Make sure you're in January. I think
we're good.
» Good morning all.
>> Good morning.
» Good morning.
>> Board of Port Commissioners meeting will
» Board of Port Commissioners meeting will
convene. Um we can start with the
invocation. We do have a pinch hitter.
Brian, I understand you're pinch hitting
for us. The rabbi was unable to come
here. If we could all stand for that and
then the pledge, please.
» Good morning everybody. Nice to see you.
Quick prayer here. Uh, heavenly father,
as we gather for this meeting, give us
the use of your gift of peace and
understanding that we may approach the
matters we must govern today with
sincere and just hearts. We ask for your
guidance in our decision-m and thank you
for the leadership bestowed upon us.
Thank you, Lord, for the servicemen and
women defending and protecting our
freedoms. Please be with them and keep
them safe in your loving hands so that
they may soon return home to their
families. We ask this in your name.
Amen.
>> Amen.
» Amen.
>> Please turn to the flag.
» Please turn to the flag.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
» I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[clears throat]
Thanks, Brian. [snorts]
>> Uh, next item on the agenda is our
» Uh, next item on the agenda is our
annual reorganization
board of port commissioners. Um,
» good morning, commissioners and special
management committee. For the record, I
am Claudia Curtain and I am the county
record services manager and it's my
privilege to represent the clerk's
office to conduct the annual
reorganization of the board of
commissioners. As a reminder, any
commissioner may nominate another
commissioner or themselves to serve as
chair. Nominations [clears throat]
do not require second, but a vote is
required to close nominations and a roll
call vote is required for each
nomination.
The floor is now open for a nomination
for chair.
>> I nominate S Pentagross. Mr. Chairman,
» I nominate S Pentagross. Mr. Chairman,
>> I'll second that.
» I'll second that.
>> I move we close nominations.
» I move we close nominations.
[clears throat]
>> Thank you. Nominations are closed.
» Thank you. Nominations are closed.
>> I will now call for a vote for the
» I will now call for a vote for the
election of chair for C uh Commissioner
Pendergrass by district. Commissioner
Wayne.
>> Commissioner Pendergrass. Oh,
» Commissioner Pendergrass. Oh,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> I thought Commissioner Ma. Yes,
» I thought Commissioner Ma. Yes,
>> Commissioner Hammond.
» Commissioner Hammond.
>> Yes,
» Yes,
>> Fisherki.
» Fisherki.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Congratulations.
» Congratulations.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you. [applause]
» Yours to take over for vice chair.
>> Thank you. Thank you to my board for the
» Thank you. Thank you to my board for the
vote of confidence. Look forward to a
great year of RSW and our special
management team. Ray, you had a chance.
You could have volunteered, you know,
but you know, [laughter]
>> still nice to see you on that side of
» still nice to see you on that side of
the table. So,
>> pleasure to be here. Again, thank you.
» pleasure to be here. Again, thank you.
At this time, we take nominations for
vice chair by nominate Commissioner
Malika.
>> I'll second that.
» I'll second that.
>> I move we close nominations.
» I move we close nominations.
>> Any public comment on that? Any
» Any public comment on that? Any
objections? No objections. Resolution.
David Malika.
>> Thank you. [applause]
» Thank you all for the vote of confidence
and I look forward to serving in that
capacity.
>> Thank you. And I'd like to introduce our
» Thank you. And I'd like to introduce our
newest commissioner, Trish Petroski.
This is her first meeting with us today.
We She's been working with us for last
month. So, THANK YOU. WELCOME.
SHE'S BEEN UM GETTING her feet wet every
day working and being out in the
community and being at the office every
day. So, this is our actual first
meeting and then next week on the 20th
we have a board meeting. So, be your
first people. So, congratulations. I
hope you're having a good time and thank
you for your efforts and volunteering
for this job.
>> Thank you. Happy to be aboard.
» Thank you. Happy to be aboard.
>> Great. Thank you. [snorts]
» Great. Thank you. [snorts]
>> Okay, we'll move on to the recap. Um we
» Okay, we'll move on to the recap. Um we
have
um we only have one item be pulled by
Commissioner Luka. Item C. We're going
to the consent agenda. Any items be
pulled by discussion of board other than
number 11. Commissioner Hammond.
>> I have none. Mr. Chairman,
» I have none. Mr. Chairman,
>> I have none.
» I have none.
>> I have none. Mroski.
» I have none. Mroski.
>> Any
» Any
>> I have none.
» I have none.
>> Okay. I'm going to take that motion to
» Okay. I'm going to take that motion to
approve the balance of the items.
>> So move.
» So move.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> Any public comment on the balance items?
» Any public comment on the balance items?
We have one public comment card in
regards to it. Is that
>> No, that's not.
» No, that's not.
>> You're right. Sorry. Okay. And any
» You're right. Sorry. Okay. And any
public comment on the consent?
Any objection? Objection. Motion
carries. Commissioner Booka number 11,
please.
