1. CALL TO ORDER VERO BEACH AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, May 28, 2015 9:30 a.m. City Hall, Council Chambers, Vero Beach, Florida 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A) February 26, 2015 3. PUBLIC COMMENT 4. NEW BUSINESS AGENDA A) Update on Airport Master Plan 5. OLD BUSINESS 6. CHAIRMAN S MATTERS 7. AIRPORT DIRECTOR S MATTERS 8. ADJOURNMENT This is a Public Meeting. Should any interested party seek to appeal any decision made by the Commission with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing, they will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, they may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Anyone who needs a special accommodation for this meeting may contact the City s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator at 978-4922 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
VERO BEACH AIRPORT COMMISSION MINUTES Thursday, February 26, 2015 9:30 a.m. City Hall, Council Chambers, Vero Beach, Florida PRESENT: Chairman, Barbara Drndak; Vice Chairman, Melvin Wood (arrived at 10:18 a.m.) Members: Arthur Hodge, Richard Cantner, Alternate Member #1, Mary Wood and Alternate Member #2, Carol Jean Jordan Also Present: Airport Director, Eric Menger and Deputy City Clerk, Sherri Philo Excused Absence: Louis Vocelle, Jr. 1. CALL TO ORDER Today s meeting was called to order at 9:32 a.m. and the Deputy City Clerk performed the roll call. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A) October 2, 2014 Mr. Cantner made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 2, 2014 Airport Commission meeting. Mr. Hodge seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None 4. ELECTION OF OFFICERS A) Chairman Mr. Cantner nominated Mrs. Barbara Drndak for Chairman of the Airport Commission. There were no other nominations. Mrs. Barbara Drndak was unanimously appointed Chairman of the Airport Commission. B) Vice Chairman Mr. Hodge nominated Mr. Richard Cantner for Vice Chairman of the Airport Commission. There were no other nominations. Mr. Richard Cantner was unanimously appointed Vice Chairman of the Airport Commission. 1 02/26/15 Airport Commission
5. NEW BUSINESS A) Update on Airport Master Plan Ricondo & Associates Mrs. Drndak gave some brief background on the Airport Master Plan process. Mr. Remy Lucette, of Ricondo and Associates, and Mr. Mike Gordon, of Sixel Consulting Group, introduced themselves to the Commission members. They then gave a Power Point presentation on the Vero Beach Municipal Airport Master Plan Airport Development Concepts (please see attached). *Please note that discussion took place throughout the Power Point presentation. Mr. Menger referred to Slide 7 - VRB Capacity Needs Overview by System. He said in looking at the future, the number of operations might be more important than the actual time frame. He explained that in the 2025 10-year horizon they showed 221,000 aircraft operations and they had 228,000 aircraft operations in 2014. That does not mean it would continue to increase, but it is something to consider. Mrs. Drndak asked what is the mix of the increase of operations. She asked is it new people coming in or an increase in Flight Safety training. Mr. Menger said it is a little of both, but primarily an increase in flight training. Mrs. Drndak felt it was important that they know the mix because if a lot is flight training then ramp space is going to be a lot different than if it is new people coming here with their aircraft or if it is tenant traffic, such as Corporate Air. Mr. Lucette said the Airport has grown in operations more than any other airport in Florida over the past two years. Last year it was mostly Flight Safety operations. Mrs. Jordan said as Tax Collector, she is seeing a huge increase of people becoming permanent residents. She said that she could get the statewide numbers if they would like to see them. Mr. Menger referred to Slide 15 West Commercial Park. He said if staff brings before the Commission a long term lease on the parcel with dual use capability (aviation and non-aviation) and it is not for aviation use, they would need to consider if that is the best use for that parcel. He said staff might want to send out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for that parcel to see what responses they receive (aviation or non-aviation). 