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AIRPORT COMMISSION
ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR ADJOURNED MEETING
December, 21, 2022 – 5:30 P.M.
1. CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Dada called the Airport Commission Meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. and the
Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The meeting was held via videoconference.
2. POSTING OF THE AGENDA: Posted on December 15, 2022.
3. ROLL CALL:
Commissioners Present:
Gerald Adams (Palm Springs) Gabriel Martin (Coachella)
Patricia Breslin (Palm Springs) Scott G. Miller (Palm Springs)
Paul Budilo (Indian Wells) John Payne (Palm Springs)
Todd Burke (Palm Springs) Jan Pye (Desert Hot Springs)
Kevin Corcoran (Palm Springs) – Vice Chair Jhan Schmitz (Indio)
Aftab Dada (Palm Springs) – Chair Paul Slama (Riverside County)
David Feltman (Palm Springs) M. Guillermo Suero (Palm Springs)
Ken Hedrick (Palm Springs) Kevin Wiseman (Palm Desert)
Kathleen Hughes (La Quinta)
Commissioners Absent: Thomas Weil (Rancho Mirage)
Staff Present:
Jeremy Keating, Assistant Airport Director
Teresa Gallavan, Interim City Manager
Victoria Carpenter, Airport Administration Manager
Jay Virata, Community & Economic Development Director
Christina Brown, Executive Administrative Assistant
Others Present:
Gary Armstrong, Public Arts Commissioner
Fred Bell, Vice Chairman of Palm Springs Air Museum
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4. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA:
ACTION: Accept the Agenda as presented. Moved by Commissioner Miller,
seconded by Commissioner Hedrick and unanimously approved noting the
absence of Commissioner Weil.
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
6. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:
ACTION: Approve the minutes of the Airport Commission meetings of September 28,
2022 and October 6, 2022. Moved by Commissioner Burke, seconded by
Commissioner Breslin and unanimously approved noting the absence of
Commissioner Weil.
7. INTRODUCTIONS AND PRESENTATIONS:
7.A Riverside County Appointed Commissioner
Chairman Dada introduced Riverside County appointed Commissioner Paul Slama.
Commissioner Slama provide a brief background, and he said that he would be filling
in as the appointed Riverside County Commissioner until June 2023.
7.B Assistant Airport Director
Chairman Dada introduced Assistant Airport Director Jeremy Keating, and he noted
that Airport Executive Director Barrett and Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and
Air Service Meier were absent from the meeting. Assistant Airport Director Keating
said that he has been working in the aviation industry for approximately 25 years and
that he has worked in airport operations to airport management.
8. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS:
8.A Airport Art Tour Update
Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that he would be providing a generic
assessment of what he had seen during the Airport art tour that he and Adam Lerner
with the Palm Springs Art Museum had received, and he said that he would go over
the solutions that had been discussed during the tour. He said that the first thing that
had been noticed was that the majority of the art really wasn’t cited as best as it could
be within the location, and Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that he would
venture to say that the majority of the artwork at the airport was not its original intent
as opposed to an artist creating artwork that was specific to that location at the Airport.
He said that a significant amount of the artwork did not seem to be placed in its best
light.
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Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that a discussion took place about
relocating many of the artwork pieces and creating many more pieces as well. He said
that there had also been a discussion about putting in a mural on the wall that is near
the RJ concourse, and he said that they have had great experiences with the
interactive murals located in Downtown Palm Springs. Public Arts Commissioner
Armstrong said that he planned on discussing the concepts for the mural at the
January Public Arts Commission meeting, and he said that they would also be
considering engaging local artists for the possibility of changing the mural every year.
Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong explained that the Banned Booty Runway art
display that he had presented to the Commission at the October meeting as a 21-foot
art display would actually be a 7-foot art display. Commissioner Hedrick inquired about
the art benches. Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that the benches could
possibly be introduced later in the spring, and he said that the challenge would be
working on the logistics of having the artists create the benches in the post-security
area of the Airport. Commissioner Feltman voiced his concern in regard to painting
the benches, he said that he believed that the matter would require more deliberation
and collaboration between the Public Arts Commission and the Airport, he noted that
there would be approximately 20 to 40 benches that would be densely located
together, he recommended that the Commission give the matter a significant amount
of thought, and he said that he had deep concerns about the art benches.
Commissioner Miller asked who would be financially backing the artwork. Public Arts
Commissioner Armstrong said that the Public Arts Commission has a budget that
could be used to fund some of the pieces and the maintenance of the artwork, he said
that the larger pieces would probably require joint funding, and he noted that the Palm
Springs Art Museum also has a separate budget for funding and loaning artwork. Vice
Chairman Corcoran asked if there had been a discussion about adding artwork to the
ticket counter area. Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that he was aware of
previous conversation that was in regard to adding a mural at the ticket counter area,
and he said that he believed that there should be a permanent mural placed in that
area which would require a portion of the ticketing area to be closed off. Vice Chairman
Corcoran asked Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong to keep the artwork for the ticket
counter area on the Public Arts Commission’s list of priorities.
Commissioner Feltman said that he wanted to put it on the record that with the
exception of the benches, he was in support of the forward movement of the artwork
at the Airport and that the artwork would make for a better Airport experience. Public
Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that if the Public Arts Commission were to move
forward with a handful of benches, the benches would have a design that would be
unique to the area and unique to Palm Springs and the greater Palm Springs
community.
Commissioner Payne asked if the Airport has a budget for artwork. Airport
Administration Manager Carpenter said that there wasn’t a budget available for
artwork for this fiscal year, and she said that the Airport staff could request an artwork
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budget for the following fiscal year. Commissioner Payne asked how the Airport
artwork theme should be established and maintained. Public Arts Commissioner
Armstrong said that he believed that the artwork at the Airport should be engaging and
celebratory and that the artwork should remind the passengers of what they enjoyed
about the area. Commissioner Payne inquired about the process for choosing the
artwork. Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that the Public Arts Commission
would present their recommendations to the Airport staff for approval.
Commissioner Adams reminded the Commission that the Airport is a Class 1 historic
status building that has a mid-century design, and he said that he hoped that the
design would also be relevant in making artwork decisions. Public Arts Commissioner
Armstrong said that the Public Arts Commission was aware of the Airport’s historic
status, and he said that the artwork would be appropriate for Palm Springs.
Commissioner Miller asked if there would be a possibility for adding display boxes that
have different types of artworks. Public Arts Commissioner Armstrong said that the
challenge was that the Airport doesn’t have a large footprint and that there weren’t
many areas for those types of displays to be placed in the Airport, and he
recommended projecting light displays onto the tensile structures.
Commissioner Wiseman suggested placing artwork in areas where people are
queuing because it could help make the wait time feel less substantial. Public Arts
Commissioner Armstrong suggested that the artwork could be placed near
construction zones as well, and he said that it would be important for the Public Arts
Commission and the Airport Commission to work together. Executive Administrative
Assistant Brown said that it would be important for the Public Arts Commission to
share their ideas with the Airport staff so that there could be a discussion on how the
artwork would fit in with the Airport’s Master Plan.
8.B Palm Springs Art Museum Artwork Loan Extension
Community & Economic Development Director Virata explained that there were seven
pieces of artwork that were on loan to the City of Palm Spring from the Palm Springs
Art Museum and that are on display at the Airport, he said that the loan agreement
has been an ongoing agreement since 2009, there would be opportunities to rotate
the artwork out, and he said that the agreement was being presented to the
Commission to confirm that the Airport wishes to continue to receive and display public
artwork at the Airport. Mr. Virata said that the agreement would extend the display of
the artwork at the Airport for an additional five years with an option to renew for an
extended period of time as agreed to by the City, Airport, and Museum.