>> Thank you all. Um I um
» Thank you all. Um I um
appreciate the opportunity to discuss
this matter. I um these union
negotiations are these are complex labor
agreements. I mean this uh this one pay
plan is 77 pages long, right? So there's
a lot a lot of things in this uh these
negotiations and I appreciate staff and
all of our all of our firefighters for
doing their great work every day. But
there was a couple things when we when
we had convened as a board in the shade
session to uh discuss the pay plans. We
[snorts] left there the f first time we
had a an impass and came back to us
because we said we want to be
competitive with the market. We want to
be fair to our employees. We want to
make sure that we're competitive in the
market for other agencies. And we we
made a special effort to raise the
floor, right? Because our starting
people were were below where we wanted
them to be. And then we made a also made
a deliberate effort that we didn't want
to raise the ceiling on the highest paid
people was part of our discussion in
that meeting because they were already
at 116% of market in that particular
silo. So I mentioned this u for that and
then there's so there's the pay plan
concern on the on the upper end for that
one particular tier of the max of the
highest paid people that I wanted to
talk about and then there was another
item that caught my attention that I
wanted to ask uh Steve to explain to us
a bit um on 39.07 07.
It says, "Time worked during emergencies
and unforeseen airport events. When the
executive director designate designates
at an event and as an emergency,
bargaining unit personnel who work
during the emergency shall receive
emergency pay calculated at double time
and 1/2 [snorts]
for all hours worked. The reopening of
the airport signals the emergency is
over and they'll be paid as usual. So,
can you discuss what emergency pay is
[clears throat] and how that multiplier
with work?
>> Yes, definitely. So, the county has um a
» Yes, definitely. So, the county has um a
document. It's policy number 504. It's
titled pay for work during emergencies
or disasters. The port authority has a
similar policy. And with that policy,
basically an emergency for the airport
um is not you're you're calling out the
police department or the fire
department. An emergency is a hurricane.
There is a catastrophic event. There is
uh you know the the unlikely instance of
an aircraft crash or if there's an
active shooter, something that requires
the closure of the airport, a portion of
the airport, and it could be either
airport. In that instance, we have
through our policies the ability to call
people in. We have broken down our staff
by tiers. Tiers 1, two, and three. Tier
one are the people, you know, like
myself and some of the people in the
room, uh, that are always on call. Uh,
some of them are salaried, some of them
are hourly. So, using the call it the
easy one, if there is a hurricane, um,
the airport may be closing a little bit
off from the county, that is up to the
airport as critical infrastructure to
decide when that is. um because we have
a different role uh with getting people
in to help with evacuation, search and
rescue, things of that nature. So, what
this does is it gives us a means in line
with the county to pay the staff that
are brought in specifically to work um
for whatever instance that is. The item
to note is, you know, if somebody is
called in, they might not be doing their
normal job. So if somebody is in
accounting, they might be brought in as
part of a team to help clean up the
roadways to get something open or they,
you know, on, you know, opening day,
they might be wearing a red vest helping
people. So the roles are not a uh a one
for one. Uh we do have an extensive, you
know, hurricane plan in that regard
where people are assigned locations. Um
so this gives us that means and methods
in line with the county to pay our
people. [snorts] In reference to this,
the previous contract did not include
the language. So, we included the
language here to provide that
consistency with what the rest of the
airport and the county is doing.
>> Okay. Well, respectfully, I I mean, I
» Okay. Well, respectfully, I I mean, I
think every time we call for help for a
first responder that there must be an
emergency, [snorts]
right? [laughter] I mean, the life
saving someone's life in a car wreck,
you know, it doesn't have to be uh I
want to make sure that they couldn't
call in a bonus every time they put the
sirens on.
>> No, sir. Because we the job of a
» No, sir. Because we the job of a
firefighter is to help someone in need
and then
>> the only reason they
» the only reason they
>> need a first responders is because we
» need a first responders is because we
have an emergency. Right. So if we just
say the word emergency that didn't
wasn't defined as airport closure in
this document.
>> How would I know that? Right. That was
» How would I know that? Right. That was
my my point of that question.
>> If I could is see is this also like part
» If I could is see is this also like part
of the state of emergency and I think
every city every county municipality
uses FEMA funding for reimbursement.
you're doing a hurricane for example
once you declare a state of emergency
for like the city for mar city coral lee
county the port authority once they
declare that then those employees are
required to be at work 24/7 12 our
shifts for example they're compensated
that pay rate of double time and a half
>> that that is correct and and that's what
» that that is correct and and that's what
you know when I stated that our time
frame might not necessarily match up to
the counties um but nonetheless our
employees are also being tracked through
our finance department you know we're
keeping the the same list that the
county would be be keeping for
reimbursement if it was in the case of a
natural disaster. Um, so those are all
all par for the course and typically how
that goes is if I am calling something
you know that we are projecting, hey,
we're going to have a a hurricane notice
is getting sent to the board and I'm
reaching out to the board. If something
were to happen right now and staff
that's out on the airfield needs to
declare emergency, the airport's shut
down, that doesn't mean that emergency
pay is automatically getting kicked in.
It it's predicated on situation. So what
a couple years ago we had the United
plane that blew a tire. You know it tail
was blocking the runway. We did not
declare an emergency because it was
handled during normal business hours.