2 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mr. Lucette said they will be working with a local appraiser and suggested that they select this parcel as one of the parcels to be appraised. Then they could make a decision on what would be best use, aviation or non-aviation. Mrs. Drndak referred to Slide 16 Airport Northwest. She said one discussion that has taken place is if they have airline service that there would be a benefit to separating an airline terminal from the general aviation terminal. Ms. Wood referred to Slide 17 Airport Aviation Core Option 1. She felt the four proposed areas and the increase in ramp area was a better use than having a restaurant or hotel. Mr. Lucette said the Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee (AMPAP) discussed if it would be conceivable to use some of Piper s land that is currently vacant to build hangars that would be adjacent to the Airport so Sun Aviation could continue to grow (referring to Slide 18-Option2). He reported that they submitted this to Piper for their consideration, but they have not heard back from them. Mrs. Drndak asked are they suggesting that the Airport purchase that property from Piper. Mr. Lucette said that is one option. They felt it would be better if the Airport purchased the property and leased it to Sun Aviation. Mr. Cantner preferred Option 1 over Option 2. Mrs. Drndak referred to Slide 19 Airport Commercial Village. She said if Aviation Boulevard is widened it would be another east/west corridor for the community. She felt with commercial air service they will need hotels, restaurants, etc. and if they don t have the zoning and planning in place it is never going to happen. She said the AMPAP wanted to keep the zoning light industrial and she would like it to be commercial retail because they don t want a factory next to a hotel. She felt this was a critical point in this entire plan and they have to get it right now. Mr. Wood said that he spoke with Mr. Phil Matson, of Indian River County, regarding widening Aviation Boulevard and he was told that it is dead for four to five years. Mrs. Drndak said that is why she felt it was important to have this writing in their strategic business plan so everyone sees this as a central part of what they want to develop. It was her hope that by having this part of their Master Plan they could push this issue a little more to get it funded. 3 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mr. Tim Zorc, County Commissioner, said widening Aviation Boulevard was funded at one time, but the hang-up then is the same today, which is the right-of-way issue. He said the County and the City have been discussing this. Mr. Jim O Connor, City Manager, reported that the City conceded the right-of-way and the County Attorney has it on his desk. Mr. Zorc said that would take them from 43 rd Avenue to 27 th Avenue. Once they have that he would suggest that the Commission send a letter to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), as well as have someone appear at their March MPO meeting requesting that they bring the project back. The right-of-way from 27 th Avenue to US1 will be another hurdle, as well as the Crossing Maintenance Agreement at the railroad tracks. He said that he would be discussing with the MPO where a good place would be to have a designated crossover access point for the Hospital if All Aboard Florida (AAF) does come through. He said the MPO is currently working on their 2020 plan so this is a good time to get with them. Mrs. Drndak said that she would work with Mr. Menger to come up with a plan that they could bring to the next MPO meeting. Mr. Lucette said Slide 20 had two implementation priorities that they would like the Commission to accept, which were a) Widening and proposed improvements to Aviation Boulevard and b) Land utilization options (near-term and long-term). Mr. Hodge made a motion to prioritize the widening and proposed improvements to Aviation Boulevard starting with the MPO. Ms. Wood seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mrs. Drndak asked for a motion to approve the land utilization options. Ms. Wood did not think she could vote on this. Ms. Sherri Philo, Deputy City Clerk, explained to Ms. Wood that she would need to vote unless she has a voting conflict. Ms. Wood said some of the property in the core development included Flight Safety and she works for Flight Safety. Mrs. Drndak said they were looking more at the concept of Core 1 being a commercial airport village, Core 2 being aviation related, etc. They were not being specific on how they want it developed. 4 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mr. Cantner made a motion that the Commission members accept Option b) in looking at the land utilization options presented before them today to be utilized in the near future and they are strictly options that the Commission would need to vote. Mr. Hodge seconded the motion. Mr. Wood asked Mr. Cantner to explain the motion. Mr. Cantner said they approved the widening and proposed improvements to Aviation Boulevard, which is the first item on the priorities. Now they are voting to accept the land utilization options that were presented to them today. The motion passed unanimously. At this time, Mr. Gordon took over the Power Point presentation (Slide 24 Total VRB System Observations Traffic). Mr. Menger handed out information on the True Market / Leakage Study and Small Community Air Service Development Program grants (please see attached). Mr. Zorc