[0:03] Make sure you're in January. I think

[0:04] we're good.

[0:08] » Good morning all.

[0:09] >> Good morning.

[0:11] » Good morning.

[0:11] >> Board of Port Commissioners meeting will

[0:13] » Board of Port Commissioners meeting will

[0:13] convene. Um we can start with the

[0:16] invocation. We do have a pinch hitter.

[0:18] Brian, I understand you're pinch hitting

[0:20] for us. The rabbi was unable to come

[0:22] here. If we could all stand for that and

[0:23] then the pledge, please.

[0:27] » Good morning everybody. Nice to see you.

[0:31] Quick prayer here. Uh, heavenly father,

[0:34] as we gather for this meeting, give us

[0:36] the use of your gift of peace and

[0:38] understanding that we may approach the

[0:41] matters we must govern today with

[0:43] sincere and just hearts. We ask for your

[0:47] guidance in our decision-m and thank you

[0:49] for the leadership bestowed upon us.

[0:52] Thank you, Lord, for the servicemen and

[0:54] women defending and protecting our

[0:56] freedoms. Please be with them and keep

[0:58] them safe in your loving hands so that

[1:01] they may soon return home to their

[1:04] families. We ask this in your name.

[1:06] Amen.

[1:07] >> Amen.

[1:08] » Amen.

[1:08] >> Please turn to the flag.

[1:10] » Please turn to the flag.

[1:10] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[1:12] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[1:12] United States of America and to the

[1:14] republic for which it stands, one nation

[1:17] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:20] justice for all.

[1:23] [clears throat]

[1:28] Thanks, Brian. [snorts]

[1:30] >> Uh, next item on the agenda is our

[1:32] » Uh, next item on the agenda is our

[1:32] annual reorganization

[1:35] board of port commissioners. Um,

[1:41] » good morning, commissioners and special

[1:44] management committee. For the record, I

[1:45] am Claudia Curtain and I am the county

[1:48] record services manager and it's my

[1:50] privilege to represent the clerk's

[1:51] office to conduct the annual

[1:53] reorganization of the board of

[1:55] commissioners. As a reminder, any

[1:58] commissioner may nominate another

[2:00] commissioner or themselves to serve as

[2:02] chair. Nominations [clears throat]

[2:04] do not require second, but a vote is

[2:06] required to close nominations and a roll

[2:09] call vote is required for each

[2:11] nomination.

[2:12] The floor is now open for a nomination

[2:15] for chair.

[2:16] >> I nominate S Pentagross. Mr. Chairman,

[2:19] » I nominate S Pentagross. Mr. Chairman,

[2:19] >> I'll second that.

[2:20] » I'll second that.

[2:20] >> I move we close nominations.

[2:22] » I move we close nominations.

[2:22] [clears throat]

[2:23] >> Thank you. Nominations are closed.

[2:27] » Thank you. Nominations are closed.

[2:27] >> I will now call for a vote for the

[2:29] » I will now call for a vote for the

[2:29] election of chair for C uh Commissioner

[2:33] Pendergrass by district. Commissioner

[2:35] Wayne.

[2:37] >> Commissioner Pendergrass. Oh,

[2:38] » Commissioner Pendergrass. Oh,

[2:38] >> yes.

[2:39] » yes.

[2:39] >> I thought Commissioner Ma. Yes,

[2:43] » I thought Commissioner Ma. Yes,

[2:43] >> Commissioner Hammond.

[2:43] » Commissioner Hammond.

[2:44] >> Yes,

[2:45] » Yes,

[2:45] >> Fisherki.

[2:46] » Fisherki.

[2:46] >> Yes.

[2:47] » Yes.

[2:47] >> Congratulations.

[2:49] » Congratulations.

[2:49] >> Thank you.

[2:51] » Thank you.

[2:51] >> Thank you. [applause]

[2:56] » Yours to take over for vice chair.

[2:58] >> Thank you. Thank you to my board for the

[2:59] » Thank you. Thank you to my board for the

[2:59] vote of confidence. Look forward to a

[3:01] great year of RSW and our special

[3:02] management team. Ray, you had a chance.

[3:04] You could have volunteered, you know,

[3:05] but you know, [laughter]

[3:08] >> still nice to see you on that side of

[3:09] » still nice to see you on that side of

[3:09] the table. So,

[3:11] >> pleasure to be here. Again, thank you.

[3:12] » pleasure to be here. Again, thank you.

[3:12] At this time, we take nominations for

[3:14] vice chair by nominate Commissioner

[3:15] Malika.

[3:16] >> I'll second that.

[3:17] » I'll second that.

[3:17] >> I move we close nominations.

[3:20] » I move we close nominations.

[3:20] >> Any public comment on that? Any

[3:21] » Any public comment on that? Any

[3:21] objections? No objections. Resolution.

[3:23] David Malika.

[3:24] >> Thank you. [applause]

[3:29] » Thank you all for the vote of confidence

[3:30] and I look forward to serving in that

[3:31] capacity.

[3:32] >> Thank you. And I'd like to introduce our

[3:33] » Thank you. And I'd like to introduce our

[3:33] newest commissioner, Trish Petroski.

[3:35] This is her first meeting with us today.

[3:37] We She's been working with us for last

[3:39] month. So, THANK YOU. WELCOME.

[3:42] SHE'S BEEN UM GETTING her feet wet every

[3:45] day working and being out in the

[3:46] community and being at the office every

[3:47] day. So, this is our actual first

[3:49] meeting and then next week on the 20th

[3:51] we have a board meeting. So, be your

[3:52] first people. So, congratulations. I

[3:54] hope you're having a good time and thank

[3:56] you for your efforts and volunteering

[3:58] for this job.

[3:58] >> Thank you. Happy to be aboard.

[4:00] » Thank you. Happy to be aboard.

[4:00] >> Great. Thank you. [snorts]

[4:03] » Great. Thank you. [snorts]

[4:03] >> Okay, we'll move on to the recap. Um we

[4:06] » Okay, we'll move on to the recap. Um we

[4:06] have

[4:08] um we only have one item be pulled by

[4:09] Commissioner Luka. Item C. We're going

[4:11] to the consent agenda. Any items be

[4:12] pulled by discussion of board other than

[4:14] number 11. Commissioner Hammond.

[4:16] >> I have none. Mr. Chairman,

[4:17] » I have none. Mr. Chairman,

[4:17] >> I have none.

[4:18] » I have none.

[4:18] >> I have none. Mroski.

[4:21] » I have none. Mroski.

[4:21] >> Any

[4:21] » Any

[4:21] >> I have none.

[4:22] » I have none.

[4:22] >> Okay. I'm going to take that motion to

[4:24] » Okay. I'm going to take that motion to

[4:24] approve the balance of the items.

[4:26] >> So move.

[4:26] » So move.

[4:26] >> Second.

[4:27] » Second.

[4:27] >> Any public comment on the balance items?

[4:29] » Any public comment on the balance items?

[4:29] We have one public comment card in

[4:31] regards to it. Is that

[4:33] >> No, that's not.

[4:34] » No, that's not.

[4:34] >> You're right. Sorry. Okay. And any

[4:36] » You're right. Sorry. Okay. And any

[4:36] public comment on the consent?

[4:39] Any objection? Objection. Motion

[4:40] carries. Commissioner Booka number 11,

[4:43] please.