Commissioner Payne noted that things were going to be moved around for Airport
construction, and he asked who insures the artwork. Mr. Virata said that he believed
that the City insurers the artwork. Commissioner Miller asked if the Airport staff was
supportive of the agreement. Ms. Brown said that Airport Executive Director Harry
Barrett had reviewed the staff report, and he was in support of the agreement.
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8.C Palm Springs Air Museum Expansion
Palm Springs Air Museum Vice Chairman Bell reported to the Commission that the F-
117 hangar project had been completed and that it came online in November, and he
said that the exhibit was doing extraordinarily well because it’s such a rare artifact. He
said that they were in the process of focusing on the rebuild of the front end of the
museum which would include a new entrance, a 300-seat classroom theater,
rebuilding the restrooms, and dealing with some of the challenges that have come
from outgrowing the original design from 20 years ago. Mr. Bell said that he was
anticipating that the plans would be submitted to Planning and Building and Safety in
May 2023, and they were hoping to start construction in September 2023 and that the
project would be completed in November 2024.
Mr. Bell said that he was also working with the Airport staff on a proposal to expand
the Palm Springs Air Museum (PSAM) by two and half acres to the south because
they were having challenges with marshalling some of their big weighing aircraft, and
it was difficult to turn and stage the aircraft. He said that the plans had been submitted
to Building and Safety and that they were waiting on the FAA’s approval. Mr. Bell noted
that PSAM had received a G1 aircraft from Disney and that there would be an exhibit
and a documentary that would be displayed with the aircraft that ties in nicely to early
Palm Springs and Walt Disney’s time at Smoke Tree Ranch, and he said he was
expecting the exhibit to be open in 90 days.
Mr. Bell said that PSAM was in the process of acquiring early Palm Springs aircraft
and that PSAM has acquired Forest Bird’s Cub aircraft and Frank Sinatra’s Learjet.
He said that PSAM would be holding the Women in Aviation Gala in February and that
two local young women would be awarded scholarships at the Gala. Mr. Bell said that
PSAM was seeing heavy visitation and that they were 21% ahead of last year’s
numbers. Commissioner Payne asked Mr. Bell if there were any trends around
PSAM’s growth that he could relate to the Commission. Mr. Bell said that PSAM would
be conducting a visitor points intercept survey and that they were currently in the
process of updating the survey and that the survey would be able to provide
demographic information, and he said that anecdotally, they were seeing an increase
in family and larger group visitation.
8.D Operations, Properties and Facilities Committee Update
Committee Chairman Schmitz reported that the Committee had met on December
14th, and he said that the Committee had discussed the following four topics: 1)
Concessions; 2) Parking; 3) Baggage Handling System (BHS); and 4) Airport Master
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Plan. He said that in regard to the concessions update, the City Council had approved
the two concessions agreements and that the first phase would begin in February, and
an Ad Hoc Design Review Committee would be setup to concentrate on design review.
Committee Chairman Schmitz said that in regard to parking, the overflow parking lot
had been opened a week before Thanksgiving, the main parking lots were full, and
the overflow parking lot was at approximately 80% capacity during the peak hours,
and approximately 83 to 84% capacity overall for all of the parking lots. He said that
there were two shuttles running for the overflow parking lot, the cycle times were
approximately 10 minutes, and he said that the Committee had discussed the lack of
signage in the overflow parking lot to inform people of the shuttle schedule and that
there wasn’t a clear walkway from the overflow parking lot to the terminal. Committee
Chairman Schmitz noted that the Airport staff had placed temporary stop signs on Kirk
Douglas Way to help control the traffic coming in and out of the overflow, cell phone,
and ride share parking lots. He said that the Airport staff was working with McFarland
Johnson on long-term parking strategies and improvements to the parking system,
and he said that an RFP would be going out for the parking lot design which would
include an employee parking lot, moving the ride share and taxi area to parking lot A,
roadway improvements, and advanced technology.
