Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-23 - Airport Commission MinutesPage 1 of 6 AIRPORT COMMISSION ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR ADJOURNED MEETING February 15, 2023 – 5:30 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Dada called the Airport Commission Meeting to order at 5:30 P.M., and he invited Commissioner Payne to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting was held in-person and via videoconference. 2. POSTING OF THE AGENDA: Posted on February 9, 2023. 3. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Present: Gerald Adams (Palm Springs) Tony Michaelis (Cathedral City) Patricia Breslin (Palm Springs) John Payne (Palm Springs) Paul Budilo (Indian Wells) 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: Todd Burke (Palm Springs), Gabriel Martin (Coachella), and Scott G. Miller (Palm Springs) *David Feltman (Palm Springs) joined the meeting at 5:32 p.m. Staff Present: Harry Barrett, Jr., Airport Executive Director Jeremy Keating, Assistant Airport Director Daniel Meier, Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Victoria Carpenter, Airport Administration Manager Kristopher Mooney, Assistant Director of Finance Christina Brown, Executive Administrative Assistant Others Present: Ron deHarte, City Councilmember Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting February 15, 2023 Page 2 of 6 4. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA: ACTION: Accept the Agenda as presented. Moved by Commissioner Hedrick, seconded by Commissioner Breslin and unanimously approved noting the absence of Commissioners Burke, Feltman, Martin, and Miller. 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None 6. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: ACTION: Approve the minutes of the Airport Commission meeting of November 22, 2022. Moved by Commissioner Breslin, seconded by Commissioner Hedrick and unanimously approved noting the absence of Commissioners Burke, Martin, and Miller. 7. INTRODUCTIONS AND PRESENTATIONS: 7.A Cathedral City Appointed Commissioner Tony Michaelis Chairman Dada introduced Cathedral City appointed Commissioner Tony Michaelis, and Commissioner Michaelis provide a brief background. 8. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS: 8.A Working Groups Executive Administrative Assistant Brown explained that Municipal Code 2.16.060 Powers-Duties provides a list of the 15 items that the International Airport Commission shall be advisory to the Palm Springs City Council and shall have the duty and power to advise the City Council on. To assist the Airport staff with funneling Commissioner requests, each of the 15 items had been assigned to one of the following recipients: a) Committee Chair; b) Airport Executive Director; and c) Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Airport Executive Director. The Airport Commissioners were directed to refer to the 15 items to determine which item their request falls under and which recipient(s) their request should be submitted to for further consideration. The assigned recipient(s) would verify that the request does fall within the scope of the Municipal Code, and if the request qualifies, the recipient(s) would determine if the request should be included in a future Airport Commission agenda or if the request should be reviewed first by an Airport Commission subcommittee. Ms. Brown said that in regard to a request for creating working groups, the requesting Commissioner would need to refer to the 15 items to determine which Committee Chair to refer the request to, the Committee Chair would determine who would be in Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting February 15, 2023 Page 3 of 6 the working group, and how long the working group would be active for. She said that the working group would provide their reports to the Committee Chair, the Committee Chair would report to the Airport staff, and the Committee Chair and the Airport staff would determine how to proceed with the information that was provided by the working group. 8.B USO Update Airport Executive Director Barrett noted that at the January Airport Commission meeting, it had been suggested that the Airport staff reach out to the USO to see what assistance the USO needs from the Airport. Mr. Barrett said that the Airport staff had meet with the USO manager and regional manager, and he said that they had informed the Airport staff that they were making sure that the troops were aware of the resources that are available to them and that it is ultimately up to the troops to decide how they utilize the resources. The USO managers said that donations are helpful for the USO. Mr. Barrett said that he asked if they were interested in receiving assistance to expand their operations to allow them to operate 24/7, and he said that the USO managers said that they didn’t believe that there was enough traffic to keep the USO open 24/7. Mr. Barrett said he assured the USO that the Airport staff was on standby to assist in any way needed. Commissioner Hedrick noted that there were several hotels that offer free lodging to the troops when the rooms are available, and he said that a majority of the troops prefer to stay overnight in the Airport because they are fearful of missing their early morning flights. 8.C Marketing Update Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Meier noted that the February 2023 marketing and air service update was provided in the agenda packet, and he provided a timeline for the Airport logo project. Commissioner Wiseman said that the Marketing Committee intended on voting on two logo options at their next meeting to recommend to the Airport Commission. 8.D Ad Hoc Design Review Committee Update Committee Chairman Corcoran acknowledged Councilmember deHarte, and he expressed his appreciation for Councilmember deHarte attending the Airport Commission meeting. He said that a second committee meeting had been held with Paradies Lagardère (Paradies) and that Paradies had reviewed the updated food and beverage menus, and the design of the bar that would be located in the Bono concourse. Committee Chairman Corcoran said that at the next committee meeting, Paradies and the committee members would be submitting their suggestions for naming the bar. Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting February 15, 2023 Page 4 of 6 Committee Chairman Corcoran said that the committee would be holding a second meeting with The Marshall Retail Group (MRG) on February 22nd to receive updates from MRG on the requests that had been submitted at the first committee meeting with MRG. He said that everything was moving along nicely and that he believed that the community was going to be very happy with the changes. Commissioner Feltman said that he agreed that the meeting with Paradies went well, and he said that he was focused on making sure that there are healthy and diverse food offerings. Commissioner Feltman said that Paradies had done a really good job on improving their breakfast options, and he believed that if they continue making improvements to the rest of the menus, the Airport Commission would be proud of the food offerings at the Airport. 8.E Budget and Finance Committee Update Chairman Dada announced that Commissioner Feltman had stepped down from the Budget and Finance Committee and that he had appointed Commissioner Hedrick as the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. Committee Chairman Hedrick noted that Commissioner Feltman had chaired the February committee meeting. Commissioner Feltman said that the February committee meeting was the culmination of the committee’s important work to evolve the financial reporting to reflect more year- over-year and quarter-over-quarter time periods which makes it much easier to understand the financial trends. He said that it was a team effort that involved Airport Administration Manager Carpenter, Assistant Director of Finance Mooney, and the committee members. Commissioner Feltman said that he appreciated all of the work that had been done and that there were a few more tweaks that needed to be implemented. 8.F Airport Mid-Year FY22/23 Budget Update Airport Administration Manager Carpenter provided a brief overview of the Airport’s Mid-Year FY22/23 Budget. 8.G Airport Staffing Update Airport Executive Director Barrett provided an update on the Airport’s current staffing, and the proposed staffing plan for the next two fiscal years. He explained that he was trying to balance the need to grow the organization while making sure that he doesn’t overgrow the organization and that he was also trying to create synergy between the Aviation Department and the other City Departments to ensure that resources could be shared for efficiency purposes. Commissioner Budilo asked if the Airport has enough space to accommodate the new positions that were being requested. Mr. Barrett said that some of the space has been identified, and he said that several of the positions would allow for flexible working Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting February 15, 2023 Page 5 of 6 conditions for working remotely. Commissioner Budilo asked if the HR Department was overseeing the recruitment of the Airport and City staff. Mr. Barrett confirmed that the HR Department was overseeing the recruitment of the Airport and City staff, and he said that the HR Department was overseeing a significant number of recruitments . Commissioner Payne asked if Mr. Barrett felt that the City would be open to discussing the possibility of the Airport overseeing the recruitment of the Airport staff. Mr. Barrett said that he could see if the City was open to discussing the matter. Commissioner Wiseman inquired about the 10 Landside and Ground Transit Representatives listed for FY24-25. Mr. Barrett said that part of the staff would be overseeing traffic, ground transportation, and the parking lots which was currently being contracted out to ABM, and the other half of the staff would be overseeing the needs of the consolidated rental car facility. Commissioner Feltman voiced his support in regard to the Airport staff being more assertive with City for the purpose of requesting that the Airport have a dedicated HR specialist. Chairman Dada thanked City Councilmember deHarte for attending the Airport Commission meeting. City Councilmember deHarte said that he appreciated the opportunity to sit in the Airport Commission meeting, and he said that his intention was to continue to be a link between the City Council and the Airport Commission’s work. Councilmember deHarte said that the work that the Airport staff has been doing at the Airport has been incredible and that he was looking forward to good opportunities and growth at the Airport. Chairman Dada said that he hoped that City Councilmember deHarte saw firsthand the staffing struggles of the Airport and that he would relay the information to the City Council. Commissioner Payne asked Mr. Barrett how he felt about outsourcing. Mr. Barrett said that there were certain activities that outsourcing could be beneficial for, and he said that in regard to customer service, it would be better to have those services be provided in-house. 8.H Projects and Airport Capital Improvement Program Update Airport Executive Director Barrett noted that the update had been provided in the agenda. 9. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT 10. COMMISSIONERS REQUESTS AND REPORTS Commissioner Feltman requested an update report on the Airport internet services. Commissioner Wiseman asked for a report on the Airport’s earthquake and disaster preparedness. Chairman Dada asked Executive Administrative Assistant Brown to provide an update on the subcommittee changes. Ms. Brown reported that Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting February 15, 2023 Page 6 of 6 Commissioner Feltman had resigned from the Budget and Finance Committee, and he was now serving on the Operations, Properties and Facilities Committee. Commissioner Hedrick was made the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, and Commissioners Adams and Michaelis were assigned to the Budget and Finance Committee. Chairman Dada had resigned from the Noise Committee to allow Commissioner Michaelis to be assigned to the Noise Committee to meet the requirement of the Municipal Code for the Cathedral City appointee to serve on the Noise Committee. 11. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS: 11.A Past City Council Actions 11.B Future City Council Actions 12. RECEIVE AND FILE: 12.A Airline Activity Report January 2023 12.B Airline Activity Report Fiscal Year Comparison 13. COMMITTEES: 13.A Future Committee Meetings 14. ADJOURNMENT: ACTION: Adjourn the meeting. Moved by Commissioner Hedrick, seconded by Commissioner Adams and unanimously approved noting the absence of Commissioners Burke, Martin, and Miller. The Airport Commission adjourned at 6:54 P.M. to a Special Meeting on February 28, 2023, at 1:00 P.M. Christina Brown Executive Administrative Assistant