[4:44] >> Thank you all. Um I um

[4:48] » Thank you all. Um I um

[4:48] appreciate the opportunity to discuss

[4:49] this matter. I um these union

[4:51] negotiations are these are complex labor

[4:55] agreements. I mean this uh this one pay

[4:57] plan is 77 pages long, right? So there's

[5:00] a lot a lot of things in this uh these

[5:02] negotiations and I appreciate staff and

[5:05] all of our all of our firefighters for

[5:07] doing their great work every day. But

[5:08] there was a couple things when we when

[5:10] we had convened as a board in the shade

[5:13] session to uh discuss the pay plans. We

[5:17] [snorts] left there the f first time we

[5:19] had a an impass and came back to us

[5:22] because we said we want to be

[5:24] competitive with the market. We want to

[5:26] be fair to our employees. We want to

[5:28] make sure that we're competitive in the

[5:29] market for other agencies. And we we

[5:32] made a special effort to raise the

[5:34] floor, right? Because our starting

[5:36] people were were below where we wanted

[5:38] them to be. And then we made a also made

[5:42] a deliberate effort that we didn't want

[5:44] to raise the ceiling on the highest paid

[5:46] people was part of our discussion in

[5:49] that meeting because they were already

[5:51] at 116% of market in that particular

[5:55] silo. So I mentioned this u for that and

[5:59] then there's so there's the pay plan

[6:01] concern on the on the upper end for that

[6:02] one particular tier of the max of the

[6:05] highest paid people that I wanted to

[6:06] talk about and then there was another

[6:08] item that caught my attention that I

[6:10] wanted to ask uh Steve to explain to us

[6:15] a bit um on 39.07 07.

[6:19] It says, "Time worked during emergencies

[6:22] and unforeseen airport events. When the

[6:25] executive director designate designates

[6:28] at an event and as an emergency,

[6:31] bargaining unit personnel who work

[6:33] during the emergency shall receive

[6:35] emergency pay calculated at double time

[6:39] and 1/2 [snorts]

[6:41] for all hours worked. The reopening of

[6:44] the airport signals the emergency is

[6:46] over and they'll be paid as usual. So,

[6:50] can you discuss what emergency pay is

[6:52] [clears throat] and how that multiplier

[6:54] with work?

[6:54] >> Yes, definitely. So, the county has um a

[6:59] » Yes, definitely. So, the county has um a

[6:59] document. It's policy number 504. It's

[7:02] titled pay for work during emergencies

[7:04] or disasters. The port authority has a

[7:06] similar policy. And with that policy,

[7:09] basically an emergency for the airport

[7:12] um is not you're you're calling out the

[7:14] police department or the fire

[7:15] department. An emergency is a hurricane.

[7:17] There is a catastrophic event. There is

[7:20] uh you know the the unlikely instance of

[7:22] an aircraft crash or if there's an

[7:24] active shooter, something that requires

[7:26] the closure of the airport, a portion of

[7:28] the airport, and it could be either

[7:30] airport. In that instance, we have

[7:33] through our policies the ability to call

[7:35] people in. We have broken down our staff

[7:36] by tiers. Tiers 1, two, and three. Tier

[7:38] one are the people, you know, like

[7:40] myself and some of the people in the

[7:42] room, uh, that are always on call. Uh,

[7:45] some of them are salaried, some of them

[7:46] are hourly. So, using the call it the

[7:49] easy one, if there is a hurricane, um,

[7:51] the airport may be closing a little bit

[7:54] off from the county, that is up to the

[7:57] airport as critical infrastructure to

[7:58] decide when that is. um because we have

[8:02] a different role uh with getting people

[8:04] in to help with evacuation, search and

[8:07] rescue, things of that nature. So, what

[8:08] this does is it gives us a means in line

[8:11] with the county to pay the staff that

[8:14] are brought in specifically to work um

[8:17] for whatever instance that is. The item

[8:20] to note is, you know, if somebody is

[8:22] called in, they might not be doing their

[8:24] normal job. So if somebody is in

[8:26] accounting, they might be brought in as

[8:28] part of a team to help clean up the

[8:30] roadways to get something open or they,

[8:32] you know, on, you know, opening day,

[8:34] they might be wearing a red vest helping

[8:36] people. So the roles are not a uh a one

[8:39] for one. Uh we do have an extensive, you

[8:42] know, hurricane plan in that regard

[8:44] where people are assigned locations. Um

[8:47] so this gives us that means and methods

[8:49] in line with the county to pay our

[8:51] people. [snorts] In reference to this,

[8:53] the previous contract did not include

[8:55] the language. So, we included the

[8:57] language here to provide that

[8:58] consistency with what the rest of the

[9:01] airport and the county is doing.

[9:04] >> Okay. Well, respectfully, I I mean, I

[9:06] » Okay. Well, respectfully, I I mean, I

[9:06] think every time we call for help for a

[9:08] first responder that there must be an

[9:10] emergency, [snorts]

[9:10] right? [laughter] I mean, the life

[9:12] saving someone's life in a car wreck,

[9:14] you know, it doesn't have to be uh I

[9:16] want to make sure that they couldn't

[9:18] call in a bonus every time they put the

[9:20] sirens on.

[9:20] >> No, sir. Because we the job of a

[9:23] » No, sir. Because we the job of a

[9:23] firefighter is to help someone in need

[9:25] and then

[9:25] >> the only reason they

[9:27] » the only reason they

[9:27] >> need a first responders is because we

[9:28] » need a first responders is because we

[9:28] have an emergency. Right. So if we just

[9:30] say the word emergency that didn't

[9:32] wasn't defined as airport closure in

[9:34] this document.

[9:35] >> How would I know that? Right. That was

[9:39] » How would I know that? Right. That was

[9:39] my my point of that question.

[9:41] >> If I could is see is this also like part

[9:43] » If I could is see is this also like part

[9:43] of the state of emergency and I think

[9:44] every city every county municipality

[9:46] uses FEMA funding for reimbursement.

[9:48] you're doing a hurricane for example

[9:50] once you declare a state of emergency

[9:51] for like the city for mar city coral lee

[9:54] county the port authority once they

[9:55] declare that then those employees are

[9:57] required to be at work 24/7 12 our

[9:59] shifts for example they're compensated

[10:01] that pay rate of double time and a half

[10:03] >> that that is correct and and that's what

[10:05] » that that is correct and and that's what

[10:05] you know when I stated that our time

[10:06] frame might not necessarily match up to

[10:08] the counties um but nonetheless our

[10:11] employees are also being tracked through

[10:13] our finance department you know we're

[10:15] keeping the the same list that the

[10:16] county would be be keeping for

[10:18] reimbursement if it was in the case of a

[10:20] natural disaster. Um, so those are all

[10:23] all par for the course and typically how

[10:25] that goes is if I am calling something

[10:28] you know that we are projecting, hey,

[10:29] we're going to have a a hurricane notice

[10:31] is getting sent to the board and I'm

[10:33] reaching out to the board. If something

[10:35] were to happen right now and staff

[10:38] that's out on the airfield needs to

[10:40] declare emergency, the airport's shut

[10:41] down, that doesn't mean that emergency

[10:43] pay is automatically getting kicked in.

[10:45] It it's predicated on situation. So what

[10:48] a couple years ago we had the United

[10:50] plane that blew a tire. You know it tail

[10:52] was blocking the runway. We did not

[10:54] declare an emergency because it was

[10:55] handled during normal business hours.

[10:57] You know you didn't call people in. It

[10:59] was a huge impact to the airport. But

[11:01] that didn't fall to this criteria. This

[11:03] is of very large magnitude. You know

[11:06] it's not the same as you know you know

[11:09] the the common you know thought of

[11:11] what's an emergency. So

[11:13] >> okay I know the word emergency the word

[11:14] » okay I know the word emergency the word

[11:14] safety. These can be broad brush terms

[11:16] right. I just wanted to make sure every

[11:18] time they responded to anything that

[11:20] might be saving someone's life, which I

[11:22] think they would consider an emergency,

[11:24] right? That they didn't get a bonus, you

[11:26] know, every time the bell went off at

[11:28] the fire station. So, um, so we can rely

[11:31] on you for your discretion to if the

[11:34] airport is shut down or there's a state

[11:35] of local emergency that that's the bar

[11:37] threshold that we can rely on your

[11:39] kicking this in. We'd be notified of

[11:41] that.

[11:41] >> Right. Yeah. So, so to staff to board I

[11:44] » Right. Yeah. So, so to staff to board I

[11:44] declare an emergency in writing as well.

[11:46] >> Okay.

[11:47] » Okay.

