Minutes OCEAN COUNTY AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. July 22, 2015 Ocean County Airport, Terminal Building Berkeley Township, NJ

Transcription

1 Minutes OCEAN COUNTY AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 22, 2015 Ocean County Airport, Terminal Building Berkeley Township, NJ Attendance: Tony Agliata (Assistant Planning Director), James Candeletti, Kevin Douthitt, Melissa Lekas, Wayne Mauro, David McKeon (Planning Director), Bob Newman, Richard O Such, Dave Peck, Steve Simone (Assistant Planner), Tom Woods Opening: 7:06 PM Welcome & Sign In: Introductions Old Business: Crosswind Runway Project All work on the Crosswind Runway has been completed. Now all that remains is to finish the closeout of the grant accounts used to fund the project. The grant close out is proceeding well, with no issues. EAA/Young Eagles Event The Airport hosted a Young Eagles event in mid June. Ms. Lekas The event was EAA Chapter 898 s first combined Young Eagles and Pancake Breakfast event. About twelve kids attended. About fifty dollars was raised for the EAA. Although the event was a success, the EAA will need to increase publicity for future events. EAA hopes to do another Young Eagles event in the fall. One is already planned for September at Eagle s Nest Airport, and Chapter 898 may partner in that. The County is pleased that the event went well. Promoting aviation is one of our goals. Forest Fire Service The NJ Forest Fire Service was present at MJX for a total of 38 days this past spring. In this time, they responded to 12 fires, performed 31 drops, delivered over 11,000 gallons of water, and logged 631 flight minutes. The County considers this a successful season and is glad to have them back at the Airport.

2 The Forest Fire Service again shared Storage Unit 7 with the Black Sheep Support Squadron. They were pleasant to work with; there were no interferences with day to day operations of either entity. A large map was left behind when the Forest Fire Service vacated the Airport. The Black Sheep are willing to frame and hang this map in the office. The County supports framing and hanging the map. The Black Sheep Support Squadron would also like a shingle on the exterior of Building 87, similar to that of the Forest Fire Service. This shouldn t be a problem; the County s Sign Shop can probably fit this into their schedule. A two tone color scheme and simple graphics are easiest for the Sign Shop. Any size is feasible. T Hangar Roof Repairs The recent repairs to the roof of Building 57 have dramatically improved conditions. The new vents prevent rain water from getting into the hangars. Mr. Peck The only persistent issue is the incursion of rain water from under the closed hangar door. This could be remedied easily with the application of plaster. The insulating foam along the ridgeline of Building 87 still needs to be repaired. The County has called out a contractor to inspect the ridgeline. We will follow up with them. New Business: Crosswind Runway Seeding The grass planted during the construction of the Crosswind Runway is coming in well, though some areas need additional work. There are a few areas of erosion which need to be corrected. Some of the rip rap needs to be replaced. Some additional over seeding will be performed to increase soil stability. The area around the retention basin will receive special attention in the course of this seeding. The basin may also be augered to prevent the accumulation of water, which may attract birds. Paradoxically, recently the basin has been filled with water but no birds are present. The Airport recently acquired bird bangers, which may have been successful in scaring off the birds that had been congregating on the airfield after the area was first seeded.

3 T Hangar Waiting List We are conducting an annual update of the T Hangar Waiting List. We are waiting on responses from only a few more individuals. There were about two dozen names on the Waiting List when we started the update last month. Mr. Woods Is the Waiting List in any way tied to the construction of a new T Hangar Building? No, but we expect the construction of new buildings to produce a proportionate increase in the demand for hangar space. The County is in the final stage of negotiations regarding the next building. Only a few financial matters need to be resolved. The floor plan under consideration would include eight twin engine t hangars and one large unit. The doors to the t hangars would be approximately 45 feet wide. Mr. Mauro These units would likely be three or four feet deeper than the typical single engine unit. The County is still feeling the effects of Superstorm Sandy in its budgetary decisions. Restricted funding meant that the County couldn t finance the construction of the next t hangar building. We have an active application for grant funding to construct a new t hangar taxilane. Ultimately, nine new t hangar buildings will be constructed. Some pilots may be interested in storing two planes in one t hangar unit. Is it possible for two pilots to share one lease agreement? The County has not considered that option in the past. We can look into this. Runway Lights Several flush lights on Runway 6 24 are still inoperable. The County will be securing a new quote from our electrical contractor, now that the annual budget has been approved and the funding for this repair is available. Our projected time table for this repair is four to six weeks. A PAPI light was recently observed to be inoperable. The PAPI bulb in question was replaced earlier this week. New Grant Projects Funding has been secured for the Helipad Lighting project. This is expected to start in the fall.

