Airport Commission

CITY OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA REGULAR MEETING OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION APPOINTED MEMBERS COMMISSION MEETINGS Anna Dietrich, Vice Chair 1st Thursday of each month Jeff Domich Colin Perry, PAPA Rep City Hall Council Chambers Marcus Margand, Chair Thomas McGaw 11 English Street Nancy Sasser Petaluma, CA 94952 COUNCIL LIAISON CONTACT INFORMATION Karen Nau Phone (707) 778-4404 Fax (707) 703-5750 STAFF LIAISON airport@cityofpetaluma.org Dan Cohen, Airport Manager cityofpetaluma.org MINUTES Thursday, December 7, 2023 6:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER 6:00 PM ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commissioner Domich, Chair Margand, Vice Chair Dietrich, Commissioner McGaw, Commissioner Perry, Commissioner Sasser, Councilmember Nau. ABSENT: PUBLIC COMMENT During General Public Comment, the public is invited to make comments on items of public interest that are within the Committee/Commission’s subject matter jurisdiction and that are not listed on the current agenda. Public comments are limited to three minutes per person. Depending on the number of persons wishing to address the Committee/Commission, time will be allocated in equal shares totaling no more than twenty minutes. PRESENTATIONS None 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Approval of Minutes of Regular Airport Commission Meeting of Thursday, November 2, 2023 with one change suggested by Commissioner Sasser. 2. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION Review and discussion of adding an “airworthiness” requirement to the Hangar Allocation Policy and Hangar License Agreement for new licenses. Commissioner Margand asked if a license signed many years ago would still be in effect for 15-20 years after signing. Manager Cohen said it would be in effect if the tenant had remained in good standing, with updates as necessary. Commissioner Dietrich asked if Page 1

any agreement in place for longer than the stated term would be month-to-month, and Manager Cohen responded affirmatively that the leases are month-to-month. The Agreement can be canceled with 30 days' notice and the City can terminate for convenience. Tenants can be given the option of signing a new agreement with the Airport or vacating their hangar within 30 days if it is determined that they are not using their hangar appropriately. Manager Cohen suggested that the Hangar Allocation Policy could have best practices terminology that would guide staff who are trying to enforce a termination. Manager Cohen stated that the City Attorney’s Office makes changes to the Hangar Agreements when there are broader changes to federal, state, and city requirements, so guidelines for implementing those changes would be most helpful at that time. Commissioner Margand asked how those kinds of changes are currently being handled, and Manager Cohen responded that tenants are given the option of signing a new agreement or leaving the Airport. Most tenants are fine with signing a new agreement. Commissioner Domich asked Manager Cohen to discuss aircraft that have been sitting idle for 15-20 years in hangars. He would like to add an airworthiness requirement to the Hangar Agreement to give Manager Cohen another avenue to pursue when contemplating a termination. Manager Cohen responded that the Airport has moved into a new phase of auditing our tenants for appropriate insurance, and most of the inoperative aircraft do not have insurance at all. The Airport’s current process is not a swift exit for these tenants, but more a discussion of intentions regarding the aircraft with a timeline component. Commissioner Domich clarified that his point is more an economic one, where if the aircraft isn’t worth much, the tenant might keep the aircraft to be able to use the hangar for storing other items. He also spoke about the Truckee Airport, which requires a yearly inspection. Commissioner Domich would like to add some verbiage to the Hangar Agreement that stipulates an inspection every few years. Commissioner McGaw asked Manager Cohen about the FAA’s guidelines about derelict aircraft, and Manager Cohen responded that the FAA has a Q&A document that covers that topic. Commissioner Domich felt that specific language about airworthiness could be addressed in the Hangar Agreement later. Manager Cohen added that the FAA has recently increased efforts to update its registry database, so anyone who has not registered their aircraft with the FAA will be put on notice to either register or vacate. Commissioner Margand spoke about how this new requirement will also need to be addressed in the Hangar Agreement, and Manager Cohen said he would inquire about that. The ad hoc committee will come up with some language and report back at the January Airport Commission meeting. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you require special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (707) 778-4360 (voice) or (707) 778-4480 (TDD). Translators, American Sign Language interpreters, and/or assistive listening devices for individuals with hearing disabilities will be available upon request. A minimum of 48 hours is needed to ensure the availability of translation services. In consideration of those with multiple chemical sensitivities or other environmental illness, it is requested that you refrain from wearing scented products. The City Clerk hereby certifies that this agenda has been posted in accordance with the requirements of the Government Code. In accordance with Government Code §54957.5, any materials of public record relating to an agenda item for a regular meeting of the Airport Commission that are provided to a majority of the members less than 72 hours before the meeting will be made available at the City Clerk’s Office, 11 English Street, during normal business hours. Materials of public record that are distributed during the meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the City or a member of its legislative/advisory body, or the next business day after the meeting if prepared by some other person. For accessible meeting information, please call (707) 778-4360 or TDD (707) 778-4480. Agendas and supporting documentation can be found at: http://cityofpetaluma.net/cclerk/archives.html. Page 4