[11:47] >> Because that's part of our our

[11:48] » Because that's part of our our

[11:48] documentation as the commissioner noted

[11:50] for like FEMA as an example. When did

[11:53] you call it? When did it end? Give me

[11:55] everything in between. So it's very

[11:58] delineated in that regard. Um the other

[12:00] item to note is you know again is it is

[12:02] airportwide for those employees. So it's

[12:04] not just subject to ARF, you know,

[12:06] [snorts] for this question. It could be

[12:08] anybody. So, as we tie out this cleanup

[12:11] language to match county languages,

[12:14] there may be some other administrative

[12:16] updates to the code or other things that

[12:18] we can do to clean that up definitions

[12:20] of that for emergency purposes.

[12:22] >> Yes, yeah, we can definitely look at

[12:23] » Yes, yeah, we can definitely look at

[12:23] that.

[12:24] >> Okay, thank you for that.

[12:27] » Okay, thank you for that.

[12:27] So, can we talk about for a moment?

[12:31] Does anybody else have any questions on

[12:32] that portion? But thank you. Um so

[12:36] regarding the the the pay benefits uh we

[12:40] we left our meeting uh with Anna's

[12:42] approval at the 109 number I believe and

[12:45] then it came can you talk to us about

[12:47] how it came back before us today what

[12:49] what changed

[12:51] >> between just so the difference between

[12:53] » between just so the difference between

[12:53] the 109 and the number here for the the

[12:55] >> we left our shade session saying for

[12:57] » we left our shade session saying for

[12:57] unanimous approval at this

[13:00] >> yeah so that so the with

[13:02] » yeah so that so the with

[13:02] >> that changed after that fact

[13:03] » that changed after that fact

[13:03] >> yeah so the the number that is before

[13:05] » yeah so the the number that is before

[13:05] the board today for the ARF tech. Um,

[13:08] but I guess actually all of them is well

[13:12] I'll back up just specific to the ARF

[13:14] tech that 109 did not include the uh pay

[13:18] range adjustment that we provided all

[13:20] employees at the airport. So that pay

[13:22] range that I believe it was 3%

[13:24] adjustment brought it from 109 to 113 in

[13:27] line with the rest of the staff or LCPA

[13:30] for for the pay ranges. So you have the

[13:32] minimum pay range and the maximum. We

[13:34] adjusted those this year. So that 3% was

[13:37] the difference between 109 and 113.

[13:42] » Mr. Chairman, if I could also uh by way

[13:45] of explanation, when we went back to the

[13:47] union representatives, part of their

[13:49] voiced concern was the implication of

[13:52] the thenexisting maximum pay caps

[13:54] because that affected, I believe, four

[13:56] employees. So we had further

[13:58] negotiations with the union and we came

[14:01] to a a tenative agreement that's why the

[14:04] contract is before you today whereby

[14:07] those maximum caps would be increased by

[14:10] 2% in the second and third year of the

[14:12] contract. In return for that concession

[14:15] uh the union has agreed to eliminate the

[14:18] wage reopener provisions that were in

[14:20] the previous contract. So they are

[14:23] foregoing the opportunity to revisit

[14:25] wages on an annual basis which they had

[14:28] in the existing contract. So if this

[14:30] contract goes forward uh with all due

[14:32] respect to our firefighter friends, you

[14:34] don't have to deal with union

[14:36] negotiations with them for a three-year

[14:38] period. [clears throat]

[14:41] So this basically staggers three-year

[14:44] pre-aggreement that's fixed rather than

[14:47] I wasn't here for the last three years

[14:48] [cough and clears throat] old ones on an

[14:49] annual basis.

[14:51] get the hang of this when you say it's

[14:52] the first time I ever heard this before.

[14:53] You know, I can still say that on a

[14:56] couple things, you know, but but

[14:58] respectfully, so we we take a little bit

[15:00] of a bite now today and then it

[15:03] staggers. It breaks it up over the

[15:04] three-year period [snorts] in a

[15:05] predictable manner rather than being so

[15:07] if we said hold tight at the 109, then

[15:10] we get to a haggle two more times.

[15:13] >> Correct.

[15:13] » Correct.

[15:13] >> And it could end up costing more or

[15:15] » And it could end up costing more or

[15:15] less. And again, please keep in mind the

[15:17] distinction between a pay increase and

[15:20] increasing the pay ranges. What we're

[15:23] talking about in this contract with the

[15:24] 2% per year that I discussed was

[15:28] increasing the maximum pay range. It's

[15:30] not a guaranteed 2% pay raise. Uh the

[15:34] firefighters under the contract would

[15:36] get the same pay increase that the board

[15:38] would approve for all employees. This

[15:41] merely increases the pay, the maximum

[15:44] pay cap so that they're not maxed out in

[15:48] terms of pay.

[15:50] >> And I think one thing I learned from you

[15:51] » And I think one thing I learned from you

[15:51] in our review of this yesterday, if we

[15:53] had a 5% raise and we didn't raise the

[15:55] max, and I didn't I didn't know all

[15:56] this. I don't have a union shop with my

[15:58] company, right? So, um, if the 5% money,

[16:02] they would still get the money that they

[16:04] would get in a raise. They would just

[16:06] get in a lump sum payment, right? So

[16:08] they they wouldn't I I thought the first

[16:10] time I read this that if they got a 5%

[16:12] pay raise and they were at the max that

[16:14] they wouldn't be entitled to the race,

[16:16] right? Again, as a as a new

[16:18] commissioner, you I would have I thought

[16:20] that was their cap, [clears throat] but

[16:23] they would still get the five grand or

[16:25] whatever the money would be. They would

[16:26] just get a lump sum payment, but that

[16:28] legacy cost of going on for the rest of

[16:30] their lives at their pension, that's the

[16:32] escalation that they want to protect. Is

[16:34] that correct,

[16:35] >> Mr. Germany?

[16:36] » Mr. Germany?

[16:36] >> Yes. Under the the state retirement

[16:39] » Yes. Under the the state retirement

[16:39] system, your state retirement is based

[16:40] on your high the average of your high-

[16:43] five wage earning years multiplied by

[16:46] years of service multiplied by a service

[16:48] classification factor. So it in the

[16:51] employees best interest to have that

[16:54] high five as high as possible. the

[16:56] difficulty comes in and we all recognize

[16:58] this. When you reach the maximum cap,

[17:01] you get that pay in a lump sum, but it

[17:04] doesn't go toward increasing your high

[17:06] five for retirement purposes. So over

[17:08] the course of your career, you're

[17:10] actually suffering a harm that will be

[17:13] in perpetuity for the rest of your life

[17:16] as you retire and receive those

[17:18] retirement benefits through the state

[17:20] system. And I would point out that that

[17:22] is the state retirement system that you

[17:25] are obligated to participate in and

[17:28] statutoily cannot opt out of.

[17:32] >> On from that, I'd like to say that I

[17:34] » On from that, I'd like to say that I

[17:34] think I think that our purpose here, our

[17:36] goal at the time though doing this

[17:37] negotiation was trying to uh adjust the

[17:40] pay based upon the market. That's why we

[17:42] asked the staff to do a market analysis.

[17:43] I would suggest in the future we do this

[17:45] three years from now is maybe do a

[17:46] market analysis of international airport

[17:48] staff not just [snorts] local fire

[17:50] departments because we use LII acres you

[17:52] know San Carlos Bonita to look at pay

[17:55] adjustments for for example like this

[17:57] pay right here we're the 109 this four

[18:00] employees there four employees that live

[18:02] in our community they're taxpayers their

[18:03] kids go to school there they're

[18:04] consumers that are being funded not by

[18:07] taxpayers by everybody that flies this

[18:08] airport from the UK Australia and

[18:11] everywhere else in the country in the

[18:12] world that comes here those four

[18:13] employees are getting funded for that. I

[18:15] think we have to make sure we're not

[18:17] trying to obviously uh it was mentioned

[18:19] about FRS. I don't think FRS is the

[18:20] issue. I think that the employees are

[18:22] making sure they're being paid that's

[18:24] fair and adjusted based upon the market.

