The Crookston Airport Commission met for its annual meeting in the Crookston City Hall Conference Hall on Thursday morning.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
The meeting began with the board introducing two new members being added to the board. These members were new commissioners Dan Geist and Alan Brule. The board then began an election for the position of chairperson for the board. After some discussion with many members refusing the role, Interim City Administrator and Commission member Charles “Corky” Reynolds volunteered to take the position, which the board approved unanimously. Pictures of both of the two new commissioners and Chairperson Reynolds can be found below-
2023 BUDGET
The board then approved the minutes from their last meeting on September 16, 2021. After approving the minutes, the board began discussing their budget for 2023. Airport Commissioner Manager Lowell Miller reported that they had raised the price of fuel and other utilities by about 40% from their last meeting in 2021. The board also began discussions about the construction of a 10-unit T-Hangar, with them looking to start eliciting bids in 2023 and actual construction in 2024. The commission said they would begin to adjust the budget further before the end of the year to account for its impact on the City budget, despite it only being a small percentage of it. The board approved the budget unanimously.
10 YEAR MASTER PLAN
The board then began discussing the next ten years of their 20 Year Master Plan. SEH Airport Planner Melissa Underwood came forward saying that they had given the plan to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and they had met with the Ways & Means Committee to discuss some of the projects for the future. She revealed the FAA had given the city Federal Entitlement Dollars with their Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to use towards Airport Capital Improvement projects. She showed that the city had developed a grant for the project over the years to build up funds for them to use for various projects around the airport, such as a T-Hangar they wished to build and other projects in the future.
REELS PROJECT
The board then began discussing its Reels Project. SEH Airport Engineer Lindsay Reidt explained this was a State Project with it being 70% funded by the state and 30% by the city. The new reels were put in earlier this spring with the new project and is essentially complete, with the city getting a reimbursement soon. However, one Reel was damaged in an accident with a plane and is currently being repaired.
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS
The board then began discussing some building improvements to the Crookston Airport. Lowell Miller reported that they had been working to replace the steel on the airport’s roof and upgrade the H-VAC systems inside the airport to help filter out some airborne pathogens and stop the spread of diseases like COVID-19. “At the airport, it’s been nearly 40 years since the roof has been repaired, so there was a new roof put on the airport,” Reynolds explained. “In addition, we’re exploring the possibility of doing some H-VAC procedures in the airport. There are now some airborne pathogen elimination grants from the federal government. The Airport Manager, Lowell Miller, is looking into those along with our consultants to see if we can qualify to upgrade our air handling and environmental considerations inside the airport.” Miller explained that he was looking at receiving two reimbursement grants of $13,000 and $32,000, which should be good for them to use for two years if they can qualify for the grant.
T HANGER
The board then began discussing the airport’s plan to add a 10-unit T Hangar. Melissa Underwood explained that the FFA required a pre-application permit by October 15 to have the project approved. The project would cost about $1.4 million to create a 10-unit T-Hangar. “The goal for the Federal 2023 Funding is to have the city apply for a grant in 2023 for a 10-unit T-Hangar project. So, they’ll let the FAA know in October that they plan to do this project next year and apply for the grant,” Underwood explained. “By doing so, we would get the grant by the end of the summer of 2023, and then they would start the groundwork and taxi lanes for that project, with the building going up in 2024.” Underwood revealed that last November, the Bi-Partisan infrastructure law had passed, which gave the city some additional funding for the airport and allowing them to move forward with this and other federal projects. Underwood explained that about 90% of the project’s cost would be funded by the FFA, with AIP money covering another 5% and leaving the city to cover the final 5%.
HANGAR RENTAL RATES
The board finished the meeting with discussions about their Hanger Rental Rates. Commission Manager Lowell Miller reported that it’d been about ten years since there was an increase in Hangar Rental Rates but now felt it was time to raise their rates to help them deal with the rising inflation prices. “We were informed that those rates had not been raised in at least ten years. Those rates are based on the size of the hanger, if it’s heated or not, and those types of things, and those rates have been ranging from $55-$165 per month. Those rates will be increased by 10% across the board and then rounded to the nearest dollar, so we don’t have prices with $.50 or $.62, and they will go into effect at the first of the year.” The board approved the motion unanimously.
