASSENGERS TO SEE HOW MUCH DEMAND OR USE MIGHT BE PUT TO A SHARP SHUTTLE SERVICE, UH, FROM THE HILTON HEAD AIRPORT TO THE VARIOUS RESORTS, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE TODAY, REALLY GLENN, I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP AND TRIGGERING THAT REMINDER.
WE WERE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH, UM, PALMETTO BREEZE RIGHT NOW.
PALMETTO BREEZE HAS HIRED A CONSULTANT TO DO A VERY QUICK STUDY IT'S DUE, I THINK IN MARCH OR APRIL.
THEY'RE ONE TRYING TO GET IT DONE BEFORE HERITAGE.
SO I THINK BEGINNING OF APRIL IS WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO WRAP IT UP AND, AND THEY'RE DOING JUST THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE ASSESSING THE DEMAND, THE NEED, THE LIKELIHOOD THAT FOLKS WOULD USE PUBLIC TRANSIT.
UM, AND SO I MET WITH THEM LAST WEEK AT THE TERMINAL.
THEY DO HAVE A SURVEY THAT'S OUT, IT'S ON THE, UH, THE AIRPORT'S FACEBOOK PAGE.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN ON PALMETTO BREEZE PAGE, THEIR WEBSITE, AND PROBABLY FACEBOOK AS WELL, BUT THAT'S TO TRY TO GET FOLKS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS THAT WOULD HELP DETERMINE THAT NEED.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, I THINK IS, IS AN EXTREMELY USEFUL PARTNERSHIP BECAUSE IT WOULD BE PUBLIC TRANSIT.
SO IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE LOW COST AND IT WOULD BE OPEN TO EVERYBODY.
UM, AND IT WOULD HELP RELIEVE SOME OF THAT TRAFFIC THAT WE SEE AT THE AIRPORT, UM, FOR DROP-OFFS AND PICKUPS AFTER FLIGHTS.
SO NOW WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THAT, AND, AND THAT IS, THAT'S A PALMETTO BRIEF PROJECT, BUT, BUT WE'RE OBVIOUSLY A STAKEHOLDER IN THAT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE AS A MATTER OF COMMENT, THE, THE SHUTTLE SERVICE HERE ON THE ISLAND, UH, PROVIDED OUTBOUND THAT ABRASIVE SPREE.
UM, AND THAT'S, WHAT'S MADE IT TAKE OFF, UH, A MATTER OF FACT, WE'RE GETTING REALLY GOOD PARTICIPATION NOW THAT PEOPLE ARE USED TO IT AND UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS.
AND I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS OF THAT SURVEY.
ANYBODY ELSE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS DURING THE PUBLIC PORTION? IF NOT, JUST TO MOVE JOHN A FEW HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS. I THINK BY NOW WE WILL NOTICE THAT ELENA IS BACK, UM, WHAT CAUSED THE CHANGE AND HOPEFULLY, UH, WELCOME BACK ELENA.
UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL, WE'LL SEE YOU FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW.
WELL, WE ACTUALLY HOPE NOT BECAUSE THE LANE IS WEARING A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT HATS RIGHT NOW.
WE HAD MOVED INTO A FINANCE ROLE AND THEN NATALIE LEFT US FOR FAMILY REASONS.
UH WE'RE WE LOVE TO GET HER BACK.
UH, I THINK WE'LL HAVE NATALIE AS ONE OF LESLIE'S HELPERS IN THE TRUMBULL THAT SUMMER MOST, UM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO BACKFILL THAT ADMIN SPOT.
UM, SO ELENA WILL BE HAPPY WHEN SHE DOESN'T SEE HER NAME BACK UP HERE ON THE BOARD.
WELL, WELCOME BACK TO LATE ANYWAY, GLAD TO HAVE IT, EVEN IF IT'S FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, I JUST, AND ALSO WHAT HAPPENS, JOHN, JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, THIS WAS POTENTIALLY GOING TO BE ALIVE MEETING THIS MONTH.
AND THEN WE ALL NOTICED ABOUT A WEEK AGO, WE WENT BACK TO THE ZOOM FORMAT.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE INTERIM? UM, I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE DIDN'T GET ENOUGH
[00:45:01]
MEMBERS WHO WANTED TO GO LIVE, BUT I KNOW THAT TREY WEIGHED IN IT WAS WHEN I WAS AT THE CONFERENCE THAT TRAY, UM, HAD ACID.IT REMAINED AS ZOOM THIS TIME.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR, FOR IN-PERSON, BUT WE'LL ALL MAKE THE PICK OUR FEELINGS KNOWN TO TREY, PLEASE, BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING COMES UP, UH, IT'LL HELP.
AND JUST REMINDER TO ALL BOARD MEMBERS, UH, WE'RE HERE AND WE'LL SEND OUT A NOTE TO EVERYBODY ELSE.
IF YOU CANNOT MAKE A BOARD MEETING, PLEASE BE SURE AND LET SOMEBODY IN JOHN'S OFFICE KNOW OR LET TRINO OR ME, UH, AND WITH AS MUCH ADVANCED NOTICE AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE KNOW WHO TO EXPECT, AND WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A QUORUM TO MOVE FORWARD ON, ON BOARD BUSINESS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, IF NOT, UH, NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 17TH, 1:30 PM.
STAY TUNED FOR EITHER LOCATION OR TIME.
IT'S USUALLY ONE 30, UH, MIGHT BE LIVE, MIGHT BE ZOOM.
WE HOPE LIVE, UH, BUT YOU'LL EVERYBODY RECEIVE AN EMAIL ABOUT IT AND I WILL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR COMING TODAY.
AND SO YOU GO UP, WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THE MOTION, MARTHA.
NICE TO SEE IN PERSON HUMALOG.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE, AYE.
ANY OPPOSED THE MEETING IS A JOURNEY.