June 27, 2006
Jackson Hole Airport Conference Room
Senator Henry “Hank” Coe
Senator Grant Larson
Representative Floyd Esquibel
Representative Pete Illoway
Representative Tom Walsh
John H. Rivera, Senior Staff Attorney
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the
Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Chairman Illoway called
the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The
following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the
Committee Meeting Agenda.
Ms. Shelly Reams,
Administrator, Aeronautics Division, distributed the following:
Appendix 3, 2005 report on the Air
Service Enhancement Program;
Appendix 4, Guidelines for Application
for the Air Service Enhancement Program grants;
Appendix 5, 2006 Air Passenger Activity
Report;
Appendix 6, Description of
Administrative Position for the Air Service Enhancement Program;
Appendix 7, List of Air Service
Enhancement Program grants, active and final;
Appendix 8, Summary of 03SF120, which
created the Air Service Enhancement Program;
Appendix 9, Facts relating to the Small
Community Service Development Grant Program.
Ms. Reams described
the SABRE database program that can provide data on the 35,000 enplanements
that occurred last year in
Senator Larson
requested that the information in Appendix 5 be provided in a format that
allows easy comparison of the previous year's total enplanements, year-to-date
(YTD), for those months that are provided in the current year's YTD figures,
rather than providing the YTD totals for all 12 months of the previous year and
the YTD totals for those months of the current year for which monthly totals
are available.
Mr. Jerry DeLano,
Chairman, Wyoming Aeronautics Commission (the Commission), reiterated that the SABRE database provides a
wealth of data and Ms. Schlabs is doing a great job in providing that data in a
meaningful format. The Cody and the
Senator Coe
discussed the increased enplanements out of the
Ms. Reams discussed
the Air Service Enhancement Program funding.
The funds do not revert to the general fund at the end of the
biennium. The Department of
Transportation is still providing some additional funding to allow Ms. Reams to
send people to relevant conferences, in addition to the funding the Department
provided for initial set-up of the program.
Senator Larson stated that the administrative appropriation for the
program will revert, unlike the grant monies, so it is important to remember
that fact and to monitor what administrative appropriations may be necessary to
reauthorize in subsequent biennia.
Chairman Illoway encouraged Ms. Reams to inform the Committee if more
administrative funding was necessary to run the program.
Mr. Mike Gierau,
Jackson Hole Airport Board, advised that
Mr. DeLano explained
that only 40 grants were available from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation
under the Small Community Air Service Development Program described in Appendix
9.
Ms. Reams, in
response to questions from the Committee about the proposed contractor to
perform a air services marketing analysis for the Commission, stated that firm
has great research capabilities, but may need a public relations consultant to
assist with the presentation of the data and recommendations that would result
from the firm's research. A contract has
not yet been finalized because the scope of work is still being refined. Senator Larson added that the firm appears to
want to treat
Mr. Chuck Howell,
CEO, Great Lakes Airlines, distributed Appendix 11, a copy of his presentation
and Appendix 12, Peaks & Plains, the in-flight magazine recently
published for Great Lakes Airlines. He
stated he has been in
The
Mr. Howell suggested
the
Chairman Illoway and
Senator Larson expressed interest in a feasibility study to determine the
possibility of establishing intra-state air service.
Ms. Reams provided a
slide presentation on the Commission's goals for air service enhancement. The Commission has adopted a 3-tiered plan
for long-term air services improvements.
The first phase is focusing on individual community programs to enhance
air services. The program is in the third year of implementation of this phase. The second phase will broaden to include
statewide air service and will include a pricing negotiation strategy with
airline carriers. This phase should last
3 to 5 years. The third phase will focus
on a "fee for departure" program, including a central reservations
process to control pricing structures and costs of equipment purchases,
including the purchase of regional jets for
Ms. Reams
distributed Appendix 13, consisting of a white paper on establishment of an
aviation education program and an explanation of the appropriation needed to
implement the program. She explained the
need for statewide aviation education to foster career choices in the industry
and to promote air services for the State.
Mr. DeLano advised
that
Ms. Reams stated
that the Aeronautics Division will be hiring a fleet analysis expert to
evaluate the efficiencies of state officials and employees using the state
planes to conduct business statewide versus using ground transportation for
those purposes. The analysis will
include a comparison of actual costs associated with each form of
transportation and include the productivity lost during the travel. Representative Walsh asked that the analysis
include criteria such as the potential increase in usage of the state aircraft
and the need for additional equipment and staff to accommodate the increased
usage.
Mr. Tom Gould,
Aeronautics Division, described the current and proposed hangar for state
aircraft and office facilities of the Aeronautics Division. He distributed Appendix 14, describing the
proposed changes. By including an
on-site fueling system using a 12,000 gallon above-ground tank, the Division
should save at least $250 thousand annually and the savings may be as much as
$350 thousand annually. Because the Governor reduced the scope of the plan, the
proposed office facilities that were to be part of the hangar will not be
built. The hangar should be completed by
November, 2006. Chairman Illoway asked
what the office space that has been eliminated would have cost. He does not want a half-baked approach to the
project.
Ms. Reams
distributed Appendix 15, describing the anticipated reductions in federal
funding for airports in
Ms. Reams explained
that a five county coalition of law enforcement and search and rescue agencies
approached her for advice on how they could obtain a helicopter to serve the
five county region. She suggested they
approach the legislature with their request.
The counties involved include Fremont, Lincoln, Park, Sublette and Teton
counties. She introduced persons in
attendance who wanted to testify in support of the request.
Mr. Gould advised a
satellite location for a helicopter could be created and the Aeronautics
Division could staff and organize the interagency coalition if funding were
provided. If so tasked, the Division
could provide cost estimates of implementing such assistance to the coalition.
Sheriff Bob Zimmer,
Representative Walsh
asked if it may be feasible to explore creating a statewide system of regional
helicopters. Senator Coe said it is a
good idea, but would be very expensive.
Several Committee members recalled that the Legislature recently
approved funding for helicopter services to help with forest fire
suppression. Senator Larson asked the
coalition to conduct a past-use study to determine how much helicopters have
been used in the region in the past to conduct the activities identified, to
determine what the level of financial commitment might be from the county
commissioners of the respective counties, and where the helicopter would be
stationed. Representatives Monte Olsen
and Keith Gingery appeared in support of their counties request for assistance
in purchasing a helicopter.
Mr. Doug Meyer,
Teton County Search and Rescue, advised his agency is paying about $90 thousand
for four months in the Winter, usually to find and rescue lost or injured
skiers. Mr. Tony Chambers, Sublette
County Search and Rescue, stated that, unlike
Mr. Gierau, as a
Teton County Commissioner and serving on the Jackson Hole Airport Board,
expressed his support of the Commission's 3-tiered approach to enhance air
services in
Ms. Reams suggested
that the next Committee meeting could occur in Jackson during the Jackson Air
Rendezvous, scheduled for August 15-17, to allow the Committee to participate
in those meetings also. Chairman Illoway
advised that the timing would be difficult for most members because that would
occur too close to the primary election when legislators are very busy. He asked staff to explore a possible meeting
date for the Committee in the last week of August.
There being no
further business, Chairman Illoway adjourned the meeting at 2:15 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Representative Pete
Illoway, Chairman