Alva Review-Courier -

The Alva Airport Commission is losing patience with their fuel truck situation. In a meeting Monday night, members expressed their frustration with the long delay in getting a fuel tank mounted onto a new truck. They are also unhappy with the original plan to purchase two similar trucks being switched to one that is much larger.

Chairman Dale Logsdon opened the meeting with members Paul Kinzie, Terry Cline, Calleb Mosburg and Mayor Kelly Parker present.

The agenda listed the sale of the 2016 Freightliner for a price of $68,900. Cline asked if it is possible to bring back the other truck that is waiting for a PTO coming from China. He said there are a lot of “resourceful guys here” that could probably figure out how to hook up a motor and make it work. He said they might especially need it when the Young Eagles program is on the airport in April.

Kinzie said if they could get a part number and a verification that the part has been ordered, he liked the idea of bringing the truck back to the airport. He said it’s been four months since they’ve had the use of the Jet A fuel truck.

It was suggested getting the manager of the company handling the tank transfer from one vehicle to another on a Zoom call to discuss the problem. “We need to light a fire somehow,” said Kinzie. A special meeting would need to be scheduled if they can arrange such a call.

The commission members have also decided to get rid of the second vehicle which isn’t what they expected. They wanted to buy a second Isuzu truck like the one waiting for a part for the tank installation. Instead, they received a 2016 Freightliner. Parker made a motion to recommend the sale, seconded by Kinzie, and the motion passed by unanimous vote.

Installing Jet Fuel Tank

Three bids were received for the installation of a new above ground jet fuel tank. The lowest combined bid, with the base bid and two alternates, was from Innovative Fueling Systems. The bid total is a couple of thousand dollars over what the engineer expected.

Engineer Toby Baker with Parkhill recommended accepting the base bid and alternate 1 for a total of $540,272.50. He said alternate 2 is not needed unless “hot soil” is found. Alternate 1 is for removal of the current underground tank. Alternate 2 is for abatement if contaminated soil is found. Baker said that alternate can be added if needed.

The commission members approved the base bid and alternate 1 from Innovative Fueling Systems provided they receive the grant from the ODAA (Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics).

Grant Application

The commission members voted to authorize the mayor to sign a grant application to the ODAA to partially fund the jet fuel tank project. The grant is advertised as a 50/50 grant but ODAA caps their share at $300,000. It is noted that the approved bid includes $20,000 for electrical service to the new fuel system on the jet fuel tank. This is estimated as OG&E has not told the city what they will charge. If they do not charge, that $20,000 will be subtracted from the city’s cost.

Engineer Agreement

An amendment to the agreement with Parkhill for engineer services was approved. The ODAA grant application preparation was not included in their original budget.

Other Business

The airport has two certificates of deposit (CD) coming up for renewal. Commission members voted to approve renewal at the best rate for a 12-month period.

Airport Manager Derrick Courson reported February fuel sales totaled $45,919.11 with $12,974.91 from 100LL and $32,944.20 from Jet A sales. Other revenue came from the sale of oil ($131.10), van rental ($85.00) and merchandise sales ($15.00) for a total of $46,150.21.

Courson said February was a really good month. It was ski season with a lot of east coast jets stopping on their way to Colorado. Kinzie noted 100LL fuel sales were about twice what they were last year and asked what he would attribute that to. Courson said it is due to the nice weather plus a lot of repeat customers.

In the past two weeks, he said he’s had three jets ask about overnight hangar space which the airport does not provide. He said it’s something that might need attention.

Courson reported the green Buick courtesy car seems to have some electrical issues draining the battery. He said he’s getting equipment ready for mowing season.

The airport has two seasonal employees hired to help with the mowing. A part time employee has also been hired to keep the airport open on weekends.

See a video of the meeting at http://www.AlvaReviewCourier.com