[18:26] There's no reason they should have to go

[18:28] across the street, work somewhere else

[18:29] and make more money and be here at the

[18:30] airport. We are the best airport in the

[18:32] country. We want to, you know, provide

[18:33] that. We also want to make sure you

[18:35] coming in at 150 m per hour with no

[18:37] landing gear just to make qualified

[18:39] waiting for you in the runway with some

[18:40] foam. Okay. So then my or my goal was to

[18:43] make sure we provided a good environment

[18:46] for these four employees and make sure

[18:48] their pay is based upon what's in the

[18:50] market. If you see they can go somewhere

[18:51] else and stay benefic

[18:57] contributions based upon making sure we

[18:59] have a fair market here for the

[19:01] employees we have working your service

[19:02] in the airport. And I can echo the

[19:04] fairness. You know, we all want to be

[19:06] fair, right? And we we spent a lot of

[19:08] time in our conversations just for the

[19:10] public's knowledge to make sure we

[19:11] raised the floor and everybody everybody

[19:13] else but the max on the sixth tier was

[19:17] shrewed up to be close to 100% which

[19:19] they were shy of that before. We were

[19:22] trying to be very competitive to make

[19:24] sure that we got everybody around 100%.

[19:26] But when the 116% group wanted to be

[19:28] 119% it just sort of caught me a little

[19:31] bit flatfooted on that.

[19:33] I thought they already had a scale on

[19:34] the on had a pace on that and the fact

[19:36] that we have so many people in that pay

[19:38] grade. I thought I I I thought I read on

[19:40] your report yesterday that there were 10

[19:41] people at the $ 109,000

[19:44] pay range currently. I don't know where

[19:45] the four

[19:46] >> I I don't have that. I'm sorry. I don't

[19:47] » I I don't have that. I'm sorry. I don't

[19:47] have that. I can get that.

[19:49] >> Anyway, irregardless. Thank you for

[19:51] » Anyway, irregardless. Thank you for

[19:51] showing me the the staggered approach

[19:53] for the three years. Basically

[19:54] pre-approving the incremental so it's

[19:56] not like we're not agreeing to this and

[19:58] then having to agree to agree two more

[20:00] times. That's helping clarify that. I do

[20:02] I do appreciate that. Just these shade

[20:04] sessions. We have those and we don't

[20:06] talk again until we get on camera again.

[20:07] So, thank you for indulging me with

[20:09] those explanations. So,

[20:11] >> I'll make a motion.

[20:12] » I'll make a motion.

[20:12] >> Sure. Go ahead.

[20:13] » Sure. Go ahead.

[20:13] >> I'll make a motion to approve. Still

[20:15] » I'll make a motion to approve. Still

[20:15] have discussion.

[20:16] >> Okay. I motion second.

[20:17] » Okay. I motion second.

[20:18] >> Mr. Chairman, if I may. Yeah. No, I I

[20:19] » Mr. Chairman, if I may. Yeah. No, I I

[20:20] was glad to hear you make a motion. I

[20:21] was I was uh about to do that as well,

[20:23] but uh I just wanted to share some

[20:25] thoughts, too. This was a long process

[20:26] to get here to this point to get this

[20:28] contract negotiated. And I I did want to

[20:30] share my thanks with the folks from the

[20:32] union. Uh and I do want to thank all of

[20:34] our firefighters who are out there every

[20:36] day doing their job regardless of what

[20:38] the negotiations are doing behind the

[20:39] scenes. So, thank you very much to the

[20:41] folks who are out there on the front

[20:42] lines, too. But I also wanted to thank

[20:44] our our team here. Thank you guys for

[20:46] working through this and uh and the hard

[20:48] work that you did to get it to this

[20:49] point. There was many, many, many

[20:51] meetings to get here. Um, the one thing

[20:53] that I I do appreciate that we've kind

[20:55] of talked about already though that's in

[20:56] this contract is the ability that for

[20:59] the next few years uh this bargaining

[21:01] group will get the same as what the

[21:03] airport employees get. It'll we're

[21:04] calling it kind of like a meto clause.

[21:06] So if we give a raise to the airport

[21:08] employees, they're going to get a very

[21:09] similar increase. Then um I like that

[21:12] because personally I really feel very

[21:14] strongly about treating each group the

[21:15] same. Uh I don't like it when we treat

[21:17] one group differently than another

[21:19] group. And so to me, this contract

[21:21] really does get um to that point. It

[21:24] satisfies my desire to get everybody

[21:26] kind of on an equal level of increases

[21:28] where nobody feels like they're being

[21:29] treated differently. So, thank you, Mr.

[21:31] Chairman. Happy to support the motion.

[21:33] >> Thank you, Commissioner W.

[21:34] » Thank you, Commissioner W.

[21:34] >> Sure. Appreciate it. Um certainly I echo

[21:37] » Sure. Appreciate it. Um certainly I echo

[21:37] many of the comments that here. I just

[21:39] think that, you know, for the record,

[21:40] for clarity, you know, this was a

[21:42] paycale adjustment. Um we pride

[21:45] ourselves to have consistency throughout

[21:46] the organization. We pride ourselves for

[21:49] first uh right of refusal and certainly

[21:51] uh acknowledging the employees that we

[21:53] have and that's really important. You

[21:55] know, someone that has certainly a lot

[21:57] of people on a payroll in a given period

[21:59] of time, I understand how important it

[22:01] is to keep continuity. Many people don't

[22:04] realize just how difficult it is to

[22:07] replace people, the learning curve you

[22:09] have to go through, the institutional

[22:10] knowledge you lose. It's so important to

[22:12] make sure we do this and honestly being

[22:14] fair to the whole process. And this

[22:16] collective bargaining is always an

[22:18] interesting process. I certainly

[22:21] experienced that in Sandville. There's

[22:22] two unions there. So when I got in

[22:24] office in '07, it was the recessionary

[22:26] times and went through this every year.

[22:28] But I think, you know, it also gives

[22:29] kudos to not only staff and to our our

[22:32] employees recognizing that we did an

[22:35] adjustment to salary and there go there

[22:37] wasn't a necessary adjustment to do

[22:39] something in the future for a couple

[22:41] years. So obviously it's just

[22:42] recognition what we did. Can't thank

[22:44] staff enough. Can't thank your team,

[22:46] Henry, and everybody that they did. It

[22:48] comes out with a nice outcome and

[22:50] certainly appreciate the fact that we've

[22:51] approved this and it's a second. I think

[22:53] it's a good thing for everyone. And I

[22:55] think Commissioner Pentag is this isn't

[22:58] a taxpayer dollars and I think that

[22:59] sometimes gets lost in this whole

[23:01] process.

[23:03] >> We have one public comment card if

[23:04] » We have one public comment card if

[23:04] there's no comments from the commission.

[23:07] Um Henry Garcia

[23:11] » [snorts]

[23:16] » Morning everyone. H Garcia, president of

[23:18] local 1826. I am firefighter here. I

[23:21] just want to take an opportunity to

[23:22] thank everyone at the board for their

[23:23] foresight to approve this contract. Uh

[23:25] you guys took a huge step forward in the

[23:27] recruitment and retention of

[23:28] firefighters, paying them a good wage,

[23:30] and they're very happy with their

[23:32] contract. We had a unanimous vote of the

[23:34] collective bargaining agreement. So they

[23:35] are very thankful for the foresight that

[23:37] you guys showed in giving them those

[23:39] wage increases. Also like to thank the

[23:41] county attorney's office

[23:43] for all their hard work. We really

[23:45] appreciate the partnership.

[23:46] >> Thank you.

[23:47] » Thank you.

[23:47] >> Thank you.

[23:48] » Thank you.

[23:48] >> Any other public comments?

[23:50] » Any other public comments?

[23:50] >> Thank you.

[23:51] » Thank you.

[23:51] >> Let's come back. We'll close public

[23:52] » Let's come back. We'll close public

[23:52] comment. Come back to board. We have a

[23:53] motion with a second. Any other

[23:54] discussion? Any objection? No objection.

[23:57] Motion carries. Thank you.

[23:58] >> Thank you. [clears throat]

[24:01] » Thank you. [clears throat]

[24:01] >> Number 12,

[24:07] Richard. Is this one to rec?

[24:09] >> Sir, Mr. Chairman, if you would please

[24:11] » Sir, Mr. Chairman, if you would please

[24:11] convene as the board of

[24:14] the board of county commissioners.

