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A special meeting by the Warsaw Board of Aviation Commissioners will take place tentatively at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 so an agreement that was just presented to them at their regular meeting Tuesday, Dec. 9 can be approved before year’s end.
While Mary Kerstein, CHA Consulting project manager, didn’t have an update on the Airport Overlay District (AOD) for the board Tuesday, Warsaw Airport Manager Nick King did and presented the agreement.
An AOD is a set of regulations and restrictions regarding the height of structures designed to increase the safety associated with aircraft around an airport.
“I have spoken with Don Tribbett, and we have an agreement here that we’re going to be working with the planning office to get this funded, but this agreement, the board needs to initially approve this so that it can go to the Board of Public Works for their approval as well,” King said. “This contract will be with HWC Engineering, and they are a company that provides planning offices ordinance language, and they are going to be drawing up the legal language for the Airport Overlay District.”
He said CHA, the airport’s engineering consulting firm, did a lot of the heavy lifting with the drawings, the research and the background, but they are not a law firm and don’t provide legal services in that way.
“So to get the zoning language for the city code book, HWC has a proposal and we would just need the board to approve this proposal,” King stated.
The Warsaw Planning Department will pay for HWC to provide the legal ordinance language for the AOD, which is an hourly rate and not to exceed $22,800. The airport has used Tribbett, an attorney, in the past and he was able to connect the city to HWC.
Board member Steven Smilay asked where copies of the agreement were for the board members. King said it was emailed to him Tuesday morning.
Board Vice President John Yingling asked how quickly did the agreement need to be approved. King said “tonight” because they’re trying to get it through in the 2025 budget.
“So, we’re being asked to approve something we’ve never seen?” Smilay asked.
King said Tribbett and city attorney Scott Reust both went over the contract with HWC and gave their blessing on it. “I can give it to you right now if you would like to see it,” King said.
“I think that’s a little unreasonable for them to send you something this morning and ask us to approve something we’ve never seen tonight,” Smilay stated. “I can’t do that. I don’t mean to be difficult, but how can any of us say OK to something we’ve never seen?”
Board member Gene Zale agreed, adding they’ve never dealt with HWC before.
Board President Dan Robinson said he really wanted to see the agreement.
Yingling offered a motion for King to send it to the board members for review and then the board members could OK it by email. He was told the board is not allowed to vote on anything by email.
Yingling then asked if they could have a special meeting on the agreement, and King said they could do that, possibly by Zoom. Robinson asked if they could have a special meeting and vote through Zoom, and King said he knew they could do that. “It just has to be recorded,” he said.
Initially, the meeting was going to take place Friday, but to give the board members more time to review the 10- to 11-page agreement, it was decided to have the meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16. The last meeting for the Board of Public Works and Safety, for them to also approve the agreement with HWC, is at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a CHA invoice for $17,473.98, with the local share being $873.70, for work for the taxiway B rehabilitation.
• Approved CHA invoices for work on the runway 9-27 rehabilitation for $8,134.05 and $156,898.50, all local share. King said it’s the project the city partnered with the county on.
• Reviewed and approved the Airport Capital Improvement Plan. The ACIP is a planning document for the Indiana Department of Transportation and the FAA, which is required annually.
• Reviewed land lease agreements with Jeremy Morrison and Brian Hoover for potential hangars. The lease agreements will be presented at the board’s special meeting Dec. 16.
• Approved a proposal from Don Tribbett, Tribbett Law Office, to represent the board as needed. He charges $250 per hour and is an aviation-specific attorney. Smilay said the proposal was reasonable.
• Announced the next regular meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. Jan. 13.
