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Home My WebLink AboutLaurel Airport Authority Minutes 12.16.2025 LAUREL AIRPORT jl�AUTHORITY 1� M 658 LAA Board Meeting Minutes December 16, 2025 (6 pm) Roll Call: Joe Mutchler, Jim Wise, Randy Hand, Doug Myers present. Gary Blain was out of town. Members of public present: Fred Lee, Justin Zindell (KLJ), Jim Schaak, Brad Sinclair, Ed Taylor, John Roberts Approval of Minutes from previous meeting: 11/12/2025 by unanimous consent (Gary absent). Financial Update • (Not yet available ... YTD financial summary provided by Beartooth accounting and current Western security bank summary provided.) • November Bills Approved and previously paid (Signed by Jim/ Doug) o YVEC for$46 o MacKenzie Disposal for$119.22 o Cotters for$60.00 o City of Laurel for$3,310.34 o Century Link for$104.72 Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items: • Fred Lee—needed emergency access to RW's and TW's but snow was too deep and no plowing had yet taken place. • Justin Zindell—grant money may possibly be available for addt'I snow removal equipment Public Comment on Agenda Items: Public comments welcomed as agenda items discussed • KLJ—can draft"on call" service agreements for all new construction Cory lots. • EEC has submitted lot survey work for Cory lots and it needs to be signed off and approved by KLJ.This will save lot owner's cost. Approved by unanimous vote (Joe/ Randy). KLJ Engineering: Airport Project Status Report December 16, 2025 Laurel Municipal Airport CLIENT CONTACT PERSON AND ADDRESS Joe Mutchler,406-702-6658 PO Box 242 Laurel,MT 59044 4oseph.t.mutchler@gmail.com WORK IN PROGRESS Laurel Airport Master Plan Update KU#2105-00217 AIP 3-30-0047-024-2022 KU has completed the Airport Master Plan (AMP)and Airport Layout Plan(ALP)updates,and the ALP has received FAA approval.KU will now proceed into the project closeout phase to finalize all activities associated with the grant. Laurel Pavement Maintenance KU#2305-01826 AIG#3-30-0047-025-2024 American Road Maintenance of Tucson,Arizona,served as the contractor for the project.The project has achieved full completion,and final acceptance has been executed by all parties. KU has prepared the project closeout report and submitted a draft to the Helena ADO for review. In addition,the grant amendment letter, signed by the Airport Board Chair,was submitted in early October for approval and has since been approved. Pay Estimate No.3 will serve as the final payment,thereby satisfying all remaining financial obligations to the contractor. KU will proceed with finalizing the final pay estimate,completing the closeout process,and compiling the final project closeout report. Laurel Access Road-Design and Construction KU#2405-01024 AIG#3-30-0047-0026-2025 The project is currently in the design phase,with construction anticipated for the summer of 2026 under a separate grant.The design is approximately 90 percent complete.A final survey is planned to obtain additional data on the existing access road to support completion of the final design.Upon receipt of this data,the plans will be finalized and prepared for final review and the engineer's stamp. At this time,work is ongoing on the Final Design, Bidding,Construction Administration and Observation,and Closeout scopes of services.Once the solicitation for asphalt testing is issued,the scope of work can be fully completed,and it will be determined whether this phase will require an Independent Fee Estimate(IFE).Staff will continue advancing the design and FAA Grant Applications in order to be prepared for bidding in late winter or early spring. OTHER ITEMS • KU#2405-01024 Access Road Final Design&CACO for 2026. MDT Aero Draft grant application has been completed and submitted to the MDT Aeronautics Board. • Cory Hangar—Miscellaneous Professional Services Agreement—Draft Agreement has been completed for boards review.Still needs final review with Contract Specialist before signature. • DeFrance Hanger for Ed Taylor-Miscellaneous Professional Services Agreement—Draft Agreement has been completed for boards review.Still needs final review with Contract Specialist before signature. 1 ENGINEERING, REIMAGINED KLJ Engineering: ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION BY CITY/AIRPORT • Completion of SF271 for RFR 3 (Design Grant—Access Road) • Delphi Access Authorization Signature for Sheila • KU Invoices ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION BY MT Aeronautics • None ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION BY FAA • None. Reported by: Justin Zindell KU Engineering LLC 406-294-5500 Justin.Zindell@kljeng.com Maintenance Report: • Jim Wise has purchased (to be reimbursed) a new electrically operated fuel pump to be used with the diesel fuel trailer stored inside the SIRE building. • Murl has requested that Jim (as he has time) help him adjust tension on the door opening springs for the small garage doors at the SIRE building. However, we voted to approve the purchase and installation of"Jackscrew" style electric openers (@ $515 ea.)for each SIRE building door(Joe/ Randy). • We need to advocate for the removal of the ramp queen aircraft that never fly(maybe by next season?)to accommodate the snow plowing volunteers (Primarily Murl and Jim Wise) who have to maneuver around those AC every year. We discussed charging$60 per month (to match FBO charges)for flying aircraft (fee to be waved with purchase of 10 gallons min. of fuel) or charging $250 per month for non-flying aircraft that are essentially abandoned on the ramp. New Business: 1. AWOS system reliability issues were discussed: o CenturyLink appears to have a dead line as phone calls to the AWOS system play only busy signals. o John Roberts has upgraded our power pack to a newer style as the old one was taken out by a power outage. We need to determine what the cost would be to push our Wx info to the FAA for METAR creation. o We need to get AWI to send a technician out to fix and troubleshoot our system but to also train our LAA board members on how to better use and troubleshoot the system. 2. Randy will contact Brock in an effort to get our webpages transferred to the City of Laurel (new URL). We can them more easily update our own website with hangar waiting list info, hangar availability to rent info etc. We could also facilitate aircraft owner updates of AC for our database records submission to the FAA. 3. Discuss the request of a balloon operator, Mark Boulet,to rent space for his equipment trailer and to launch from 6S8: o MT Aeronautics has stated that there are balloon ops in MT but none launching from airports. o We need to determine if this would be a commercial or non-commercial operation. If commercial,the operators would need to operate out of a commercial hangar at the airport. o Joe Mutchler(as Chairman)would like to discuss further with the operators. o The board is unanimous with concerns regarding the safety of balloon flight from 6S8. We are becoming very busy with both fixed wing and helicopter flight and slow moving, large, hovering balloons would pose a serious risk for potential mid-air collisions as pilots maneuver around them in attempts to land or take off. o For the record, no current Laurel airport users (who've we've asked for opinions from) are in favor of balloons operating out of our airport. Doug Myers LAA Board Secretary 406-633-5299 Cell Laurel Airport Authority P.O. Box 242 Laurel, MT 59044 406-628-0172