said last year the MPO looked at trying to identify origination through Ticket Pull Data. The data they had was from 2009/2010, which showed the departures through zip codes from Indian River County was about 37,000 per year. He referred to Slide 27 VRB Passengers by City. He felt that these numbers were more encouraging. He asked how many people from Indian River County were departing from Orlando, Melbourne, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami. Mr. Gordon said that is included in his data. Mr. Zorc asked that this information be given to the MPO. Mrs. Drndak was encouraged by the numbers. She asked how supportive is the FAA in terms of grant money for an infrastructure to be built because an airline is interested in coming in. She asked are they supportive of this idea. Mr. Gordon said they are supportive. Mrs. Drndak asked is there a way to put together a timeline with associated costs of what they would need to do. She said that she is very interested in pursuing this. Mr. Gordon answered yes. He said that there are two or three conferences where almost every airline attends and people try to sell their area for airline service. He noted that these conferences are almost like speed dating. 5 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mrs. Drndak referred to the question, Receive direction from Airport Commission on the desirability to proceed with pursuing commercial air service at VRB (go or no-go decision) (Slide 30). She felt that the Commission members should share their thoughts on pursuing commercial service before they make a motion and vote on it. Mr. Wood said that he has a list of the Airport Commission Members from Punta Gorda, St. Augustine, and Naples and his intent was to interview each one of them because they have already gone through this. He felt this would give them more education on how to go about this. He said Mr. Gordon stated that Vero Beach needs to go to the airlines, but he questioned why the airlines were not coming to Vero Beach. He asked what is stopping the airlines from being attracted to Vero Beach. Mr. Gordon said the airlines look at the numbers, but they don t take the time to look at where their customers are going. Mr. Wood felt that they should interact with the other Airport Commissioners and Airport Managers that have gone through this. Mrs. Drndak wanted to wait and make sure this is something they want to pursue. She did not think they needed to get into the specifics at this point. They need to have a recommendation from the Commission on if they want to pursue getting into commercial service. Mr. Hodge made a motion that they progress with not necessarily plans, but with the idea and concept of developing some future manner in which to attract schedule (airline) service. Mr. Cantner seconded the motion. Mrs. Jordan said that she would like to see a gentlemen s agreement between the City of Vero Beach, Indian River County, Indian River Shores, and Fellsmere. She felt that they needed to be part of a team that outreaches to the airlines as a whole unit rather than just the City of Vero Beach. Mr. Zorc wanted to expand on that stating that they need to use every contact angle they have to bring service here. He said that he has heard there is a significant shareholder of Silver Airways, who is a resident of Indian River Shores. Mr. Hodge amended his motion to include the idea of establishing some budgetary changes in order to proceed. Mr. Menger agreed. He said they might have to consider where to get the funding and they need to take a close look at the Airport budget. 6 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mrs. Drndak said if they vote to move forward one of the first things they would need is the timeline and funding information. Mr. Cantner seconded the amended motion and it passed unanimously. Ms. Wood asked has anyone in St. Lucie County pursued airline service and if so, what was the result. Mr. John Wiatrak, St. Lucie County International Airport Manager, said they have been looking into commercial airline service. He said they would be presenting their Business Plan to the City Council on April 7 th and commercial airline service is a part of it. Mr. Wood asked are they pursuing the Caribbean area for air service. He said the City is going to try to stay Domestic rather than International. He asked could they have a partnership where they go in one direction and Vero Beach goes in the other so they would not compete. Mr. Wiatrak thought that was a fantastic route to pursue. 