MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY AIRPORT DISTRICT
November 3, 2004

NOTE: This meeting was tape recorded and the tape is available at the airport office.

1. CALL TO ORDER

President Dave Rosenthal called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Directors Bozack, Mohn, and Rosenthal. Director Farris arrived at 7: 10. Also present were District Manager and Assistant Manager. Members of the public present were: Ann Norris, Brad Glasco, and Tom Bozack.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG

Director Rosenthal led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

3. CONSENT CALENDAR

A. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of October 13, 2004 and waive further reading of the Minutes.

B. Approval/ratification of the Payment Register of November 3, 2004

C. Approval of Financial Report for September of 2004.

Motion was made by Director Mohn, seconded by Director Bozack, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS PRESENTED. Motion was passed by voice vote: 3 ayes, 2 absent.

4.A. APPROVAL OF LETTER SUPPORTING GRANT APPLICATION: INDIAN WELLS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

An application for a grant from the California Department of Water Resources is being made on behalf of the Valley Groundwater Management Group, of which the Airport District is a member. The grant will continue a project started with a previous grant. The State gives more consideration to applications when a management group is extant and recommends supporting the application. A similar letter of support was sent by the District for the previous grant.

Motion was made by Director Mohn, seconded by Director Bozack, TO APPROVE SENDING A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR A GRANT APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT ON BEHALF OF THE INDIAN WELLS VALLEY GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT GROUP. Motion was approved by voice vote: 3 ayes, 2 absent.

6. DISTRICT COUNSEL

District Counsel was not present.

7. DISTRICT MANAGER 

• Skywest enplanements for the month of October were 1029.
• Ms. Bass congratulated the winners of the election and thanked everybody who ran for office for their interest in the airport.
• The gate project will be completed as soon as the Edison Company turns on the electricity. This will be done when they receive the payment from the District PFC account with Kern County. Care will be taken to try to inform all tenants and users of how the system works, and the airport office will remain open on some week-ends to facilitate issuing the cards. There was a short discussion at this point regarding how to enter and exit the field if the power goes out. The Board would like to have a pilot meeting to discuss usage, and Ms. Bass said that instructions will be given when they get their card.
• The airport has received a request for possibly basing the glider operation, which is attempting to set a new world altitude soaring record, at Inyokern from the end of November until mid May of 2005. The staff will try to accommodate their needs and have them at the airport during that period. The hangar owned by Mr. Kunkle is probably the only place large enough for their needs.
• Report on Fuel Facility.

Mr. Seymour stated that following receipt of an e-mail from Lee Phillips, airport staff went over the system in light of his comments about having problems getting fuel. Many of them were valid, and subsequently new parts were ordered and installed, and all of his concerns were addressed. At this time the information at the bottom part of the new screen drops off, and a new part should be here November 4 which will correct this problem. Pictures were distributed showing the new set-up and various changes were made to increase visibility and make using the system easier.

The pumps at the south facility are out of service, and upon checking it was discovered that no test and inspection or maintenance records were available for the entire system, which is probably 25 or more years old. Parts are nearly impossible to obtain to make the needed repairs. Staff has been working on fixing the problem by using an old system that was stored there, but it has not helped the problem. Staff will now attempt to use parts from one of the pumps to enable the other one to be put back into use. With one of the pumps out of service, funds will not be needed for improvements or the required testing and maintenance, and only one pump is needed.

Ms. Bass said that with the new airport funding bill, general aviation airports may use their discretionary grants to construct new fuel systems. There is some question as to whether entitlement grants may also be used for this, and the F.A.A. is checking on this but as yet has no copy of the new funding bill. The north system is over 12 years old, and Mr. Seymour explained that on the south system he removed over half of a 5 gallon bucket of sand among other items needing repairs. Should the District obtain grant funding, an above ground system would be used and there would be only one facility on the field rather than the two now in use.

Ms. Bozack asked if the south pumps will remain in use right now, and the answer was yes, so long as they can be repaired and maintained. Bills are sent monthly on the basis of the individual meter readings.

Ms. Bozack questioned the instructions posted on the north pumps. The instructions on the decals are supplied by the manufacturers and suppliers, and they are standard at all airports. There are only a few companies that supply this equipment, and it may appear confusing but the pilots are fine with it once they get used to it. Mr. Seymour also explained that there are a specific number of usable lines in the computer, so you must keep the instructions to a minimum. Mr. Rosenthal said that suggestions may be made to the staff and there may be able to be changes made. Ms. Bozack emphasized that if pilots get frustrated with the system they may go elsewhere for fuel to the detriment of Inyokern. Mr. Farris stated that this system is the same as systems at other airports, and pilots know how to use the system.

In response to a comment by Ms. Bozack, Mr. Seymour explained that the changes at the pump enable pilots to see the pad better when the angle of the sun would otherwise bother them.

8. COMMITTEE REPORTS

There were no committee meetings during the last month.

9. PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

10. BOARD COMMENT

DIRECTOR FARRIS: no comment

DIRECTOR MOHN: Director Mohn thanked all of the candidates who ran in the election and thanked those present for their participation.

DIRECTOR BOZACK: Ms. Bozack also thanked the people who ran in the election. Ms. Bozack also said that Mr. Simonovich is still concerned about the right hand pattern for runway 20, with pilots still using left traffic. All pilots should be reminded of the right hand traffic pattern on this runway. Ms. Bass said that the warning has been in the newsletter three times, and some pilots have criticized the staff for doing this. Mr. Mohn said that this is definitely a safety issue and the District should do everything possible to see that the correct pattern is flown. Mr. Rosenthal said that if there is a safety meeting, this can be brought up at that time.

The ramp markings were brought up also. Ms. Bass had called the State Division of Aeronautics and they are no longer going to have design standards for painting those marks. However, Ms. Bass said that only very crowded ramps use the markings, and the District does not have the time or the funds to do this at this time. Mrs. Bozack also asked about numbering the spots. Ms. Bass said that in the past when there are numbers, people want to have specific reserved spots, which resulted in arguments so the numbers were removed. Mr. Simonovich said that the ramp was crowded last year at the Young Eagles event.

DIRECTOR ROSENTHAL: Mr. Rosenthal also thanked the candidates in the recent election. He has noticed increasing attention to the airport, as it is appreciated and he hopes that members of the public continue to participate and make comments. Important suggestions and guidance is gotten from their comments.

11. ADJOURNMENT

Motion was made by Director Mohn, seconded by Director Farris, TO ADJOURN THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF INDIAN WELLS VALLEY AIRPORT DISTRICT OF NOVEMBER 3, 2004 at 7:28 p.m.. Motion was approved by voice vote: 4 ayes, 1 absent

Submitted by
Nancy Bass, Executive Secretary