You know you didn't call people in. It
was a huge impact to the airport. But
that didn't fall to this criteria. This
is of very large magnitude. You know
it's not the same as you know you know
the the common you know thought of
what's an emergency. So
>> okay I know the word emergency the word
» okay I know the word emergency the word
safety. These can be broad brush terms
right. I just wanted to make sure every
time they responded to anything that
might be saving someone's life, which I
think they would consider an emergency,
right? That they didn't get a bonus, you
know, every time the bell went off at
the fire station. So, um, so we can rely
on you for your discretion to if the
airport is shut down or there's a state
of local emergency that that's the bar
threshold that we can rely on your
kicking this in. We'd be notified of
that.
>> Right. Yeah. So, so to staff to board I
» Right. Yeah. So, so to staff to board I
declare an emergency in writing as well.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Because that's part of our our
» Because that's part of our our
documentation as the commissioner noted
for like FEMA as an example. When did
you call it? When did it end? Give me
everything in between. So it's very
delineated in that regard. Um the other
item to note is you know again is it is
airportwide for those employees. So it's
not just subject to ARF, you know,
[snorts] for this question. It could be
anybody. So, as we tie out this cleanup
language to match county languages,
there may be some other administrative
updates to the code or other things that
we can do to clean that up definitions
of that for emergency purposes.
>> Yes, yeah, we can definitely look at
» Yes, yeah, we can definitely look at
that.
>> Okay, thank you for that.
» Okay, thank you for that.
So, can we talk about for a moment?
Does anybody else have any questions on
that portion? But thank you. Um so
regarding the the the pay benefits uh we
we left our meeting uh with Anna's
approval at the 109 number I believe and
then it came can you talk to us about
how it came back before us today what
what changed
>> between just so the difference between
» between just so the difference between
the 109 and the number here for the the
>> we left our shade session saying for
» we left our shade session saying for
unanimous approval at this
>> yeah so that so the with
» yeah so that so the with
>> that changed after that fact
» that changed after that fact
>> yeah so the the number that is before
» yeah so the the number that is before
the board today for the ARF tech. Um,
but I guess actually all of them is well
I'll back up just specific to the ARF
tech that 109 did not include the uh pay
range adjustment that we provided all
employees at the airport. So that pay
range that I believe it was 3%
adjustment brought it from 109 to 113 in
line with the rest of the staff or LCPA
for for the pay ranges. So you have the
minimum pay range and the maximum. We
adjusted those this year. So that 3% was
the difference between 109 and 113.
» Mr. Chairman, if I could also uh by way
of explanation, when we went back to the
union representatives, part of their
voiced concern was the implication of
the thenexisting maximum pay caps
because that affected, I believe, four
employees. So we had further
negotiations with the union and we came
to a a tenative agreement that's why the
contract is before you today whereby
those maximum caps would be increased by
2% in the second and third year of the
contract. In return for that concession
uh the union has agreed to eliminate the
wage reopener provisions that were in
the previous contract. So they are
foregoing the opportunity to revisit
wages on an annual basis which they had
in the existing contract. So if this
contract goes forward uh with all due
respect to our firefighter friends, you
don't have to deal with union
negotiations with them for a three-year
period. [clears throat]
So this basically staggers three-year
pre-aggreement that's fixed rather than
I wasn't here for the last three years
[cough and clears throat] old ones on an
annual basis.
get the hang of this when you say it's
the first time I ever heard this before.
You know, I can still say that on a
couple things, you know, but but
respectfully, so we we take a little bit
of a bite now today and then it
staggers. It breaks it up over the
three-year period [snorts] in a
predictable manner rather than being so
if we said hold tight at the 109, then
we get to a haggle two more times.
>> Correct.
» Correct.
>> And it could end up costing more or
» And it could end up costing more or
less. And again, please keep in mind the
distinction between a pay increase and
increasing the pay ranges. What we're
talking about in this contract with the
2% per year that I discussed was
increasing the maximum pay range. It's
not a guaranteed 2% pay raise. Uh the
firefighters under the contract would
get the same pay increase that the board
would approve for all employees. This
merely increases the pay, the maximum
pay cap so that they're not maxed out in
terms of pay.
>> And I think one thing I learned from you
» And I think one thing I learned from you
in our review of this yesterday, if we
had a 5% raise and we didn't raise the
max, and I didn't I didn't know all
this. I don't have a union shop with my
company, right? So, um, if the 5% money,
they would still get the money that they
would get in a raise. They would just
get in a lump sum payment, right? So
they they wouldn't I I thought the first
time I read this that if they got a 5%
pay raise and they were at the max that
they wouldn't be entitled to the race,
right? Again, as a as a new
commissioner, you I would have I thought
that was their cap, [clears throat] but
they would still get the five grand or
whatever the money would be. They would
just get a lump sum payment, but that
legacy cost of going on for the rest of
their lives at their pension, that's the
escalation that they want to protect. Is
that correct,
>> Mr. Germany?
» Mr. Germany?
>> Yes. Under the the state retirement
» Yes. Under the the state retirement
system, your state retirement is based
on your high the average of your high-
five wage earning years multiplied by
years of service multiplied by a service
classification factor. So it in the
employees best interest to have that
high five as high as possible. the
difficulty comes in and we all recognize
this. When you reach the maximum cap,
you get that pay in a lump sum, but it
doesn't go toward increasing your high
five for retirement purposes. So over
the course of your career, you're
actually suffering a harm that will be
in perpetuity for the rest of your life
as you retire and receive those
retirement benefits through the state
system. And I would point out that that
is the state retirement system that you
are obligated to participate in and
statutoily cannot opt out of.