[24:16] >> We are now board of county commissioners

[24:18] » We are now board of county commissioners

[24:18] number 12.

[24:19] >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sitting as the

[24:21] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sitting as the

[24:21] board of county commissioners, the

[24:23] purpose of agenda item 12 is to conduct

[24:25] a keer hearing with regard to the

[24:27] potential issuance of uh revenue series

[24:31] bonds. Mr. Andor is here for the staff

[24:33] presentation following the closure of

[24:36] the public hearing. Uh item 13 would be

[24:39] to approve the resolution approving the

[24:41] issuance. That can only take place after

[24:43] the public hearing.

[24:44] >> Okay.

[24:45] » Okay.

[24:45] >> Thank you.

[24:46] » Thank you.

[24:46] >> Thank you.

[24:48] » Thank you.

[24:48] >> Hi. Good morning. Dave Anderson record.

[24:50] » Hi. Good morning. Dave Anderson record.

[24:50] Uh stated items 123 14 all relate to the

[24:54] bond issuance. Uh we'll have that

[24:56] separate hearing. Item 13 as you said

[24:58] will be approval of the Lee County

[24:59] Airport Revenue Bond Series 2026 in the

[25:02] amount not to exceed $375 million. And

[25:05] then the same item will be introduced by

[25:07] the board of appealers.

[25:14] » So we were last in the bond market in

[25:16] October 2024 to do the first borrowing

[25:18] to fund terminal expansion phase 2

[25:20] concourse E. Now we're coming back to

[25:22] the board for approval to raise the

[25:24] additional funds needed to finish that

[25:25] project off as well as raise additional

[25:27] funds for terminal expansion phase one

[25:30] and to build the new public safety

[25:31] building. As part of this bond deal, we

[25:34] also have the opportunity to refund one

[25:36] of our existing series 2015 bonds that

[25:38] are now callable and can be refinanced

[25:40] in order to reduce our overall debt

[25:42] service costs. So, as the slide

[25:43] [clears throat] states, the bond

[25:44] issuance achieves two strategic

[25:46] objectives. It funds three major capital

[25:48] improvement projects and it refunds an

[25:50] existing bond series to capitalize on

[25:52] nature savings opportunity.

[25:57] This this slide provides an overview of

[25:59] the series [clears throat] 2026 bonds,

[26:00] their uses, amount, tax structure, and

[26:03] other features. I'll quickly touch on

[26:04] the bond issuance, our plans, and then

[26:06] I'll hand it over to our m municipal

[26:07] adviser, Bill Case from PFN. They'll go

[26:10] over some of the specifics, talk about

[26:11] market conditions, affordability, and

[26:13] impact of the bond issuance to our debt

[26:15] profile. So, it's important to note that

[26:17] our that the not to exceed amount of

[26:19] $875 million that was shown on the last

[26:21] slide. It factors in all the uses of the

[26:24] funds associated with the issuance. So,

[26:26] that's the deposit to the project fund

[26:28] for construction. It's the deposit to

[26:30] fund our required reserve account, cost

[26:32] to issue the bonds, capitalized

[26:34] interest, and any other ancillary costs.

[26:36] Those estimated amounts are broken out

[26:38] on a later slide that uh Bill Case will

[26:40] walk you through. So before I move off

[26:42] this slide, I just like to make the

[26:43] statement of these bonds. Like

[26:45] everything else at our airports, funded

[26:46] by user fees, no local taxes going

[26:48] towards funding these bonds.

[26:52] So on slide four, we show the funding

[26:53] plan for terminal expansion phase one.

[26:56] In March 2025, the board voted to

[26:58] proceed with the project redesign and to

[27:00] increase the project budget to $678

[27:02] million. We always plan to be in the

[27:04] bond market for terminal expansion phase

[27:06] 2 concourse E around this time. the

[27:08] timing worked out nicely to raise the

[27:10] additional funds needed to complete

[27:11] phase one as well. Uh we're planning on

[27:14] construction proceeds of about 250

[27:16] million out of this bond series to go

[27:17] towards the completion of phase one.

[27:23] On slide five, we show the funding plan

[27:24] for terminal expansion phase 2.

[27:27] As mentioned, the second bond is always

[27:29] planned for this project in order to

[27:30] arrange the funding in line with the

[27:32] overall spending of the project.

[27:35] We were in the bond market last October

[27:37] to raise approximately 500 October 2024

[27:41] to raise approximately $525 million to

[27:43] get the project kicked off. Uh now we

[27:46] plan to be back in the market in

[27:47] February to raise an additional $327

[27:50] million, excuse me, $332 million to

[27:53] finish the project. Uh this will

[27:55] complete the funding needed for the

[27:56] total project budget of just over $1

[27:58] billion.

[28:02] On slide six, we show the funding plan

[28:03] for the new public safety building,

[28:05] which will be the new home for the

[28:06] airport police department. This is a

[28:08] singlestory building that is

[28:09] approximately 21,000 square ft and is

[28:11] located southwest of the terminal

[28:13] building along cargo lane. Construction

[28:15] on the project began earlier this year

[28:17] and is scheduled to finish in the fall

[28:18] of 2026. The project has a total project

[28:21] budget of a little over $18 million with

[28:22] the majority of the funding coming from

[28:24] this bond issuance.

[28:28] As mentioned earlier, we had the

[28:29] opportunity to refund our series 2015

[28:30] bonds, which have now seen principal

[28:32] balance of roughly $33 million. Uh we

[28:35] typically target a minimum of 3% net

[28:37] present value savings and uh based on

[28:39] current market conditions, uh this

[28:41] refunding is estimated to have net

[28:42] present value savings of approximately

[28:43] 15%. So it's a great opportunity for us

[28:46] to take advantage of some interest

[28:47] savings while we're already going to be

[28:48] in the market.

[28:52] On my last slide here, I want to take a

[28:54] moment to point out the excellent team

[28:55] of industryleading adviserss and legal

[28:57] counsel that we had working on this bond

[28:58] issuance. Uh the same team has been in

[29:00] place the last few times we've gone out

[29:02] to markets and we've been very

[29:03] successful at developing affordable

[29:04] long-term financing plans for our

[29:06] airports while structuring our debt to

[29:08] maximize the marketability of our debt

[29:10] to investors. So, hats off to our

[29:11] excellent business partners. And uh with

[29:13] us today, we have Bill Case, our

[29:15] municipal adviser from PFM Financial

[29:17] Policies LLC.

[29:19] uh Bill is located out of the Tampa

[29:20] office and has been working on our

[29:22] account for a number of years and he's

[29:24] going to walk you through our debt

[29:25] portfolio to talk a little bit about the

[29:27] specifics of the bond issuance and also

[29:29] touch on affordability. So also I want

[29:31] to point the audience with us today. We

[29:33] have Doug Draper from BFA securities

[29:37] serving as our lead underwriter on this

[29:38] issuance and we also have Tom Giblin and

[29:40] Bratesh Patel from Neighbors Vickerson

[29:43] who serves as our bond counter.

[29:52] Good morning, commissioners. Bill Casem

[29:54] financial advisors. Uh I'll walk you

[29:57] through a overview of the authority set

[29:59] portfolio as well as the background in

[30:01] the series 2026 bonds.

[30:05] There's currently four series of bonds

[30:06] outstanding approximately 862 million

[30:10] years service is 62 million.

[30:17] This is the estimated sources and uses

[30:20] for the bond issue. Approximately $725

[30:23] million of proceeds that are required to

[30:26] fund $600 million of project fund. The

[30:30] $34 million of the refunding Astro

[30:32] deposit. That's the refunding the series

[30:34] 2015 bonds. There will be capitalized

[30:37] interest of approximately 37 million. a

[30:40] deposit to the debt service reserve fund

[30:42] of 51 million and then various cost of

[30:44] issuance including the underwriting fees

[30:46] of 3.3 million.

[30:49] To the right uh the average life on

[30:51] these this bond issue be approximately

[30:53] 21 years. We are showing an all-in cost

[30:56] of 4.72%.

[30:58] This is approximately 50 basis points

[31:00] above market rates. We use that for

[31:03] conserv level of conservative

[31:05] conservatism

[31:06] uh for the financial projections to make

[31:09] sure that uh the the finance programs

[31:11] affordable.