In regard to the BHS, Committee Chairman Schmitz said that it had been reported to
the Committee that through additional adjustments, the throughput on the existing
BHS was increased by approximately 30% which has helped during the peak hours
and that although manual labor had not been required, it would be available if
necessary. He said that the Airport staff was working on an RFP for the design of a
new inline departures BHS and that the capacity of the new system would be sized to
accommodate a new 20-year forecast of the baggage requirements, and he said that
it would be unlikely that any of the existing BHS would be able to be incorporated into
the new BHS. Committee Chairman Schmitz said that the estimate for the new BHS
was $20 million and that the Airport staff were discussing funding assistance with TSA
and the FAA, and he said that Committee Member Payne had requested a closed
session meeting to discuss the current legal issues with the existing BHS, and any
legal action to be taken by the City.
In regard to the Airport Master Plan, Committee Chairman Schmitz said that
negotiations were currently underway with the preferred consultant and that the results
of the negotiations would be presented to the Commission in January, and he said
that an Ad Hoc Master Plan Committee would also be setup to review the Master Plan
as it is developed. He reported that a representative of the USO had stated in public
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comments that the military personnel that were staying overnight in the Airport were
concerned about their personal gear being taken by unhoused people.
Executive Administrative Assistant Brown said that Airport Executive Director Barrett
had asked her to notify the Commission that he had spoken with Interim City Manager
Gallavan and the City Attorney about Commissioner Payne’s request for a closed
session meeting to discuss potential BHS litigation and that he had been advised that
the request would need to be presented to the City Council to see if the City Council
would be in agreement to either having an in meeting or closed session meeting
discussion with the Commission. Commissioner Payne asked if he should go offline
with Mr. Barrett and Ms. Brown to discuss the request to City Council. Ms. Brown said
that the request would be made by City and Airport staff. Ms. Gallavan said that she
concurred with Ms. Brown, and she said that staff would be meeting with the City
Council on January 12th.
Vice Chairman Corcoran noted that the former Airport Executive Director did not allow
the Commission to be a part of the decision-making process for the BHS, therefore
the Commission was not aware of the criteria for the BHS or the decisions that were
made for the BHS design, and he asked if the City has any documentation on the
decision-making process. Ms. Gallavan said that the City Attorney’s office has been
looking into the documentation with staff and the consultant. Vice Chairman Corcoran
said that if the Commission were to be given permission to view the documents, he
would like for the Operations, Properties and Facilities Committee to review the
documents for the Commission.
Commissioner Wiseman referred to the temporary stop signs on Kirk Douglas Way,
and he said that he had received a comment from a citizen that had said that they felt
that the stop signs come up quite quickly as you come around the curve and that they
had suggested that a sign be added to warn drivers that a stop sign would be coming
up. Commissioner Miller suggested that Chairman Dada or Vice Chairman Corcoran
could work with Ms. Gallavan to inform the City Council that the Commission was not
involved in anyway in the implementation of the existing BHS and that the Commission
really does want to be involved to make sure that the same mistakes aren’t made
again.
8.E Formation of Ad Hoc Design Review Committee
Chairman Dada explained that the Ad Hoc Design Review Committee would be
working with the Airport staff, Paradies Lagardère, and The Marshall Retail Group,
and he said that he had appointed Vice Chairman Corcoran, and Commissioners
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Burke, Feltman, Payne, and Wiseman to the Committee.
ACTION: Formation of Ad Hoc Design Review Committee. Moved by Chairman
Dada, seconded by Commissioner Miller and unanimously approved noting the
absence of Commissioner Weil.
8.F Formation of Ad Hoc Master Plan Review Committee
Chairman Dada explained that the Ad Hoc Master Plan Review Committee would be
working with Airport and City staff, and the chosen consultant, and he said that he had
appointed himself, Vice Chairman Corcoran, and Commissioners Hedrick and Miller
to the Committee.