6. OLD BUSINESS None 7. CHAIRMAN S MATTERS None 8. AIRPORT DIRECTOR S MATTERS A) Annual Report Mr. Menger reported that Walking Tree Brewery received funding and are moving forward and Oculina Bank is under construction. He said the Airport s high priority to the Legislation in Tallahassee is for continued State funding for Airport Development Grants. He reported that the Airport was on the cover of the Florida Flyer magazine, they were in several places in the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce s Annual Report, and were in the Who s Who Magazine. Staff is currently working on Aviation Day, which will be held Saturday, February 28, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mr. Wood said that he tried to get the International Guard, the Army, and the Navy as possible tenants at the Airport and was turned down because of the funding in the military. 7 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Mr. Menger reported that the Airport s Annual Report was approved by the City Council. He said if any of the Commission members have questions that they can call him and he would go over it with them. 9. ADJOURNMENT Today s meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. /sp 8 02/26/15 Airport Commission
Vero Beach Airport Master Plan Airport Development Concepts City Council Briefing May 19, 2015
Meeting Agenda 1. Status Update 2. Aviation Activity Forecasts 3. Review of Land Uses and Development Concepts 4. True Market Study Results 5. City Council Concurrence 6. Next Steps 2
The Airport Master Plan An airport master plan is a comprehensive study of an airport and usually describes the short-, medium-, and long-term development plans to meet future aviation demand. FAA Advisory Circular 150/5070 6B Airport Master Plans In addition, master plan will emphasize planning topics that are important to the City and community: Financial responsibility Reduced environmental impacts Improved community relations and economic development 3
4 STATUS UPDATE
Sustainable Master Plan Status Update Existing Conditions, Planning Priorities and Baseline Assessment Aviation Activity Forecast Facility Requirements Definition Business Opportunities and Alternatives Development FAA Review and Approval (July 2014) Airport Layout Plan Update Financial Implementation Plan Environmental Considerations Evaluate and Select Preferred Development Concepts Final FAA Review and Approval COMPLETED ONGOING TO BE UNDERTAKEN
Vision Statement for Master Plan A vibrant, forward-looking airport serving the aeronautical needs of our community, while contributing to the growth of the local economy and honoring the historic and natural heritage of the Vero Beach area. 6
7 AVIATION ACTIVITY FORECASTS
VRB Aviation Activity Forecasts PREFERRED FORECAST FOR BASED AIRCRAFT AND AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS BASED AIRCRAFT AIRCRAFT YEAR HELICOPTERS JET SINGLE ENGINE MULTI ENGINE TOTAL OPERATIONS 2013 4 5 154 49 212 185,699 2023 4 7 187 60 258 214,848 2033 4 9 227 73 313 249,460 Average Annual Growth Rate 2013-2033 0.0% 3.0% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1.5% SOURCES: FAA TAF, January 2014; Ricondo & Associates, Inc., January 2014. PREPARED BY: Ricondo & Associates, Inc. January 2014. Approved by FAA: July 23, 2014 8
VRB Capacity Needs Overview by System Airport Component 2025 1/ (10-year horizon) 221,000 annual aircraft operations 2035 1/ (20-year horizon) 257,000 annual aircraft operations Airfield 2/ Aircraft Storage (Hangars, Apron) Deficit Deficit Terminal/Office Facilities 3/ Vehicular Parking 4/ Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) 5/ Notes: 1/ Per the approved FAA forecasts, July 23, 2014. 2/ While runway capacity is adequate, aircraft circulation infrastructure will be needed to serve new facilities. 3/ A change in service at the airport could increase these requirements (e.g. Commercial Air Service). 4/ Assumes new facilities would include sufficient vehicular parking. 5/ A change of ARFF index to accommodate frequent large aircraft could increase these requirements. Sources: Tenant Interviews and Tenant Surveys Results, January 2015; Vero Beach Airport Master Plan Update, January 2015. 9
10 AIRPORT LAND USE ANALYSIS
Strategic Land Use Cores CORE 6 AIRPORT WEST No existing infrastructure. Provides long-term capacity for non-aviation facilities. Limited environmental constraints. CORE 7 AIRPORT WEST COMMERCIAL PARK Provides readily available parcels (all leased) for aviation development. CORE 5 AIRPORT NORTHWEST No existing infrastructure. Provides long-term capacity for aviation facilities. Limited environmental constraints. CORE 4 AIRPORT NORTHEAST No existing infrastructure. Existing environmental constraints. Provides long-term capacity for aviation facilities development. Access to railroad tracks (multimodal) CORE 3 MIDFIELD AVIATION Provides limited infrastructure. Development is limited by ATCT line-of-sight considerations. Has potential to support sustainability initiatives. 11 CORE 1 AIRPORT COMMERCIAL VILLAGE Limited airfield accessibility. Should provide considerations for master planned development of retail/service uses. CORE 2 AIRPORT AVIATION CORE Should maximize aviation facilities as supporting facilities are pre-existing. Should maximize ramp and hangar space to support existing tenants.