>> On from that, I'd like to say that I
» On from that, I'd like to say that I
think I think that our purpose here, our
goal at the time though doing this
negotiation was trying to uh adjust the
pay based upon the market. That's why we
asked the staff to do a market analysis.
I would suggest in the future we do this
three years from now is maybe do a
market analysis of international airport
staff not just [snorts] local fire
departments because we use LII acres you
know San Carlos Bonita to look at pay
adjustments for for example like this
pay right here we're the 109 this four
employees there four employees that live
in our community they're taxpayers their
kids go to school there they're
consumers that are being funded not by
taxpayers by everybody that flies this
airport from the UK Australia and
everywhere else in the country in the
world that comes here those four
employees are getting funded for that. I
think we have to make sure we're not
trying to obviously uh it was mentioned
about FRS. I don't think FRS is the
issue. I think that the employees are
making sure they're being paid that's
fair and adjusted based upon the market.
There's no reason they should have to go
across the street, work somewhere else
and make more money and be here at the
airport. We are the best airport in the
country. We want to, you know, provide
that. We also want to make sure you
coming in at 150 m per hour with no
landing gear just to make qualified
waiting for you in the runway with some
foam. Okay. So then my or my goal was to
make sure we provided a good environment
for these four employees and make sure
their pay is based upon what's in the
market. If you see they can go somewhere
else and stay benefic
contributions based upon making sure we
have a fair market here for the
employees we have working your service
in the airport. And I can echo the
fairness. You know, we all want to be
fair, right? And we we spent a lot of
time in our conversations just for the
public's knowledge to make sure we
raised the floor and everybody everybody
else but the max on the sixth tier was
shrewed up to be close to 100% which
they were shy of that before. We were
trying to be very competitive to make
sure that we got everybody around 100%.
But when the 116% group wanted to be
119% it just sort of caught me a little
bit flatfooted on that.
I thought they already had a scale on
the on had a pace on that and the fact
that we have so many people in that pay
grade. I thought I I I thought I read on
your report yesterday that there were 10
people at the $ 109,000
pay range currently. I don't know where
the four
>> I I don't have that. I'm sorry. I don't
» I I don't have that. I'm sorry. I don't
have that. I can get that.
>> Anyway, irregardless. Thank you for
» Anyway, irregardless. Thank you for
showing me the the staggered approach
for the three years. Basically
pre-approving the incremental so it's
not like we're not agreeing to this and
then having to agree to agree two more
times. That's helping clarify that. I do
I do appreciate that. Just these shade
sessions. We have those and we don't
talk again until we get on camera again.
So, thank you for indulging me with
those explanations. So,
>> I'll make a motion.
» I'll make a motion.
>> Sure. Go ahead.
» Sure. Go ahead.
>> I'll make a motion to approve. Still
» I'll make a motion to approve. Still
have discussion.
>> Okay. I motion second.
» Okay. I motion second.
>> Mr. Chairman, if I may. Yeah. No, I I
» Mr. Chairman, if I may. Yeah. No, I I
was glad to hear you make a motion. I
was I was uh about to do that as well,
but uh I just wanted to share some
thoughts, too. This was a long process
to get here to this point to get this
contract negotiated. And I I did want to
share my thanks with the folks from the
union. Uh and I do want to thank all of
our firefighters who are out there every
day doing their job regardless of what
the negotiations are doing behind the
scenes. So, thank you very much to the
folks who are out there on the front
lines, too. But I also wanted to thank
our our team here. Thank you guys for
working through this and uh and the hard
work that you did to get it to this
point. There was many, many, many
meetings to get here. Um, the one thing
that I I do appreciate that we've kind
of talked about already though that's in
this contract is the ability that for
the next few years uh this bargaining
group will get the same as what the
airport employees get. It'll we're
calling it kind of like a meto clause.
So if we give a raise to the airport
employees, they're going to get a very
similar increase. Then um I like that
because personally I really feel very
strongly about treating each group the
same. Uh I don't like it when we treat
one group differently than another
group. And so to me, this contract
really does get um to that point. It
satisfies my desire to get everybody
kind of on an equal level of increases
where nobody feels like they're being
treated differently. So, thank you, Mr.
Chairman. Happy to support the motion.
>> Thank you, Commissioner W.
» Thank you, Commissioner W.
>> Sure. Appreciate it. Um certainly I echo
» Sure. Appreciate it. Um certainly I echo
many of the comments that here. I just
think that, you know, for the record,
for clarity, you know, this was a
paycale adjustment. Um we pride
ourselves to have consistency throughout
the organization. We pride ourselves for
first uh right of refusal and certainly
uh acknowledging the employees that we
have and that's really important. You
know, someone that has certainly a lot
of people on a payroll in a given period
of time, I understand how important it
is to keep continuity. Many people don't
realize just how difficult it is to
replace people, the learning curve you
have to go through, the institutional
knowledge you lose. It's so important to
make sure we do this and honestly being
fair to the whole process. And this
collective bargaining is always an
interesting process. I certainly
experienced that in Sandville. There's
two unions there. So when I got in
office in '07, it was the recessionary
times and went through this every year.