ACTION: Formation of Ad Hoc Master Plan Review Committee. Moved by
Commissioner Hughes, seconded by Commissioner Breslin and unanimously
approved noting the absence of Commissioner Weil.
8.G 2023 Airport Commission Meetings
Chairman Dada recommended that the Commission reduce the number of yearly
meetings to five meetings a year, he noted that if needed, the Commission could call
a special meeting at any time, and he said that the five meetings could be held in
January, March, May, September, and November. Commissioner Burke said that he
supported Chairman Dada’s recommendation. Commissioner Budilo said that he
respectfully disagreed with Chairman Dada’s recommendation because there was too
many former and current issues that needed to be dealt with to cut down the number
of meetings.
Commissioner Miller asked if there was an ordinance that addresses the number of
required meetings. Chairman Dada said that to the best of his knowledge, the
Commission decides on the number of meetings. Ms. Brown agreed with Chairman
Dada, and she suggested that the discussion be added to the January agenda to allow
the Commission time to consider Chairman Dada’s proposal. Chairman Dada asked
the Commission to take into consideration the time and energy that it takes the staff
to prepare the agendas for the Commission meetings that could be dedicated towards
customer service and experience and other Airport matters. Commissioner Wiseman
asked Ms. Brown if the Airport staff could provide the number of hours that are
involved to prepare for the Commission meetings. Ms. Brown explained that she
doesn’t keep track of the hours that are spent on preparing for meetings, and she said
that as the Commission adds more committee meetings, as they have been over the
last year, and now with two more Ad Hoc Committees, it was taking much more of
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staff’s time to prepare for those meetings, and she said that it was taking a majority of
her time at the moment. Vice Chairman Corcoran reminded the Commission that the
Commission has subcommittee meetings and now there are the two Ad Hoc
Committees, and he said that it wouldn’t be only five meetings because the
subcommittee meetings are also extensive meetings and that he was in support of
Chairman Dada’s recommendation.
Commissioner Wiseman inquired about the process of adding additional meetings.
Ms. Brown explained that the process would be to call a special meeting and that the
Commissioners could email their suggested agenda item(s) for the special meeting to
Chairman Dada and the Airport staff, and an evaluation would be made to determine
if a special meeting should be called for the suggested agenda item(s). Chairman
Dada said that he would not arbitrarily shut down any of the Commissioner’s requests
and that he and the Airport staff would do a full analysis of the requests. Ms. Brown
clarified that Vice Chairman Corcoran would also be included in the process.
Commissioner Breslin said that she understood the reason for having fewer meetings
because she was aware that staff was working all hours to get the information to the
Commission, she asked if there was a way for staff to get information to the
Commission during the months in between the meetings, and she said that she liked
that the Committee meetings had been made open to anyone who cares to attend
which covers the Commissioner’s ability to seek additional information. Ms. Brown
said that in regard to the Airport staff providing information to the Commission outside
of the Commission meetings, she would need to refer the question to the City Attorney
because she was concerned about the possibility of violating the Brown Act.
Commissioner Miller said that if the Commission were to give more authority to the
subcommittees, then reducing the number of meetings could possibly work. He said
that currently the subcommittees report to the Commission and if there were things
that needed to be done, the Commission would need to act, and he said that the
Commission would need to lay out the rules of when the Commission could call a
special meeting and who could call a special meeting and that the rules should be
included in the vote at the January Commission meeting. Commissioner Wiseman
asked if calling a special meeting would cause more work for staff or would it be the
same workload for staff. Ms. Brown said that it would be the same workload for staff.