12 AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS
Airport Commercial Village Illustrative Concept for Planning Purposes Only IMPROVED AIRPORT DRIVE Parking Supporting Passenger Terminal Needs Non-aeronautical Commercial Center Aviation Mart Dragonfly Boatworks Walking Tree Brewery Oculina Bank Gas Station Historic Dodgertown 13 Widen Aviation Boulevard, maximize non-aeronautical revenue generating developments on land not needed for aviation purposes or without access to airfield.
Airfield Infrastructure Improvements Illustrative Concept for Planning Purposes Only Runway extension to 5,350 ft Taxiway B extension (anticipated 2019) North Ramp upgraded to mid-size corporate aircraft (< 79 wingspan) Wingspan Classification: Group I - < 49 wingspan Group II - < 79 wingspan Group III - < 118 wingspan Group IV - < 171 wingspan Taxiway E extensions (anticipated 2017 and 2020) Separation allows all mid-size jets and piston aircraft (< 79 wingspan) Runway widened to 150 to accommodate narrowbody jet aircraft (< 118 wingspan) Separation allows narrowbody jet aircraft (< 118 wingspan) Separation allows widebody jet aircraft (< 171 wingspan) 14 Source: Infrastructure geometric requirements located in FAA AC 150/5300-13A Change 1.
15 TRUE MARKET STUDY (PASSENGERS TRAFFIC ORIGINATING OR TERMINATING IN VERO BEACH AREA)
True Market Study (TMS) Overview Analysis performed by Sixel Consulting Group, Inc. over the past 6 months Part of sustainable master plan, by supporting the following: Bringing new and more convenient service to the community (local and regional) Helping the Airport increase revenue diversification to further improve its financial self-sufficiency Includes passengers information and revenue statistics listing the top 100 Origin and Destination markets for the Vero Beach Airport catchment area. Department Of Transportation Surveys use a sampling of data reported by the air carriers as required by various regulations. 16
VRB Catchment Area SOURCE: Sixel Consulting Group, Inc., August 2014. 17
Total System Observations Market Share Top Domestic Markets for Vero Beach Region: 1. NYC Area (All NYC airport combined) 2. The Washington, DC / Baltimore Capital Area 3. Chicago Area 4. Boston Area 5. Los Angeles Area 6. Atlanta Area Top International Markets for Vero Beach Region: 1. Guadalajara, Mexico 2. Mexico City, Mexico 18 SOURCE: US DOT O&D Survey, 2014; : Sixel Consulting Group, Inc., August 2014.
VRB Passengers by City Annual Passengers: Port Saint Lucie: 873,707 Vero Beach: 637,112 Fort Pierce: 305,686 Sebastian: 132,280 Total: 1,948,785 Other Cities: 119,410 SOURCE: Sixel Consulting Group, Inc., August 2014. 19
20 CITY COUNCIL CONCURRENCE
Concurrence on Master Plan Interim Outcomes Prioritization of the widening and proposed improvements to Aviation Boulevard starting with the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Land utilization options presented to the City Council to be utilized in the near future. Progress with the idea and concept of developing scheduled airline service and to establish budgetary changes in order to proceed. 21
Next Steps Prepare master plan document aligned with master planning priorities and goals and facility needs Prepare Airport Layout Plan set for FAA approval 22
Vero Beach Airport Master Plan We thank the stakeholders for their input and support. If you have any questions: Eric Menger, (772) 978-4930 x103 Remy Lucette, (305) 260-2727 x254