[31:15] [snorts]

[31:16] After the bonds are issued, there will

[31:19] be approximately $1.5 billion of uh

[31:22] bonds outstanding. Uh next year's or

[31:25] fiscal year 2026 debt service would be

[31:27] $80.6 million.

[31:30] [clears throat] Here

[31:32] are some uh two very key financial

[31:34] metrics uh that we monitor to ensure

[31:38] that there's affordability of the

[31:39] program. First is the airline cost per

[31:42] employment over the projection period

[31:44] looking to get to uh $20.34.

[31:48] Uh that is uh in line with other

[31:52] airports with similar passenger levels

[31:54] are undertaking uh large capital

[31:56] programs. So it is uh well within the

[31:59] range of what the radium season and the

[32:01] market would be uh looking at. Um

[32:06] down below is a very key metric for the

[32:08] uh you [snorts] know for the

[32:10] affordability of the project. This is

[32:12] that service coverage the ability for

[32:14] the authority to pay uh their debt. Bond

[32:16] documents have a requirement of 1.25

[32:19] times coverage. Over the projection

[32:21] period we're looking at uh coverage

[32:23] levels uh between 1.45 and 1.47. 47. So

[32:27] there's a healthy uh cushion there to

[32:29] really ensure the affordability.

[32:32] Also the airline agreement does have

[32:34] provisions that ensures that that uh

[32:36] that they will ensure that the coverage

[32:38] maintains above 1.4. So there's always

[32:40] going to be adequate coverage above the

[32:42] legal requirements.

[32:47] This is the financing schedule. We're

[32:49] scheduled to meet with the rating

[32:50] agencies January 28th and 29th that will

[32:52] be coming in for a site site visit and

[32:54] tour expected to get uh ratings the week

[32:58] of February 9th. We will then post POS

[33:01] uh in the same week and then schedule

[33:04] for a bond pricing the week of February

[33:06] 23rd followed by a closing the week of

[33:09] March 9th.

[33:14] So I'll be happy to answer any

[33:16] questions. Any questions this time for

[33:18] staff?

[33:19] >> I have a question. Uh, just to kind of

[33:21] » I have a question. Uh, just to kind of

[33:21] put it in very simple terms, and I I

[33:22] understood it by looking at the debt

[33:24] coverage ratio or number that you put

[33:26] out there, but um, you know, in simple

[33:28] terms, so we're we're we're borrowing

[33:29] money here. You want to know when you go

[33:31] and take out any kind of loan, can you

[33:32] make the payments on that loan? So maybe

[33:34] Dave might be the best person to answer

[33:36] this, but I'm not sure. Can we make the

[33:37] payments on our loan based on our

[33:39] current budgeting and our current

[33:40] financial situation?

[33:44] » Uh, yes. It's important to note that the

[33:46] airline agreement that we have we

[33:49] negotiate over a two-year time period

[33:50] and we are now in the first year of that

[33:52] agreement. It's written in there that

[33:54] they provide a safety net. So when the

[33:56] debt goes up, the rates and charges go

[33:57] up. So we collect that in revenues from

[33:59] the airlines uh so that we will make

[34:01] those coverage budget. So the [snorts]

[34:04] short answer is yes.

[34:05] >> Yes.

[34:05] » Yes.

[34:05] >> Okay. And then I looked at the cost per

[34:07] » Okay. And then I looked at the cost per

[34:07] employment number uh going up to $20.34

[34:10] by the year 2030 it looked like. Um, has

[34:13] that been run by the airlines as well?

[34:15] And they they're on board with it. I'm

[34:18] sure they don't like it, but [laughter]

[34:20] >> short answer is yes. And we meet with

[34:22] » short answer is yes. And we meet with

[34:22] them at least once a year. And when we

[34:25] before we even began these projects, we

[34:28] discuss these projects with them. They

[34:31] want these projects completed. They're

[34:34] really excited to to move in here and we

[34:36] update them on the cost of the project.

[34:38] And so far, these projections are below

[34:40] what we've shown them. Okay. Excellent.

[34:44] >> Thanks, Mr. Wayne.

[34:46] » Thanks, Mr. Wayne.

[34:46] >> Sure. Um, thank you for the

[34:47] » Sure. Um, thank you for the

[34:47] presentation. Appreciate the briefing.

[34:49] You know, a couple things to highlight

[34:50] and I appreciate what Commissioner

[34:51] Hammond just said. You know, this bond

[34:53] accomplishes an awful lot of things. So,

[34:55] it not only um has to save an awful lot

[34:58] of money as a result of paying bonds off

[35:00] that obviously at a higher interest

[35:02] rate. uh we probably time the market as

[35:05] best as we possibly could given the

[35:06] environment the Federal [snorts] Reserve

[35:08] has certainly dropped interest rates and

[35:10] continue to do so. Um your approach is

[35:13] conservative in nature. Um someone has

[35:16] purchased municipal bonds most of his

[35:18] life. Um I appreciate your

[35:19] conservativism but there is heightened

[35:22] demand um as you start to have Dow Jones

[35:24] at historical highs to go to the bond

[35:27] market look for the bond market for

[35:28] securities. So that is accomplished. The

[35:31] other thing that's really noteworthy,

[35:32] um, two things. One, uh, most bonds when

[35:35] they're issued might have 110, maybe

[35:38] 115%

[35:39] coverage. Covenants are very common,

[35:42] certainly in the banking world. I've

[35:43] been dealing with them my entire life.

[35:45] So, I understand that is. So, 125 is is

[35:47] certainly on the higher side. So, that

[35:49] gives everybody a cushion. But on top of

[35:51] that, we're at 146, 147. So, there's

[35:54] ample things. The other thing of

[35:55] noteworthy as we go through this

[35:57] process, the airline has a true up

[35:59] process every year as we go through our

[36:01] budget. So again, we're exceeding our

[36:03] expectations. You coming conservative

[36:06] with interest rate, you see the money

[36:08] coming in the door. There's an

[36:09] opportunity for the airlines not only to

[36:11] appreciate that we're building this,

[36:13] we're allowing them to expand, make more

[36:15] revenues, but if we believe in our plan

[36:17] and the conservative things you have,

[36:19] there's opportunities from the UNCC

[36:21] adjustments to their favor because

[36:23] that's what this has done. So, I think

[36:24] it's accomplished so many things. I just

[36:26] want everyone to understand just the

[36:29] challenges you have in municipal

[36:30] financing, doing what you need to do,

[36:33] the creativity of paying bonds off, the

[36:35] ability to adhere to very very

[36:37] conservative covenants, which is

[36:40] unprecedented in the bond market at 125

[36:43] and still being able to come out at at

[36:44] an interest rate that's going to be very

[36:46] very. So the savings not only in paying

[36:48] the bonds off but the savings in a lower

[36:50] interest rate given a couple years ago

[36:52] are a significant nature and we continue

[36:54] to have the opportunity to even reduce

[36:56] our cost as we continue to meet and or

[36:59] exceed expectations and projections. So

[37:02] thank you so much.

[37:03] >> Any other questions or comments?

[37:05] » Any other questions or comments?

[37:05] >> I just had a question. Um so basically

[37:07] » I just had a question. Um so basically

[37:07] the way you describe this the airline is

[37:09] almost like a guarantor of our success

[37:11] in this bonds because they're covering

[37:13] us if we if something falls short. were

[37:16] there to help support this financially.

[37:19] >> They're a key business partner. Yes. And

[37:21] » They're a key business partner. Yes. And

[37:21] communication with them and trust is

[37:23] very important.

[37:24] >> So they're willing to participate in

[37:25] » So they're willing to participate in

[37:25] backs stop some of these [snorts] things

[37:27] because they get to participate in the

[37:29] new facilities and that enhances their

[37:31] business opportunity. So they're willing

[37:32] to basically support us in that if if

[37:36] something happens. So what what I wasn't

[37:38] here during COVID when there was nobody

[37:40] flying in. How did what happens to an

[37:43] airlines guarantee or participation when

[37:45] if the market or something

[37:48] goes ter goes down? How does how does

[37:50] that work?

