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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-15-23 - Airport Commission MinutesPage 1 of 8 AIRPORT COMMISSION ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR ADJOURNED MEETING March 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 March 9, 2023. 3. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Present: Gerald Adams (Palm Springs) Kathleen Hughes (La Quinta) Patricia Breslin (Palm Springs) Tony Michaelis (Cathedral City) Paul Budilo (Indian Wells) Scott G. Miller (Palm Springs) Todd Burke (Palm Springs) John Payne (Palm Springs) Kevin Corcoran (Palm Springs) – Vice Chair * Jan Pye (Desert Hot Springs) * Aftab Dada (Palm Springs) – Chair Jhan Schmitz (Indio) David Feltman (Palm Springs) Paul Slama (Riverside County) Ken Hedrick (Palm Springs) Kevin Wiseman (Palm Desert) Commissioners Absent: M. Guillermo Suero (Palm Springs) * Jan Pye (Desert Hot Springs) joined the meeting at 5:35 p.m. Kevin Corcoran (Palm Springs) joined the meeting at 5:39 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 Christina Brown, Executive Administrative Assistant Others Present: Katie Franco, Aviatrix Communications Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 2 of 8 4. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA: ACTION: Accept the Agenda as presented. Moved by Commissioner Payne, seconded by Commissioner Schmitz and unanimously approved noting the absence of Vice Chairman Corcoran and Commissioners Pye and Suero. 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None 6. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: ACTION: Approve the minutes of the Airport Commission meeting of December 21, 2022. Moved by Commissioner Burke, seconded by Commissioner Hedrick and unanimously approved noting the absence of Vice Chairman Corcoran and Commissioners Pye and Suero. 7. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS: 7.A Airport Wi-Fi Airport Executive Director Barrett said that the Airport staff has expressed to the IT Department that the Airport Wi-Fi is a priority for the Airport, and he said that additional personnel and infrastructure resources were being requested in the upcoming fiscal year budget. Mr. Barrett said that IT Director Klingaman had said that the age of the building and the delayed maintenance on the infrastructure was going to be a challenge for upgrading the Airport’s Wi-Fi system. Mr. Barrett assured the Commission that IT Director Klingaman was committed to upgrading the Airport’s Wi- Fi, and he said that IT was hiring a consultant to assess the Wi-Fi needs of the terminal and the airfield. Chairman Dada asked if it would be possible for the Airport to have its own IT Director. Mr. Barrett said that he would be discussing that possibility with the City Manager. Commissioner Budilo suggested that the Commissioners reach out to the City Manager and City Council to request support for the Airport to have a dedicated IT Director, and he said that he believed that the Airport needed to be run more like a business and not dependent on Palm Springs. Commissioner Miller asked Mr. Barrett if there were plans to extend the Wi-Fi into the parking lots. Mr. Barrett confirmed that there was a plan to extend the Wi-Fi into the parking lots. Commissioner Payne asked if it would be possible to have IT Director Klingaman attend the April Airport Commission meeting. Mr. Barrett said that he would extend an invitation to IT Director Kilngaman. Commissioner Payne voiced his concern in regard to the concessionaires needing reliable networking and Wi-Fi bandwidth. Mr. Barrett said that he believed that the concessionaires were working directly with IT to identify their needs and that IT would address any issues that arise with the concessionaires, and he noted that IT was working on an IT Master Plan. Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 3 of 8 Commissioner Payne asked if the project could be outsourced to speed up the process. Mr. Barrett explained that there were potential areas that could be outsourced, and he said that cyber security concerns would need to be assessed to determine if it would be in the Airport’s best interest to outsource any portion of the project. Chairman Dada suggested that it would be helpful to have IT Director Klingaman at the April Commission meeting. Mr. Barrett suggested that the Commissioners submit their IT questions to him, and he said that he would relay the Commissioners questions to IT Director Klingaman. Commissioner Miller suggested that if IT Director Klingaman couldn’t attend the April Commission meeting, he could be invited to attend the next Operation, Properties and Facilities Committee meeting. Commissioner Wiseman inquired about the procurement process for the IT consultant. Mr. Barrett said that the IT Department would be initiating the procurement process, and he noted that the IT consultant would be consulting on a citywide IT project. 