But I think, you know, it also gives
kudos to not only staff and to our our
employees recognizing that we did an
adjustment to salary and there go there
wasn't a necessary adjustment to do
something in the future for a couple
years. So obviously it's just
recognition what we did. Can't thank
staff enough. Can't thank your team,
Henry, and everybody that they did. It
comes out with a nice outcome and
certainly appreciate the fact that we've
approved this and it's a second. I think
it's a good thing for everyone. And I
think Commissioner Pentag is this isn't
a taxpayer dollars and I think that
sometimes gets lost in this whole
process.
>> We have one public comment card if
» We have one public comment card if
there's no comments from the commission.
Um Henry Garcia
» [snorts]
» Morning everyone. H Garcia, president of
local 1826. I am firefighter here. I
just want to take an opportunity to
thank everyone at the board for their
foresight to approve this contract. Uh
you guys took a huge step forward in the
recruitment and retention of
firefighters, paying them a good wage,
and they're very happy with their
contract. We had a unanimous vote of the
collective bargaining agreement. So they
are very thankful for the foresight that
you guys showed in giving them those
wage increases. Also like to thank the
county attorney's office
for all their hard work. We really
appreciate the partnership.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Any other public comments?
» Any other public comments?
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Let's come back. We'll close public
» Let's come back. We'll close public
comment. Come back to board. We have a
motion with a second. Any other
discussion? Any objection? No objection.
Motion carries. Thank you.
>> Thank you. [clears throat]
» Thank you. [clears throat]
>> Number 12,
Richard. Is this one to rec?
>> Sir, Mr. Chairman, if you would please
» Sir, Mr. Chairman, if you would please
convene as the board of
the board of county commissioners.
>> We are now board of county commissioners
» We are now board of county commissioners
number 12.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sitting as the
» Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sitting as the
board of county commissioners, the
purpose of agenda item 12 is to conduct
a keer hearing with regard to the
potential issuance of uh revenue series
bonds. Mr. Andor is here for the staff
presentation following the closure of
the public hearing. Uh item 13 would be
to approve the resolution approving the
issuance. That can only take place after
the public hearing.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Hi. Good morning. Dave Anderson record.
» Hi. Good morning. Dave Anderson record.
Uh stated items 123 14 all relate to the
bond issuance. Uh we'll have that
separate hearing. Item 13 as you said
will be approval of the Lee County
Airport Revenue Bond Series 2026 in the
amount not to exceed $375 million. And
then the same item will be introduced by
the board of appealers.
» So we were last in the bond market in
October 2024 to do the first borrowing
to fund terminal expansion phase 2
concourse E. Now we're coming back to
the board for approval to raise the
additional funds needed to finish that
project off as well as raise additional
funds for terminal expansion phase one
and to build the new public safety
building. As part of this bond deal, we
also have the opportunity to refund one
of our existing series 2015 bonds that
are now callable and can be refinanced
in order to reduce our overall debt
service costs. So, as the slide
[clears throat] states, the bond
issuance achieves two strategic
objectives. It funds three major capital
improvement projects and it refunds an
existing bond series to capitalize on
nature savings opportunity.
This this slide provides an overview of
the series [clears throat] 2026 bonds,
their uses, amount, tax structure, and
other features. I'll quickly touch on
the bond issuance, our plans, and then
I'll hand it over to our m municipal
adviser, Bill Case from PFN. They'll go
over some of the specifics, talk about
market conditions, affordability, and
impact of the bond issuance to our debt
profile. So, it's important to note that
our that the not to exceed amount of
$875 million that was shown on the last
slide. It factors in all the uses of the
funds associated with the issuance. So,
that's the deposit to the project fund
for construction. It's the deposit to
fund our required reserve account, cost
to issue the bonds, capitalized
interest, and any other ancillary costs.
Those estimated amounts are broken out
on a later slide that uh Bill Case will
walk you through. So before I move off
this slide, I just like to make the
statement of these bonds. Like
everything else at our airports, funded
by user fees, no local taxes going
towards funding these bonds.
So on slide four, we show the funding
plan for terminal expansion phase one.
In March 2025, the board voted to
proceed with the project redesign and to
increase the project budget to $678
million. We always plan to be in the
bond market for terminal expansion phase
2 concourse E around this time. the
timing worked out nicely to raise the
additional funds needed to complete
phase one as well. Uh we're planning on
construction proceeds of about 250
million out of this bond series to go
towards the completion of phase one.
On slide five, we show the funding plan
for terminal expansion phase 2.
As mentioned, the second bond is always
planned for this project in order to
arrange the funding in line with the
overall spending of the project.
We were in the bond market last October
to raise approximately 500 October 2024
to raise approximately $525 million to
get the project kicked off. Uh now we
plan to be back in the market in
February to raise an additional $327
million, excuse me, $332 million to
finish the project. Uh this will
complete the funding needed for the
total project budget of just over $1
billion.