[37:53] >> So as part of that guarantee they

[37:58] guarantee us to make sure maintain 1.4

[38:01] for coverage ratio and then terms of

[38:04] that the other impact is if things

[38:07] didn't go well the amount of planes

[38:10] coming to the airport uh that would

[38:12] affect their revenue sharing as well

[38:14] ours would go down theirs would go down

[38:15] as well

[38:15] >> so same tide floats all votes basically

[38:19] » so same tide floats all votes basically

[38:19] >> okay I just wanted to make sure it's

[38:20] » okay I just wanted to make sure it's

[38:20] easy to times they're good to spend

[38:23] money but I just wanted to I didn't know

[38:24] what the other side felt like during

[38:26] those times so I love the whole program

[38:28] but I just wanted to make sure I clarify

[38:29] that thank you

[38:31] >> luckily during co a lot of people came

[38:32] » luckily during co a lot of people came

[38:32] here [laughter]

[38:34] >> and they kept coming and they're still

[38:35] » and they kept coming and they're still

[38:35] coming. So yeah, any other questions or

[38:38] anything for a motion?

[38:39] >> Just one last question and then yeah,

[38:40] » Just one last question and then yeah,

[38:40] I'd love to make a motion real quick if

[38:41] you could go back a couple slides. I saw

[38:43] something about a reserve that's also

[38:44] being funded out of the closing there.

[38:48] There you go. Uh

[38:51] debt service reserve fund is that

[38:53] basically uh 50.9 Yeah, debt service

[38:57] reserve fund 50. Is that basically 50.9

[38:59] million bucks to also act as a reserve

[39:02] to help us make those payments if there

[39:03] was a shortfall one year?

[39:05] >> Uh yes. And that that will be a deposit

[39:07] » Uh yes. And that that will be a deposit

[39:07] into u the existing reserve fund which

[39:11] will get it up to about $100 million and

[39:13] it's roughly equal to 1 million or

[39:15] excuse me one year's worth of debt

[39:17] service.

[39:18] >> Okay. So that that's another back stop

[39:20] » Okay. So that that's another back stop

[39:20] stop to mitigate risk in case we do have

[39:22] uh something happening that. So I think

[39:25] that's fantastic. M Mr. Mr. Chairman,

[39:27] I'll go ahead and make a motion for

[39:28] approval.

[39:28] >> Second.

[39:29] » Second.

[39:29] >> Got a motion. Second. Any public comment

[39:30] » Got a motion. Second. Any public comment

[39:30] on number 12?

[39:31] >> Mr. Chairman, actually, I need you to

[39:33] » Mr. Chairman, actually, I need you to

[39:33] open the terra hearing to solicit public

[39:36] comment

[39:37] >> for number 13.

[39:38] » for number 13.

[39:38] >> Uh, we're still on number 12, please.

[39:40] » Uh, we're still on number 12, please.

[39:40] >> So, you would open up the hearing for

[39:44] » So, you would open up the hearing for

[39:44] public comment to solicit input on the

[39:47] adoption of the resolution and issuance

[39:49] of Lee County Airport Revenue Bonds

[39:51] series 2026 A1 and 20 26 A2. Okay. So,

[39:56] we have public hearing now on that

[39:58] hearing.

[39:59] >> Perfect. Thank you.

[39:59] » Perfect. Thank you.

[40:00] >> Any public comment on this hearing?

[40:04] » Any public comment on this hearing?

[40:04] Come back to the board.

[40:06] >> Now, if you would please entertain the

[40:08] » Now, if you would please entertain the

[40:08] motion to adopt the temper resolution

[40:10] and the issuance of the Lee County

[40:12] revenue bonds as indicated in item 12.

[40:15] [snorts]

[40:15] >> And just for clarity, so moved.

[40:16] » And just for clarity, so moved.

[40:16] >> I'll second that. We motion Commissioner

[40:18] » I'll second that. We motion Commissioner

[40:18] Hammond, second by Commissioner Wayne.

[40:21] Any other discussion?

[40:24] Any objection? No objection. Motion

[40:26] carries. Thank you.

[40:30] » State command of the board number 13.

[40:32] >> Need one more, please. Item 13, sitting

[40:34] » Need one more, please. Item 13, sitting

[40:34] as the board of county commissioners, I

[40:37] need you to approve a resolution

[40:38] approving the issuance of county revenue

[40:40] bonds series 2026A1 and 2026 A2.

[40:46] uh authorize the payment of related

[40:49] issuance costs and authorize the chair

[40:51] or designate to execute sale documents

[40:52] and all documents necessary to complete

[40:54] the transaction. So move

[40:56] >> second. We have a motion commissioner

[40:58] » second. We have a motion commissioner

[40:58] Hammond second. Commissioner Maluca

[41:01] any public comment on that number 13.

[41:05] Okay. Come backing objection objection.

[41:07] Motion carries. Thank you. Now we will

[41:09] reconvene at the port authority.

[41:11] >> Yes sir. Thank you.

[41:13] » Yes sir. Thank you.

[41:13] And item 14 is identical to item 13. We

[41:17] just need you to adopt the resolution

[41:20] sitting as the board of court

[41:21] commissioners.

[41:22] >> I'll make that motion.

[41:24] » I'll make that motion.

[41:24] >> Commissioner Wayne makes a motion.

[41:25] » Commissioner Wayne makes a motion.

[41:25] >> I'll second.

[41:28] » I'll second.

[41:28] Any public comment on 14.

[41:32] Any objection? No objection. Motion

[41:34] carries. Thank you.

[41:37] Administrative agenda number 15.

[41:40] >> Thank you, Mr. Sher. Uh number 15 is the

[41:42] » Thank you, Mr. Sher. Uh number 15 is the

[41:42] rate and fee settlement. Dave, if you'd

[41:44] like to introduce that

[41:50] administrative item number 15 is the

[41:52] annual recalculation of airline racing

[41:54] fees that we do every year in accordance

[41:55] with our long-term airline use and lease

[41:57] agreement carriers. I'll just give a

[42:00] quick recap of the year and how the

[42:01] selling ended up. This is the first year

[42:04] of this new 10-year agreement that had a

[42:06] number of changes to how we build the

[42:07] airlines. As a reminder, everything we

[42:09] build the airlines throughout the year

[42:10] is based on estimated budget figures. So

[42:13] at the end of the year, we take all of

[42:14] our actual revenues, expenses, and

[42:16] airline activity and compare them to

[42:18] what we had budgeted. But most years,

[42:20] our expenses come in under budget and

[42:21] airline activity is right at what we

[42:23] project.

[42:25] So we typically refund the signatory

[42:26] carriers overpayment most years. So this

[42:29] year was a little unique due to some of

[42:31] the changes with the new airline

[42:32] agreement. So when everything shook out,

[42:33] sign carriers owe us a little over $1

[42:36] million. And then the other piece of the

[42:38] year end calculation that we do is the

[42:40] revenue sharing of the area's net

[42:42] revenues which we also think of as our

[42:44] profits per year. So under the new

[42:46] agreement the airport keeps 70% of those

[42:47] net revenues and the airlines will

[42:49] receive 30%. The total net revenues

[42:52] worth $30.7 million

[42:56] port retains $21.5 million and the

[42:59] airlines will receive 9.2 million 3%

[43:02] share. So just a reminder as to why we

[43:05] revenue share. It's part of a negotiated

[43:07] business deal. In return, we get a

[43:09] safety net from the airlines

[43:10] guaranteeing that we [snorts] need to

[43:11] help get the coverage level that we need

[43:13] with all the construction going on. And

[43:15] uh so they pay a little more than they

[43:16] normally would help maintain a higher

[43:19] coverage discussed earlier in that

[43:20] presentation.

[43:22] So to wrap up the item, after board

[43:24] approval, we would cut checks to the

[43:25] airlines totaling $ 8.1 million. That

[43:28] factors in the 1 million they owe us

[43:29] from the settlement and the 9 million we

[43:32] owe them from the revenue sharing. So

[43:34] all in all the airlines should be

[43:35] pleased with the year. Our overall cost

[43:37] for employment was below budget and our

[43:39] revenue sharing amount is more than what

[43:40] we [snorts]

[43:42] important to note that our airport

[43:43] consultant recond associates reviewed

[43:45] all of our data advised us on any

[43:47] suggest suggest changes and uh signed

[43:50] off on the final amount. So this whole

[43:51] process goes through a detailed review.

