Meeting Minutes for 07/11/2007 Meeting Between

OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL

CHERYL L. BROWN 117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425 DIRECTOR 4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL OFFICE (904) 630-1452 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202 FAX (904) 630-2906 E-MAIL: [email protected] February 26, 2010 5:00 p.m.

SEAPORT AND AIRPORT SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES February 23, 2010

Location: City Council Conference Room A, Suite 425, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street

In attendance: Chairman Daniel Davis, Committee Members Art Graham, Stephen Joost (arr. 4:10); JAA Liaison Bill Bishop (arr. 4:14)

Also: Council Member Ray Holt; Peggy Sidman – Office of General Counsel; Steve Grossman, Michael Stewart and Bob Simpson – Jacksonville Aviation Authority; Rick Ferrin - Jacksonville Port Authority; Mike Miller – JTA; Merriane Lahmeur – Legislative Services Division; Jeff Clements – City Council Research Division; Alberta Hipps – Hipps Group Inc.; Joe Wilhelm – Financial News and Daily Record

Meeting Convened: 4:01 p.m.

JPA update CEO Rick Ferrin reported that a delegation from Jacksonville will be going to Washington D.C. tomorrow to meet with the Army Corps of Engineers to try and get the $60 Mile Point project back on track for construction by 2013 rather than 2 or 3 years later. There is difficulty in proving a positive cost/benefit ratio because Jacksonville doesn’t have a history of large ships calling on the port because of the channel depth. If the Corps is unmoved in its process, Jaxport will approach the City’s Congressional delegation to place an add-on in the Energy and Water Appropriation bill to direct the Corps to do the Mile Point project immediately. The post-Panamax deepening project (to 48-50 feet) should not be a problem to get authorized.

JAA update Steve Grossman reported that he, too, would be going to Washington in the next week to push for passage of the FAA funding reauthorization for another 3-5 years. He noted that Jacksonville International Airport has been ranked #2 in the U.S., #4 in North America and #5 in the world for airports of its size by J.D. Power and Associates.

Cecil Field has been issued a spaceport license and is already starting to field contacts from companies potentially interested in the opportunities that may offer. Cecil Field is the only licensed spaceport in an urbanized area instead of miles from civilization in a desert, so should be well positioned to capitalize on space tourism when that becomes practical. A planning conference for Cecil Field is in the works with all of the stakeholders and other interested parties invited to attend to think about the future of Cecil. The JAA board voted yesterday to approve construction of a 24,000 square foot building at Cecil Field for a new administrative headquarters for LSI.

JIA has recently attracted several new flights – 2 daily trips to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) on Southwest Airline and 3 flights a day to Chicago on American Airlines. The JAA is lending its assistance to the Florida Air National Guard’s attempt to get new F-35 fighter jets assigned to the wing at JIA. The JIA police issue has been resolved by the board this week – the authority will continue to hire its own law enforcement officers rather than hire the Sheriff’s Office to perform the duties. The JIA terminal connector project will be getting underway shortly and will be largely completed by the Thanksgiving/Christmas travel season, with full completion coming after the holidays. The rest of the JAA’s construction projects at all its airports for the next 3-5 years are “behind the scenes” or underground jobs that the general public will not see. The JAA has instituted new corporate parking and frequent parker programs at JIA to offer perks to regular users.

Meeting Adjourned: 4:25 p.m.

Minutes: Jeff Clements, Chief of Research 2/26/10, posted 5:00 p.m. Tapes: Seaport/Airport Committee meeting – LSD 2/23/10 Materials: Agenda - LSD 2/23/10