Commissioner Feltman said that he felt that the subcommittees had made a significant
amount of progress this year, he said that he would be open to something along the
lines of what was being discussed, he said that his concern would be in regard to the
annual budget process because he felt that the Commission had been less informed
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and had less opportunity to give meaningful feedback, and he said that he was
concerned about not being able to have two consecutive meetings for the budget,
even if there was a functioning Budget and Finance Committee. Commissioner
Feltman asked Ms. Brown if she could email the Commission the proposed meeting
schedule. Chairman Dada clarified that he was proposing that the Commission would
have a main meeting before the wrapping up of the June budget. Ms. Carpenter said
that she would need to bring the budget to the Commission at the March meeting.
Commissioner Hedrick noted that the Airport was becoming a larger entity in the City,
and particularly over the next 20 years as the Airport doubles or triples in size, he said
that as a part of the process of looking at the number of meetings, the Commission
should look at and start discussing with the City Council how the Airport should be
governed. Commissioner Payne said that he was opposed to reducing the number of
Commission meetings because there were a number of things that needed to be fixed,
Master Planning was in process, and there was also the huge concessions overhaul.
He said that he believed that there were several challenges that the Commission
would want to weigh in on.
The Commission agreed to continue the discussion to the January meeting.
Commissioner Wiseman asked if the City staff or City Council had provided any input
on the Airport Commission reducing the number of meetings. Ms. Brown said that she
believed that the ordinance stated that it was up to the Commission to determine the
number of meetings. Commissioner Wiseman asked if the City Council had an opinion
on the matter. Ms. Brown explained that if the City Council were to provide their input
on the matter, it would be provided to the Commission in an ordinance or it would be
provided in bylaws for the Commission which the City Council was currently working
on changing. Commissioner Wiseman asked if the City staff had an opinion on the
matter. Ms. Carpenter said that Airport Executive Director Barrett would need to
address the question at the January meeting. Chairman Dada said that the matter had
been discussed with the City Attorney, and the City Attorney said that it was up to the
Commission to determine the number of meetings. Commissioner Payne said that
there was a tendency to defer things which would be another reason why he opposed
reducing the number of meetings.
8.H Marketing Update
Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Meier was not in attendance,
and the marketing update had been provided to the Commission.
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8.I Financial Summary Update
Airport Administration Manager Carpenter noted that the financial summary for the
period ending November 30, 2022, had been provided in the agenda packet.
Commissioner Miller referred to Fund 405, and he said that the fund seemed to be
behind in terms of meeting the FY22-23 budget. Ms. Carpenter explained that the
Airport’s revenues were based on the season, the Airport was starting to move into
the peak season, and the revenues would be increasing from January to April which
would be in line with the budget for that period. Commissioner Miller said that he and
Commissioner Feltman would like to see some type of a seasonality illustration to
show how the reduced revenue is made up for in the peak season. Ms. Carpenter
noted that the Finance Department had created the draft quarterly reports that the
Budget and Finance Committee had requested which would be sent to the committee
members to review before the next committee meeting.
Commissioner Miller said that he was bringing up the revenue because the budget for
this year was significantly larger than the previous two fiscal years, and it could look
to the public like the Commission was way behind. Ms. Carpenter explained that this
year’s budget had increased because the CARES Act, ARPA and CRSA grants had
been exhausted for payroll reimbursements. Commissioner Feltman said that he had
thought that there were CARES Act funds that could be used for capital projects.
Commissioner Miller suggested that he and Commissioner Feltman could meet with
Ms. Carpenter to discuss the matter further. Commissioner Payne asked if the CARES
Act funds were used to keep staff employed. Ms. Carpenter said that the funds were
used for payroll and benefits.
8.J Projects and Airport Capital Improvement Program Update
Ms. Brown said that Airport Executive Director Barrett had provided a report to the
Commission, and she said that staff would make note of any questions that the
Commissioners have, and Mr. Barrett would address the Commissioner’s questions
at a later time. Commissioner Payne inquired about the airline use and lease
agreement negotiations. Ms. Carpenter said that the Airport staff were still in the
negotiation process with the airlines. Commissioner Payne asked who provides the
Airport’s Wi-Fi service, and when it would be stabilized. Ms. Brown said that staff could
provide more information at the January meeting.