4 Grant applications for lighting rehabilitation design and pavement rehabilitation design have recently been submitted. These pertain to periodic maintenance of Runway 6 24, and are called for in the Airport s Capital Improvement Plan. LED lights will probably not be a part of this lighting rehabilitation. Applications for construction funding will be submitted in approximately two years. Funding for the Helipad Lighting project was secured through the NJDOT, which had funding available for low priority projects such as this. We expect the FAA to fund the lighting and pavement rehabilitation design projects. Earlier this year, applications were submitted to the NJDOT for funding for the new taxilane and the rehabilitation of the apron. Given a choice between the two, the taxilane would take precedence. Items from the Floor: Maintenance of Grounds Weeding and mowing are ongoing. The dip in the taxilane will be repaired by the County Roads Department. The subsiding culvert in the vicinity of Building 88 has been repaired. Gates There are mechanical problems with Gate 9 and Gate 9A. The chain on Gate 9 is likely too long, which may be causing it to not close properly. Gate 9A is making contact with the ground, sticking in the open position, and is not responding to key fob swipes. Mr. Newman Navigating these gates is very difficult for patrons who are not familiar with the Airport. The County is aware of these issues. Repeated swipes usually produce the desired response. Perhaps a better design for the gates would feature a raising/lowering action. This would be advantageous in the presence of snow accumulation. Gate 9A may be superfluous. Many airports have only one gate to the airfield. The current configuration stems from post 9/11 security concerns and perhaps other reasons. The gates will be repaired. Crosswind Approaches Mr. Woods Are new approaches planned for 14 and 32? The County will see if this is feasible. AWOS Some pilots are having difficulty picking up the AWOS.

5 The County will look into this. Electrical Issues The circuit breaker for the Forest Fire Service and Black Sheep office is tripping frequently. The issue may be insufficient voltage. We will submit a work order tomorrow. Perhaps the Black Sheep could be supplied with a key to Storage Unit 8 the location of the building s circuit breaker panel so that the breakers can be reset without calling for assistance. The County will consider providing a key. A generator for the Airport s lights is on the County s wishlist. For now, the generator outside of the Terminal Building is for the Terminal Building only. Fence Repairs Are repairs to the security fence planned? The materials stored by the guard shack were ordered to replace the length of fence in the wet area fronting on Route 530. We have been having some difficulty finding a contractor to do the repair. Mowing The Airport s summer helper, Jon, has worked at the Airport in the past. He is assisting with mowing. What is the typical time frame for mowing? Mowing typically does not begin until after July 15 th every year, so as to allow for sparrow nesting. Most of the airfield is mowed regularly throughout the remainder of the summer, while some areas are only cut once each year. Operations Mr. Mauro Have the Airport s total operations increased since the completion of the new runway? Daily operations are not known. Ocean Aire is not required to keep track of this information. Anecdotally, we have observed an increase in activity.

6 Radio Communications The similarity of the names of Ocean County Airport and Ocean City Airport is still causing confusion over radio communication. A NOTAM may need to be issued. Compounding this problem is the fact that the two airports use the same radio frequency and the same runway configuration. We will see if anything more than a NOTAM is required to address this situation. Date and Time of Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on October 28, 2015 at the Terminal Building. Members will be notified. Closing: 7:54 PM