Accept the Flagstaff Airport CARES Act Grant Funding Plan as recommended by city staff for the grant award amount of $18,134,294 for operational costs over 4 years.

FUNDING PLAN

Personnel	$7,833,503
Operations	$3,609,739
Operating Equipment and Maintenance	$6,691,052

Personnel includes:  Airport Personnel, Police Law Enforcement Officers, Airport Business Manager, and Project Engineer Labor
Operations includes:  Contractuals, Commodities, and Debt Service
Operating Equipment and Maintenance includes:  Rolling Stock (Fleet), Snow Removal Equipment (City Match), Operating Equipment and Maintenance, which includes Hanger Improvements ($250,000 per year for four years) and the Climate Action and Adaption Plan (CAAP) improvements ($75,000 per year).

On May 19, 2020, the City Council accepted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant offer for operating costs, such as personnel, operations, equipment, and maintenance.  These funds help offset the impacts of declining revenues at the Flagstaff Airport and reduce the airport need for General Fund support.

This funding will help us pay for Personnel, Airfield Maintenance, Building Maintenance, Parking and Street Maintenance, Aircraft Hanger Improvements, Equipment and the Climate Action and Adaption Plan (CAAP) items.

There are a number of projects identified in the Operating Equipment and Maintenance category ($6.9M), the completion of the various projects will be completed following our local procurement rules.  Contracts for all projects exceeding the $50,000 cost threshold will be presented to council for approval.

Specific Grant Conditions to be aware of are as follows;

• Period of Performance - The grant funds may be used for expenses incurred no earlier than January 20, 2020 and ending four (4 years) or (1,460 calendar days) from the date of acceptance.
• Employee Retention - Airport agrees to continue to employ, through December 31, 2020, at least 90 percent of the number of individuals employed (after making adjustments for retirements or voluntary employee separations) by the airport as of March 27, 2020.
• Special Conditions for vehicle equipment maintenance, replacement, and acquisition for airport use only.

 

The $18.1 million CARES Act grant award the Flagstaff Airport received was derived from the fact we offer commercial airline service. Our commercial service is met through our airline partners, American and United Airlines and involves the increase in overall enplanements we currently experienced and hope to experience in the future. Other smaller airports in Arizona, that only have general aviation activity, also received monies but they were not in the realm of millions. With that said, it is important to note that having this commercial service currently  helped the Flagstaff Airport with achieving a larger grant amount.  The Flagstaff Airport plays a critical role in offering a multi-modal transportation system in our community for both leisure and business travel.

On June 11th,  the FAA CARES Act Grant Funding Plan was presented and approved by the Airport Commission.  In addition, the City Manager approved, along with input from the Airport Commission, to defer Hanger Rental Rate increases until July 1, 2021.