On slide six, we show the funding plan
for the new public safety building,
which will be the new home for the
airport police department. This is a
singlestory building that is
approximately 21,000 square ft and is
located southwest of the terminal
building along cargo lane. Construction
on the project began earlier this year
and is scheduled to finish in the fall
of 2026. The project has a total project
budget of a little over $18 million with
the majority of the funding coming from
this bond issuance.
As mentioned earlier, we had the
opportunity to refund our series 2015
bonds, which have now seen principal
balance of roughly $33 million. Uh we
typically target a minimum of 3% net
present value savings and uh based on
current market conditions, uh this
refunding is estimated to have net
present value savings of approximately
15%. So it's a great opportunity for us
to take advantage of some interest
savings while we're already going to be
in the market.
On my last slide here, I want to take a
moment to point out the excellent team
of industryleading adviserss and legal
counsel that we had working on this bond
issuance. Uh the same team has been in
place the last few times we've gone out
to markets and we've been very
successful at developing affordable
long-term financing plans for our
airports while structuring our debt to
maximize the marketability of our debt
to investors. So, hats off to our
excellent business partners. And uh with
us today, we have Bill Case, our
municipal adviser from PFM Financial
Policies LLC.
uh Bill is located out of the Tampa
office and has been working on our
account for a number of years and he's
going to walk you through our debt
portfolio to talk a little bit about the
specifics of the bond issuance and also
touch on affordability. So also I want
to point the audience with us today. We
have Doug Draper from BFA securities
serving as our lead underwriter on this
issuance and we also have Tom Giblin and
Bratesh Patel from Neighbors Vickerson
who serves as our bond counter.
Good morning, commissioners. Bill Casem
financial advisors. Uh I'll walk you
through a overview of the authority set
portfolio as well as the background in
the series 2026 bonds.
There's currently four series of bonds
outstanding approximately 862 million
years service is 62 million.
This is the estimated sources and uses
for the bond issue. Approximately $725
million of proceeds that are required to
fund $600 million of project fund. The
$34 million of the refunding Astro
deposit. That's the refunding the series
2015 bonds. There will be capitalized
interest of approximately 37 million. a
deposit to the debt service reserve fund
of 51 million and then various cost of
issuance including the underwriting fees
of 3.3 million.
To the right uh the average life on
these this bond issue be approximately
21 years. We are showing an all-in cost
of 4.72%.
This is approximately 50 basis points
above market rates. We use that for
conserv level of conservative
conservatism
uh for the financial projections to make
sure that uh the the finance programs
affordable.
[snorts]
After the bonds are issued, there will
be approximately $1.5 billion of uh
bonds outstanding. Uh next year's or
fiscal year 2026 debt service would be
$80.6 million.
[clears throat] Here
are some uh two very key financial
metrics uh that we monitor to ensure
that there's affordability of the
program. First is the airline cost per
employment over the projection period
looking to get to uh $20.34.
Uh that is uh in line with other
airports with similar passenger levels
are undertaking uh large capital
programs. So it is uh well within the
range of what the radium season and the
market would be uh looking at. Um
down below is a very key metric for the
uh you [snorts] know for the
affordability of the project. This is
that service coverage the ability for
the authority to pay uh their debt. Bond
documents have a requirement of 1.25
times coverage. Over the projection
period we're looking at uh coverage
levels uh between 1.45 and 1.47. 47. So
there's a healthy uh cushion there to
really ensure the affordability.
Also the airline agreement does have
provisions that ensures that that uh
that they will ensure that the coverage
maintains above 1.4. So there's always
going to be adequate coverage above the
legal requirements.
This is the financing schedule. We're
scheduled to meet with the rating
agencies January 28th and 29th that will
be coming in for a site site visit and
tour expected to get uh ratings the week
of February 9th. We will then post POS
uh in the same week and then schedule
for a bond pricing the week of February
23rd followed by a closing the week of
March 9th.
So I'll be happy to answer any
questions. Any questions this time for
staff?
>> I have a question. Uh, just to kind of
» I have a question. Uh, just to kind of
put it in very simple terms, and I I
understood it by looking at the debt
coverage ratio or number that you put
out there, but um, you know, in simple
terms, so we're we're we're borrowing
money here. You want to know when you go
and take out any kind of loan, can you
make the payments on that loan? So maybe
Dave might be the best person to answer
this, but I'm not sure. Can we make the
payments on our loan based on our
current budgeting and our current
financial situation?
» Uh, yes. It's important to note that the
airline agreement that we have we
negotiate over a two-year time period
and we are now in the first year of that
agreement. It's written in there that
they provide a safety net. So when the
debt goes up, the rates and charges go
up. So we collect that in revenues from
the airlines uh so that we will make
those coverage budget. So the [snorts]
short answer is yes.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Okay. And then I looked at the cost per
» Okay. And then I looked at the cost per
employment number uh going up to $20.34
by the year 2030 it looked like. Um, has
that been run by the airlines as well?
And they they're on board with it. I'm
sure they don't like it, but [laughter]
>> short answer is yes. And we meet with
» short answer is yes. And we meet with
them at least once a year. And when we
before we even began these projects, we
discuss these projects with them. They
want these projects completed. They're
really excited to to move in here and we
update them on the cost of the project.
