Port of Orcas addresses proposed Aeronautical Services expansion

— from B. Sadie Bailey —

All five commissioners were present at the Port’s regular monthly meeting held on 7/11/19: Clyde Duke, Poke Haffner, Steve Hopkins, Greg Sawyer, Bea Von Tobel; and interim manager Dwight Guss. 6 members of the Public attended, including Bob Jarman for Aeronautical services. The June 18 minutes were approved, as were the vouchers, with some discussion about the Rock Island bill.

Public Access

• There are rust issues with two gates that aren’t working properly; one doesn’t close all the way, allowing deer to enter;
• Concerns were raised about a comment Duke made at a joint meeting between the County Council and the Port in which he stated that the community wanted airport growth;
• There was curiosity about three meetings in a row with an executive session. Clyde pointed out that the Port is guided by the RCWs (Revised Code of Washington); von Tobel said there are nine reasons to have an executive session such as for employee reviews and real estate transactions.

Bob Jarman went over plans for a temporary expansion wing for Aeronautical Services. He gave the commissioners copies of the plans; extra copies were made and given to members of the Public. Public Access was closed and executive session time moved back so Jarman could make his ferry back to San Juan.

Staff Report

Dwight Guss reported that $100K was taken out of capital and put it into a money-market account, noting that former Port Manager Tony Simpson had done so with $80K. Poke questioned the authority to do that, asking, “How does it work now? You just sign it and nobody else has to?” It was unclear if Simpson was still signing things but he has been advising Duke on a voluntary basis, suggesting as well that Guss get his name on a debit card so they can close out Simpson’s old card.

Guss then proposed getting a new carpet for the conference room and in his office; Duke suggested that tile might be cheaper. Sawyer told Guss to get estimates and look at the numbers; then the Commission moved on to Old Business.

Old Business

• Item 1: buying a new computer in lieu of getting an Inter-Local agreement with the County. The Port is too small for that much expense – over $10K per year. Recommendations were made for getting Office 365, which also allows for cloud storage of all documents, and a tablet which would provide portability when Duke does his “rounds” making checklists and taking photos as needed. Duke suggested Simpson for IT support.
• Item 2: Follow-up to the Bylaws review. Guss was praised for getting the Bylaws information online. The last review took place in 2002. Sawyer raised a concern that the Commissioners have already used up much of their Commission stipends and the year is only half over; he suggested creating a two-person subcommittee to review the documents and report back in a month or two. Duke and Haffner volunteered.
• Item 3: The website. General discussion on how to improve it but no specific recommendations made; Guss was encouraged by Sawyer to “just play with it.”
• Item 4: the Aeronautical Services (A.S.) expansion. Jarman presented the drawings and reported that according to Simpson and Jennifer Kandel of the FAA, the FAA “doesn’t care what we do and will sign off on it.” The expansion would add a 12′ x 72′ wing. All UPS- related parking would be removed from the tarmac, which the commissioners felt the FAA would approve as it would “show progress” toward implementing the Master Plan projects. Duke proposed they put it on paper.

Much discussion ensued, focusing first on re-routing the utilities and moving the two fruit trees and then settling on parking. A significant problem is that the expansion wing will take out most of the parking. Guss expressed his concern about the parking issue, noting that A.S. “is already taking two spots. What are you doing for parking?” Jarman pointed across to Schoen Lane, saying he’d put gravel over there (though it’s not Port property). Von Tobel noted that “It’s a wetland.” Guss reiterated that the Port can’t afford to lose any parking. This led to talk about the Biplane Hangar. The lease, once annual, is now month-to-month. There was some talk about how valuable this land would be for year-round use and/or parking. Hopkins reminded the Commission that “sooner or later, this is all going away” (when the runway is widened and the terminal is moved.) Guss stated that the hangar had been rented in winter for the Airhawks to park their 152, so it didn’t sit empty without generating revenue.

Jarman told the commission that the quantity of packages isn’t diminishing; Aeronautical did more business in June than during Christmas! Most packages are flown into Anacortes and then loaded onto their 40′ truck. Then they sort it here into smaller trucks. The conveyor belt in the new wing will help employees with the heavy work and will be out of the weather; a boon in winter. A motion was made to formalize the Port’s acceptance of the plan and make a revised lease that would include things like closing off a door, moving the trees, blocking traffic from the tarmac except for ambulance, etc. Hopkins asked how long the expansion would take. Jarman thought the longest part would be waiting for the cement to dry – a couple of weeks. Jarman said that they are putting in $135-160K with the understanding that this is a temporary fix. Gus agreed to write up a letter to proceed but reiterated that he still feels the loss of parking will be detrimental to the Port.

New Business

A resolution (2019-7-11-B) was made to make Guss financial and auditing officer. Motion carried unanimously. Hopkins: “Didn’t we have a Resolution that anything the manager does has to go through the Chair?” An interesting question that was not answered.

• Resolution 2019-7-11-A, also passed unanimously, authorized Guss, Hopkins, and James Reid as petty cash signers.

The Commissioners then went into Executive Session. Upon reconvening after Executive Session, The Commissioners made a Resolution (2019-7-11-C) to offer Simpson a PSE (Public Services) Contract for a period not to exceed three months and 10 hrs./mo. at $50 per hr., effective immediately. Motion carried 5-0.

Public Access was reopened with a question about the No Action piece of Executive Session. The commissioners explained that they take an action after the executive session is over; the session is used to discuss issues in private before taking action. The Public doesn’t need to be present for an action to be taken once Executive Session is over.

Guss reported that he thought the Final Master Plan would be out very soon. (When it’s released, the Public will have 30 days to comment.)

Sawyer asked Guss to expedite the search for a new computer, software, monitor, and printer and offered to help. Meeting adjourned.

Next meeting: August 15 at 4:30 p.m. in the Port conference room.