CITY OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA REGULAR MEETING OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION PUBLIC COMMENT Citizen Harley Milne spoke about using caution regarding all aircraft storage, and to make sure the new agreements are aligned with FAA regulations. Councilmember Nau commented that all changes to the Hangar Agreement will have to be considered by the City Attorney’s Office. Commissioner Dietrich wondered if the proposed changes needing to be run by the City Attorney’s Office would be for both the Hangar Agreement and the Hangar Allocation Policy and Manager Cohen responded it was only necessary for the City Attorney’s Office to approve the Agreement. 3. COMMITTEE COMMENT Council Update – Councilmember Nau spoke about the defeat of the story pole proposal, and there was a report from police and fire about a public safety facility that will be installed at the Petaluma fairgrounds. City Council is also searching for a new police chief, and community input is requested for 12/13/2023 from 6-7:30 pm at Lucchesi and 12/14/2023 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Lucchesi. There is also an online survey on the City website. The new interim police chief was sworn in (Brian Miller). The City Council also did a groundbreaking for solar panels at Lucchesi Park. In 2024, there will be an examination of the urban growth boundary and the approval of the General Plan, as well as more information about the overlay. Ad Hoc Subcommittee Reports Hangar Rate Policy – Commissioner McGaw and Commissioner Sasser have not met recently but have plans to discuss the economic component of the Hangar Rate Policy for transparency and ease of understanding for the Airport tenants. Once an accounting glitch is fixed, Commissioner McGaw and Commissioner Sasser will work on an analysis of competitive rental rates. COMMISSIONER COMMENT STAFF COMMENT – Airport Manager Report Airport Manager Cohen discussed revenue through the end of October, which shows $708,089 in revenue and $935,945 in expenditures, which includes a $484,000 principal payment and a $20,000 interest payment made in October. According to our Finance Department, the debt service principal and interest show up on the expenditure sheet. They consider the debt service interest an actual expenditure, but they don’t consider the debt service principal an expenditure, so when we get our final report the debt service principal disappears. Manager Cohen, Commissioner McGaw, and Commissioner Sasser may need to have a meeting with the Finance Department about depreciation. Commissioner Dietrich and Commissioner McGaw discussed the differences between an expense and an expenditure on a balance sheet. Manager Cohen spoke about clarifying the point with the Finance Department because the money used to pay the debt doesn’t show up as an operating expense. Page 3

Manager Cohen then discussed operations. At the last Commission Meeting, an airfield access request was made for a 90-day pass for non-tenant aircraft, which has gone to the City Attorney’s office and Risk Management. This is currently under review and will ultimately go to the FAA for approval. Projects update: Received funding for Taxiway A and Taxilane B projects. We are currently doing coring and boring to determine strength and layering depths for repair. There will be several closures to complete this work over the next few weeks. Manager Cohen discussed the CIP budget process, which includes the Fuel Farm Rehabilitation project for 2025, and an outside engineer will be hired for this project on a contract basis. For the Hangar Row 2 project, we have an agreement routing, and it should be executed by the end of next week. This will be sent out to bid shortly. Commissioner McGaw asked Manager Cohen if he had heard from the Airport District Office about the Minimum Standards that we submitted to them some time ago. Manager Cohen responded that yes, we are getting some traction on this issue. The District Office liked what the Airport submitted and would like some additional language for when an aircraft owner has no options. We should have a final version within one month, and we will propose it to the City Attorney’s Office and then the City Council for review. Commissioner Dietrich spoke about the Airport’s emergency power backup and interest in renewable fuel options and how this could be a good time to consider electrification of the Airport. She asked what a good time to begin these discussions would be, and Manager Cohen replied that the Airport was evaluated for electrification, and we submitted applications for four chargers. We would need a minimum of one charger to move forward with electric vehicles, and the Airport will wait to purchase electric vehicles until we get the chargers in place. The project will likely be a city-wide initiative. Commissioner Dietrich responded that she is also thinking about electric airplanes and putting some infrastructure in place for that eventuality as some current discussions are happening around airports as microgrid energy backup systems and renewables buffering locations are planned for the surrounding community. If there is interest in this topic, Commissioner Dietrich would facilitate some research into backup renewables at the Airport and it could be on a future Commission Agenda. Manager Cohen mentioned shade hangars, which were cost-prohibitive at first but now with solar panels, shade hangars might qualify for grant funding. An extra feature could be tying those hangars into an emergency backup grid. We could not, however, modify existing structures. Councilmember Nau spoke about checking in with Parks and Rec about what company they are using for groundbreaking, as the City has been slowly heading in the direction of electrification. Manager Cohen responded that the Airport is limited by the Airport Fund, which is small, so unless the City Council provides general funds for some of these projects, we cannot fund them with the budget we currently have. There are some federal funds available as well, so In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you require special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (707) 778-4360 (voice) or (707) 778-4480 (TDD). Translators, American Sign Language interpreters, and/or assistive listening devices for individuals with hearing disabilities will be available upon request. A minimum of 48 hours is needed to ensure the availability of translation services. In consideration of those with multiple chemical sensitivities or other environmental illness, it is requested that you refrain from wearing scented products. The City Clerk hereby certifies that this agenda has been posted in accordance with the requirements of the Government Code. In accordance with Government Code §54957.5, any materials of public record relating to an agenda item for a regular meeting of the Airport Commission that are provided to a majority of the members less than 72 hours before the meeting will be made available at the City Clerk’s Office, 11 English Street, during normal business hours. Materials of public record that are distributed during the meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the City or a member of its legislative/advisory body, or the next business day after the meeting if prepared by some other person. For accessible meeting information, please call (707) 778-4360 or TDD (707) 778-4480. Agendas and supporting documentation can be found at: http://cityofpetaluma.net/cclerk/archives.html. Page 4

CITY OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA REGULAR MEETING OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION as we get closer to electrification, we do have a couple of options for grant money. Commissioner Perry asked if there was a plan for energy storage with the new solar panels, and Councilmember Nau did not know but suspects the City will use more than the panels generate. 4. COMMUNICATIONS A. None 5. ADJOURN Meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. The next Meeting of the Airport Commission is scheduled for Thursday, January 4, 2024. Page 5