Commissioner Payne inquired about the unhoused that were sleeping at the Airport,
and the USO’s report of an issue with the military personnel’s gear being taken by the
unhoused at the Airport. Ms. Carpenter said that there were unhoused people sleeping
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inside of the Airport, she said that she had spoken with the USO representative that
had reported there was an issue, the Airport’s Security Coordinator, and the Airport’s
Police Department sergeant to get more information on the matter. Ms. Carpenter said
that the Airport’s Security Coordinator and the Airport’s Police Department sergeant
were not aware of the issue and that the USO representative had told her that the
information that she had received was secondhand information.
Ms. Carpenter explained that the USO closes each night at 10:00 p.m., and she said
that the Airport staff coordinated with the USO to have the USO volunteers notify the
Airport Control Center that is open 24 hours of when military personnel will be
spending the night in the Airport, and the Airport would have increased patrols around
the area, and the Airport staff would also be monitoring the security cameras.
Commissioner Hedrick said that it would also be helpful for the Airport staff to
coordinate with SOS Rides because SOS Rides drops off military personnel after the
USO has closed on a frequent basis.
Ms. Carpenter said that the Airport staff was working with the Police Department to
revise the ordinance for unhoused loitering inside of the terminal and that the language
in the ordinance would help the Police Department enforce the removal of the
unhoused from the terminal. Commissioner Miller voiced his concern in regard to the
unhoused getting into restricted areas, and he said that he believed that there were
several FAA regulations that would prevent the unhoused from being in the Airport.
Vice Chairman Corcoran also voiced his concern, and he noted that there had been a
discussion with the former City Manager, and he said that that the Commission had
been assured by the City and the Police Department that the unhoused would not be
an issue for the Airport.
Commissioner Budilo asked if the Airport staff could work with the local hotels to
provide rooms to the military personnel. Commissioner Hedrick explained that there
were several hotels that have agreed to provide free hotel rooms to military personnel
when space is available, and he said that many of the military personnel choose to
sleep in the Airport because they are afraid of missing their early morning flights. He
said that the ideal situation would be for the USO to find volunteers that would be
willing to keep the USO open throughout the night. Commissioner Budilo asked if the
military personnel were aware that there were free hotel rooms available.
Commissioner Hedrick confirmed that SOS Rides does notify the military personnel
about the hotel rooms and that he makes the room arrangements for the military
personnel.
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9. COMMISSIONERS REQUESTS AND REPORTS
Commissioner Miller asked Chairman Dada if he could make a request to the new City
Council to revisit having a City Councilmember attend the Airport Commission
meetings, or possibly holding a joint meeting with the City Council so that the
Commission can understand where the direction of the new City Council is going.
Chairman Dada said that he did not recall a City Councilmember ever attending an
Airport Commission meeting. Vice Chairman Corcoran said that he believed that
former Councilmember Kors was the Airport Commission’s liaison, he said that he
supported Commissioner Miller’s request, and the topic was a part of the City Council’s
onboarding process. Chairman Dada confirmed that he would have the discussion
with the City Council.
10. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS:
10.A Past City Council Actions
10.B Future City Council Actions
11. RECEIVE AND FILE:
11.A Airline Activity Report November 2022
11.B Airline Activity Report Fiscal Year Comparison
11.C Airlines Schedules January 2023
12. COMMITTEES:
12.A Future Committee Meetings
13. ADJOURNMENT:
ACTION: Adjourn the meeting. Moved by Vice Chairman Corcoran, seconded by
Commissioner Hedrick and unanimously approved noting the absence of
Commissioner Weil.
The Airport commission adjourned at 7:21 P.M. to a Regular Meeting on January 18,
2023, at 5:30 P.M.
Christina Brown
Executive Administrative Assistant