PDC Consultants President Tony Manci reported Phase 2 of airport construction is about 85 percent finished. Mass grading operations are near completion and Wright Brothers Construction is moving into finished grade work.
“Large quantities of dirt have been moved and now they are going to be fine tuning what they’ve been doing,” Manci said.
The overall project is within budget and on time.
Mark Paslick, also of PDC Consultants, said since grading operations are winding down, they now know how much terminal area they have and finalize the layout. He expects to show the authority members two layout plans at the next meeting.
“We have two different locations for the terminal area and we have to make a decision,” Paslick. “I would like to have a meeting with pilots and show them what we are looking at and make a final decision.”
The meeting with pilots was set for July 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Barbara Fritsche, Fritsche Consulting of Fort Thomas, Ky., presented an overview of what should be included in a business plan.
She described a business plan as a “big picture or strategy document that talks about how to operate the airport and maximize your revenue stream.”
But, the document can also contain specifics about airport management, organization, standards and policies that can be useful resource when difficult decisions are needed. The very first step is to form a mission and vision statement.
“What is it we want to be and how are we going to get there? You are in a tremendous position because you are in a community that’s growing, healthy economically, so it really helps you set the bar for how you want to develop over the next 5, 10 or 20 years,” she said.
By considering the competitive environment, the local airport’s strengths and weaknesses compared to other airports in the area, a baseline financial performance can be set.
A business plan might include an organization and management plan to define whether the airport would be managed by a fixed base operator, a private company or by the airport authority.
Also, a customer development plan and an economic impact study to show the actual value of the airport to the community.
In other action, authority members selected Rardin and Carroll Architects of Chattanooga to design the new terminal building at Cleveland Municipal Airport and Askew Hargraves Harcourt and Associates of Memphis as the engineering firm.