And so far, these projections are below
what we've shown them. Okay. Excellent.
>> Thanks, Mr. Wayne.
» Thanks, Mr. Wayne.
>> Sure. Um, thank you for the
» Sure. Um, thank you for the
presentation. Appreciate the briefing.
You know, a couple things to highlight
and I appreciate what Commissioner
Hammond just said. You know, this bond
accomplishes an awful lot of things. So,
it not only um has to save an awful lot
of money as a result of paying bonds off
that obviously at a higher interest
rate. uh we probably time the market as
best as we possibly could given the
environment the Federal [snorts] Reserve
has certainly dropped interest rates and
continue to do so. Um your approach is
conservative in nature. Um someone has
purchased municipal bonds most of his
life. Um I appreciate your
conservativism but there is heightened
demand um as you start to have Dow Jones
at historical highs to go to the bond
market look for the bond market for
securities. So that is accomplished. The
other thing that's really noteworthy,
um, two things. One, uh, most bonds when
they're issued might have 110, maybe
115%
coverage. Covenants are very common,
certainly in the banking world. I've
been dealing with them my entire life.
So, I understand that is. So, 125 is is
certainly on the higher side. So, that
gives everybody a cushion. But on top of
that, we're at 146, 147. So, there's
ample things. The other thing of
noteworthy as we go through this
process, the airline has a true up
process every year as we go through our
budget. So again, we're exceeding our
expectations. You coming conservative
with interest rate, you see the money
coming in the door. There's an
opportunity for the airlines not only to
appreciate that we're building this,
we're allowing them to expand, make more
revenues, but if we believe in our plan
and the conservative things you have,
there's opportunities from the UNCC
adjustments to their favor because
that's what this has done. So, I think
it's accomplished so many things. I just
want everyone to understand just the
challenges you have in municipal
financing, doing what you need to do,
the creativity of paying bonds off, the
ability to adhere to very very
conservative covenants, which is
unprecedented in the bond market at 125
and still being able to come out at at
an interest rate that's going to be very
very. So the savings not only in paying
the bonds off but the savings in a lower
interest rate given a couple years ago
are a significant nature and we continue
to have the opportunity to even reduce
our cost as we continue to meet and or
exceed expectations and projections. So
thank you so much.
>> Any other questions or comments?
» Any other questions or comments?
>> I just had a question. Um so basically
» I just had a question. Um so basically
the way you describe this the airline is
almost like a guarantor of our success
in this bonds because they're covering
us if we if something falls short. were
there to help support this financially.
>> They're a key business partner. Yes. And
» They're a key business partner. Yes. And
communication with them and trust is
very important.
>> So they're willing to participate in
» So they're willing to participate in
backs stop some of these [snorts] things
because they get to participate in the
new facilities and that enhances their
business opportunity. So they're willing
to basically support us in that if if
something happens. So what what I wasn't
here during COVID when there was nobody
flying in. How did what happens to an
airlines guarantee or participation when
if the market or something
goes ter goes down? How does how does
that work?
>> So as part of that guarantee they
guarantee us to make sure maintain 1.4
for coverage ratio and then terms of
that the other impact is if things
didn't go well the amount of planes
coming to the airport uh that would
affect their revenue sharing as well
ours would go down theirs would go down
as well
>> so same tide floats all votes basically
» so same tide floats all votes basically
>> okay I just wanted to make sure it's
» okay I just wanted to make sure it's
easy to times they're good to spend
money but I just wanted to I didn't know
what the other side felt like during
those times so I love the whole program
but I just wanted to make sure I clarify
that thank you
>> luckily during co a lot of people came
» luckily during co a lot of people came
here [laughter]
>> and they kept coming and they're still
» and they kept coming and they're still
coming. So yeah, any other questions or
anything for a motion?
>> Just one last question and then yeah,
» Just one last question and then yeah,
I'd love to make a motion real quick if
you could go back a couple slides. I saw
something about a reserve that's also
being funded out of the closing there.
There you go. Uh
debt service reserve fund is that
basically uh 50.9 Yeah, debt service
reserve fund 50. Is that basically 50.9
million bucks to also act as a reserve
to help us make those payments if there
was a shortfall one year?
>> Uh yes. And that that will be a deposit
» Uh yes. And that that will be a deposit
into u the existing reserve fund which
will get it up to about $100 million and
it's roughly equal to 1 million or
excuse me one year's worth of debt
service.
>> Okay. So that that's another back stop
» Okay. So that that's another back stop
stop to mitigate risk in case we do have
uh something happening that. So I think
that's fantastic. M Mr. Mr. Chairman,
I'll go ahead and make a motion for
approval.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> Got a motion. Second. Any public comment
» Got a motion. Second. Any public comment
on number 12?
>> Mr. Chairman, actually, I need you to
» Mr. Chairman, actually, I need you to
open the terra hearing to solicit public
comment
>> for number 13.
» for number 13.
>> Uh, we're still on number 12, please.
» Uh, we're still on number 12, please.
>> So, you would open up the hearing for
» So, you would open up the hearing for
public comment to solicit input on the
adoption of the resolution and issuance
of Lee County Airport Revenue Bonds
series 2026 A1 and 20 26 A2. Okay. So,
we have public hearing now on that
hearing.