7.B Proposed Airport Logo Discussion & Recommendation Marketing and Business Development Committee Chairman Burke reviewed the steps that had been taken to choose the Airport logo that was being presented to the Commission. Katie Franco with Aviatrix Communications provided the Airport logo presentation to the Commission, she announced that Geometric Plane was the logo design that had been chosen by the Airport staff, stakeholders, and the Marketing and Business Development Committee, and she reviewed the logo launch plan. Commissioner Payne asked how PSP’s logo design process compared to a similar airport’s logo design process, and he also asked how PSP could have improved the process. Ms. Franco said that PSP’s logo design process had much more community participation, and the process time was longer when compared to a similar airport. She said that the process could be improved by involving the community sooner in the process. Commissioner Breslin said that two words came to mind when viewing the logo design; peaceful confidence, and she said that the logo had a strong design. Chairman Dada said that the logo design was refreshing, it had a lot of punch to it, and he said he liked the font. Vice Chairman Corcoran referred to the previous logo designs being recommended to the City Council without being filtered through the Commission, and he thanked Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Meier, the Aviatrix team, and Marketing and Business Development Committee Chairman Burke for embracing the feedback that they were given which was to reach out to the community and stakeholders to get their input on the logo design. He said that he was thrilled with where the logo design had landed. Commissioner Wiseman commended the Aviatrix team for creating a bold and flexible logo design, he said that it was impressive work, and he suggested that the plane Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 4 of 8 in the Geometric Plane logo design also resembled a windmill, and he said that he could also see echoes of the Wexler design in the logo design. Commissioner Budilo inquired about the budget for the logo launch and the reason for changing the original Airport logo design. Mr. Meier said that he would be determining the budget that he would be requesting in the next fiscal year, and he explained that the original Airport logo did not have the versatility that is needed for the logo to be used in multiple applications. Executive Administrative Assistant Brown opened public comments for Agenda Item No. 7.B - Proposed Airport Logo Discussion & Recommendation, and there were no public comments for this agenda item. ACTION: Approve the Geometric Plane logo design. Moved by Commissioner Hedrick, seconded by Commissioner Payne and unanimously approved noting the absence of Commissioner Suero. 7.C Marketing Update Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Meier presented the March 2023 Marketing and Air Service update. Commissioner Miller asked Mr. Meier if he anticipated Flair returning to PSP next season. Mr. Meier said he would be meeting with Flair to discuss their options. Commissioner Payne asked Mr. Meier how he determines the non-stop destinations that he would like to add to PSP. Mr. Meier said that he works with Visit Greater Palm Springs and Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting to determine PSP’s target cities for non-stop service, and he said that PSP’s target cities were Chicago, New York, Houston, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. 7.D Ad Hoc Design Review Committee Update Committee Chairman Corcoran reported that the Ad Hoc Design Review Committee had follow-up meetings with Paradies and The Marshall Retail Group (MRG), and he said that he believed that the meetings were successful and that there had been significant progress on the issues that were important to the Committee. Airport Administration Manager Carpenter reported that the bar that would be located in the center of the Bono Concourse would be named Cactus to Clouds, the name of the retail store Mojave Oasis had been changed to Las Palmas Oasis, a coffee and ice cream truck would be located in the courtyard, and she said that the food and beverage menus were being enhanced to offer more options which would include healthier options and options that would address the cultural diversity of the community. Ms. Carpenter said that the Committee discussed solutions for the flow of passenger traffic, enhanced seating, and the functionality and comfort at the El Mirasol Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 5 of 8 and Coachella Valley Coffee locations. Committee Member Wiseman noted that the Committee had looked into accelerating the construction timeline for Vino Vollo and that it was decided that it would be better to keep Vino Vollo at its current construction timeline. Committee Member Burke noted that as high users of the Airport, the committee members had been thoughtful about the process and the patterns of the passengers, and he said that the concessionaires were taking in the Committee’s feedback, and they were coming back to the Committee with great alternatives. Committee Member Feltman said that he had addressed the menu issues with Paradies, and he said that he felt that Paradies had been very responsive to the Committee’s feedback and that they had really transformed the menus to fit the demographic and diversity of PSP. Committee Chairman Corcoran said that it was important to him that the local brands that weren’t a part of the Paradies and MRG’s bid could have the opportunity to discuss the possibility of selling their products at PSP, even if they may have been included in a competitors bid, he reported that Paradies and MRG were open to having discussions with other local brands, and he said that Destination PSP had a productive meeting with MRG. Committee Chairman Corcoran asked if it would be the Airport staff’s preference to provide monthly concession updates to the Airport Commission or if the Ad Hoc Design Review Committee should hold quarterly meetings to get updates. Airport Executive Director Barrett said that the Airport staff could provide monthly updates to the Airport Commission, and if any significant issues were to arise, the Airport staff would hold an Ad Hoc Design Review Committee meeting to address any significant issues. 