[43:54] Are there any questions I can answer on

[43:55] this year's settlement process?

[43:58] >> Any questions from the board?

[44:00] » Any questions from the board?

[44:00] >> I'll make a motion to approve. Mr. I

[44:02] » I'll make a motion to approve. Mr. I

[44:02] will gladly second it.

[44:04] >> So any objection? No objection. Motion

[44:07] » So any objection? No objection. Motion

[44:07] carries.

[44:08] >> Public I'm sorry. Public comment on this

[44:11] » Public I'm sorry. Public comment on this

[44:11] item, please. Rookie chair. It's been 10

[44:14] minutes.

[44:17] » Any public comment? Seeing none, bring

[44:19] it back to the board [clears throat] for

[44:20] final approval. So any objection? No

[44:23] objection. Motion carries.

[44:25] >> Great job.

[44:27] » Great job.

[44:27] >> That's one.

[44:29] » That's one.

[44:29] All right. Commissioner items. Any

[44:31] appointments?

[44:33] Anyone?

[44:35] >> Yeah. Now that the chair's gone, let's

[44:36] » Yeah. Now that the chair's gone, let's

[44:36] have some fun.

[44:39] >> Joking. I have no items. Thanks.

[44:41] » Joking. I have no items. Thanks.

[44:41] >> I have no other chair.

[44:42] » I have no other chair.

[44:42] >> I have no items. Okay.

[44:44] » I have no items. Okay.

[44:44] >> All [laughter] right.

[44:46] » All [laughter] right.

[44:46] All right. Comments from the chair of

[44:47] the ASMC. Well, I'd just like to welcome

[44:51] Commissioner Petroski once again. say

[44:53] that the management committee is here to

[44:56] serve you and anything we can do to

[44:58] assist you, uh, just give us a call. I'm

[45:01] saying I'm glad that you're on board.

[45:03] >> Thank you. I appreciate that.

[45:04] » Thank you. I appreciate that.

[45:04] >> Any other comments from the other

[45:06] » Any other comments from the other

[45:06] members?

[45:07] >> I've got one. Okay. Go ahead.

[45:08] » I've got one. Okay. Go ahead.

[45:08] >> I just wanted to thank Commissioner

[45:10] » I just wanted to thank Commissioner

[45:10] Wayne for his service this year under

[45:12] trying circumstances, all the extra

[45:14] efforts he went to to attend our

[45:16] meetings, and uh, we just hope uh, 2026

[45:20] is a much better year for him.

[45:22] >> Amen.

[45:23] » Amen.

[45:23] amendment. All right. [snorts] Anything

[45:26] else? Executive Director Adams.

[45:29] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'd also like

[45:31] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'd also like

[45:31] to welcome new commissioner. Welcome to

[45:33] the airport and the uh and we look

[45:36] forward to working with you. Um, I also

[45:38] again want to call out all the work for

[45:41] this bond. It's been a tremendous, you

[45:43] know, Dave and and team and Brian and

[45:45] legal, they underscore the amount of of

[45:47] time that this takes. It has been a

[45:50] large undertaking. So, we appreciate all

[45:53] the support and all the hard work that

[45:55] everybody has put in. Um, and I also

[45:57] want to just kind of note again the

[45:59] budget. Being able to have a revenue

[46:02] share at the end of the year year means

[46:04] that the airport has been good stewards

[46:05] of their funds that we're being fiscally

[46:08] responsible and you know, I think we're

[46:10] in great shape moving forward. Uh, with

[46:12] that being said, we couldn't do all this

[46:14] without our passengers. And the first

[46:17] one to note is we have again during

[46:19] December uh we had 1,12,000

[46:23] passengers come through RSW. Um it is a

[46:26] decrease from last December of about

[46:28] 1.7%

[46:30] but for fiscal year 25 it's great news,

[46:33] record-breaking news. We had 11,154,458

[46:40] thou uh 458 passengers come through.

[46:43] It's about a 1.1%.

[46:45] So, it's pretty neat when 1.1% is about

[46:48] 120,000 passengers. So, we're we're

[46:50] pumping through some people. So, while

[46:52] 1.1% is a small number in magnitude,

[46:56] we're ready for all of this 14 gates in

[46:58] our new uh expansion and the checkpoint

[47:00] to come through. Uh traffic leader this

[47:03] year was Delta, 217,000 passengers,

[47:06] followed by Southwest United, American,

[47:08] and JetBlue. Um and then across town at

[47:11] Page Field, they've also been having

[47:13] great numbers. their uh December was up

[47:16] year-over-year 5%. So the airports are

[47:18] are looking good moving into the new

[47:20] year.

[47:22] >> Terrific. Mr. Chair,

[47:24] » Terrific. Mr. Chair,

[47:24] >> I and uh

[47:25] » I and uh

[47:25] >> yes,

[47:25] » yes,

[47:26] >> just a couple of um echoes, Steve.

[47:28] » just a couple of um echoes, Steve.

[47:28] Listen, I appreciate the report and

[47:30] everything you've done. Your staff has

[47:31] done a tremendous jobs. I mean, it's

[47:34] always hard if you've ever operated a

[47:36] business to be under construction and

[47:37] try to have um the experience. So, you

[47:40] know, given just all the complications,

[47:43] it seems like it's been going seamlessly

[47:45] and appreciate all [clears throat] your

[47:46] hard work in doing so. It was nice to be

[47:48] out the airport when we did. Um, it's

[47:51] amazing how quickly this is going and it

[47:53] is by far the most talked about thing

[47:55] and I'm out the road by so many people

[47:58] within Southwest Florida. So, thank you

[48:00] so much.

[48:00] >> Thank you. [snorts]

[48:01] » Thank you. [snorts]

[48:01] >> I'd like to echo that. um you know,

[48:03] » I'd like to echo that. um you know,

[48:03] being new and just the time that I've

[48:05] had with the briefings with you and your

[48:07] staff, I'm thoroughly impressed with

[48:09] what you're doing um in light of being

[48:11] under construction and the way that the

[48:13] management is being held and the fiscal

[48:15] responsibility that you're taking with

[48:16] the budget and the bonds. So kudos.

[48:19] Thank you.

[48:20] >> And ju just to make a clarification in

[48:22] » And ju just to make a clarification in

[48:22] case I misspoke, those 11 million

[48:24] passengers are calendar year. It's not

[48:26] our fiscal year. So ending up in

[48:28] December.

[48:29] >> Great. Great report. Great, great

[48:32] » Great. Great report. Great, great

[48:32] results. I want to know I flew back in

[48:34] here last night from Tallahassee and I

[48:35] got to see coming through Delta and u

[48:38] all of the passenger experience areas,

[48:40] everything's clean, every all the

[48:41] whiteboard, all the facades are all up

[48:43] there nice, neat and clean and so you

[48:45] wouldn't even know somebody's hammering

[48:47] nails behind the wall. So, you know, as

[48:49] as it was a few months ago. So, the

[48:51] experience is getting better and I'm

[48:52] just I'm excited to see the pro

[48:53] progress. So, kudos to that and thanks

[48:55] for keeping us all safe with the uh FAA

[48:58] approval again for the Sterling results

[49:00] eight years in a So, I wanted to also

[49:02] call you out for that. So, uh, anything

[49:04] else?

[49:05] >> No, sir. Thank you.

[49:06] » No, sir. Thank you.

[49:06] >> Port attorney items.

[49:07] » Port attorney items.

[49:08] >> Nothing further, Mr. Chairman. Thank

[49:09] » Nothing further, Mr. Chairman. Thank

[49:09] you. Do we have any public comment on

[49:12] any other matters?

[49:16] Easy crowd today.

[49:18] Seeing none, I will call this meeting

[49:19] ajourned.

Joint Board Meeting - Jan. 15, 2026

Transcript