7.E Financial Summary Update Airport Administration Manager Carpenter provided an overview of the financial summary for the period ending February 28, 2023. Commissioner Miller noted that Fund 410 was budgeted for $6.8 million, and the collected amount was $3.4 million, and he asked Ms. Carpenter if she believed that the remaining balance of the budget would be collected in the next four months. Ms. Carpenter explained that collection of the passenger facility charges (PFC) can be delayed because of the timing of when the airlines remit their PFC’s, and she said that she was confident that the balance would be collected. Commissioner Payne inquired about the surplus of funds. Ms. Carpenter said that there was a $25 million dollar surplus listed in the cash summary. Commissioner Miller referred to Operations and Maintenance, and he inquired about the large salary surplus. Ms. Carpenter explained that the surplus was due to vacant positions. Commissioner Payne asked if the surplus would roll over to the next fiscal year. Commissioner Miller said that the salary surplus does not automatically roll over to the next fiscal year, and Ms. Carpenter said that staff must submit a budget for Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 6 of 8 salaries and benefits for each fiscal year. Commissioner Wiseman referred to the recent banking challenges, and he suggested that the Budget and Finance Committee should meet to reassess the treasury management practices in the new era. Commissioner Miller noted that State law specifies what a city can and cannot invest in. 7.F Projects and Airport Capital Improvement Program Update Airport Executive Director Barrett noted that the update had been provided in the agenda packet. Commissioner Payne asked for information on the methodology of the hybrid compensatory airport use and lease agreement. Mr. Barrett provided additional information on the methodology of the hybrid compensatory airport use and lease agreement. Commissioner Breslin inquired about the installation of shade structures on the pre-security side of the Airport, she asked how the Airport staff would manage the unhoused wanting to use the shade structures for shade, and how the Airport staff would identify if a person were legitimately doing business at the Airport when they are in the pre-security side of the Airport. Mr. Barrett said that the Airport staff and Police officers were knowledgeable when it comes to identifying when a person is legitimately or not legitimately doing business at the Airport. 8. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT Airport Executive Director Barrett noted that the report had been provided in the agenda packet. Executive Administrative Assistant Brown noted that the items listed in the report were not discussion items, and she said that if there was a topic in the report that a Commissioner would like to discuss, the Commissioner could refer to the list of 15 Municipal Code items that staff had provided and they could submit their request to the designated committee chair or Airport staff. Commissioner Miller requested that the Airport staff ask the City Attorney to attend the April Commission meeting to advise the Commission on this matter. 9. COMMISSIONERS REQUESTS AND REPORTS Commissioner Payne requested that a marketing report be giving on the non-stop airline information that was discussed in Agenda Item No. 7.C – Marketing Update. Deputy Director of Aviation, Marketing and Air Service Meier said that it would be difficult to provide a report on the information Commissioner Payne was requesting because the conversations with the airlines on this matter were proprietary, and the airlines would not want the information to be made public before the airlines announce the service. Commissioner Payne requested that the Airport staff ask the Sustainability Director to attend a Commission meeting to discuss sustainability. Airport Executive Director Barrett asked the Commission to keep in mind that the other City Department Heads Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 7 of 8 have their own Commissions to report to and their own activities to accommodate, he said that he could provide any information or Commissioner questions to the other Department Heads, and he could report back to the Commission. Chairman Dada said that he would be inviting the City Manager and City Attorney to attend the April Commission meeting. Vice Chairman Corcoran said that a local citizen had contacted him to voice their concern about 20 unhoused people sleeping in the baggage claim area. Vice Chairman Corcoran requested that staff provide an update on the progress that was being made on the unhoused situation. He said that it was disappointing to get this feedback from a reliable person who said that the impression was scary and unfortunate. 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 February 2023 11.B Airline Activity Report Fiscal Year Comparison 12. COMMITTEES: 12.A Future Committee Meetings 13. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Dada noted that Commissioner Schmitz’s term with the Airport Commission was ending, and he thanked Commissioner Schmitz for his service, dedication, and the knowledge that he had shared over his term with the Airport Commission. Chairman Dada noted that the City of Indio had appointed Rick Wise as their Airport Commissioner appointee. Commissioner Schmitz said that he had enjoyed his six years serving as an Airport Commissioner, and he wished the other Airport Commissioners great luck, primarily with the Airport Master Plan. ACTION: Adjourn the meeting. Moved by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Burke and unanimously approved noting the absence of Commissioner Suero. Palm Springs Airport Commission Action Summary Minutes of Regular Adjourned Meeting March 15, 2023 Page 8 of 8 The Airport Commission adjourned at 7:11 P.M. to a Regular Meeting on April 19, 2023, at 5:30 P.M. Christina Brown Executive Administrative Assistant