>> Perfect. Thank you.
» Perfect. Thank you.
>> Any public comment on this hearing?
» Any public comment on this hearing?
Come back to the board.
>> Now, if you would please entertain the
» Now, if you would please entertain the
motion to adopt the temper resolution
and the issuance of the Lee County
revenue bonds as indicated in item 12.
[snorts]
>> And just for clarity, so moved.
» And just for clarity, so moved.
>> I'll second that. We motion Commissioner
» I'll second that. We motion Commissioner
Hammond, second by Commissioner Wayne.
Any other discussion?
Any objection? No objection. Motion
carries. Thank you.
» State command of the board number 13.
>> Need one more, please. Item 13, sitting
» Need one more, please. Item 13, sitting
as the board of county commissioners, I
need you to approve a resolution
approving the issuance of county revenue
bonds series 2026A1 and 2026 A2.
uh authorize the payment of related
issuance costs and authorize the chair
or designate to execute sale documents
and all documents necessary to complete
the transaction. So move
>> second. We have a motion commissioner
» second. We have a motion commissioner
Hammond second. Commissioner Maluca
any public comment on that number 13.
Okay. Come backing objection objection.
Motion carries. Thank you. Now we will
reconvene at the port authority.
>> Yes sir. Thank you.
» Yes sir. Thank you.
And item 14 is identical to item 13. We
just need you to adopt the resolution
sitting as the board of court
commissioners.
>> I'll make that motion.
» I'll make that motion.
>> Commissioner Wayne makes a motion.
» Commissioner Wayne makes a motion.
>> I'll second.
» I'll second.
Any public comment on 14.
Any objection? No objection. Motion
carries. Thank you.
Administrative agenda number 15.
>> Thank you, Mr. Sher. Uh number 15 is the
» Thank you, Mr. Sher. Uh number 15 is the
rate and fee settlement. Dave, if you'd
like to introduce that
administrative item number 15 is the
annual recalculation of airline racing
fees that we do every year in accordance
with our long-term airline use and lease
agreement carriers. I'll just give a
quick recap of the year and how the
selling ended up. This is the first year
of this new 10-year agreement that had a
number of changes to how we build the
airlines. As a reminder, everything we
build the airlines throughout the year
is based on estimated budget figures. So
at the end of the year, we take all of
our actual revenues, expenses, and
airline activity and compare them to
what we had budgeted. But most years,
our expenses come in under budget and
airline activity is right at what we
project.
So we typically refund the signatory
carriers overpayment most years. So this
year was a little unique due to some of
the changes with the new airline
agreement. So when everything shook out,
sign carriers owe us a little over $1
million. And then the other piece of the
year end calculation that we do is the
revenue sharing of the area's net
revenues which we also think of as our
profits per year. So under the new
agreement the airport keeps 70% of those
net revenues and the airlines will
receive 30%. The total net revenues
worth $30.7 million
port retains $21.5 million and the
airlines will receive 9.2 million 3%
share. So just a reminder as to why we
revenue share. It's part of a negotiated
business deal. In return, we get a
safety net from the airlines
guaranteeing that we [snorts] need to
help get the coverage level that we need
with all the construction going on. And
uh so they pay a little more than they
normally would help maintain a higher
coverage discussed earlier in that
presentation.
So to wrap up the item, after board
approval, we would cut checks to the
airlines totaling $ 8.1 million. That
factors in the 1 million they owe us
from the settlement and the 9 million we
owe them from the revenue sharing. So
all in all the airlines should be
pleased with the year. Our overall cost
for employment was below budget and our
revenue sharing amount is more than what
we [snorts]
important to note that our airport
consultant recond associates reviewed
all of our data advised us on any
suggest suggest changes and uh signed
off on the final amount. So this whole
process goes through a detailed review.
Are there any questions I can answer on
this year's settlement process?
>> Any questions from the board?
» Any questions from the board?
>> I'll make a motion to approve. Mr. I
» I'll make a motion to approve. Mr. I
will gladly second it.
>> So any objection? No objection. Motion
» So any objection? No objection. Motion
carries.
>> Public I'm sorry. Public comment on this
» Public I'm sorry. Public comment on this
item, please. Rookie chair. It's been 10
minutes.
» Any public comment? Seeing none, bring
it back to the board [clears throat] for
final approval. So any objection? No
objection. Motion carries.
>> Great job.
» Great job.
>> That's one.
» That's one.
All right. Commissioner items. Any
appointments?
Anyone?
>> Yeah. Now that the chair's gone, let's
» Yeah. Now that the chair's gone, let's
have some fun.
>> Joking. I have no items. Thanks.
» Joking. I have no items. Thanks.
>> I have no other chair.
» I have no other chair.
>> I have no items. Okay.
» I have no items. Okay.
>> All [laughter] right.
» All [laughter] right.
All right. Comments from the chair of
the ASMC. Well, I'd just like to welcome
Commissioner Petroski once again. say
that the management committee is here to
serve you and anything we can do to
assist you, uh, just give us a call. I'm
saying I'm glad that you're on board.
>> Thank you. I appreciate that.
» Thank you. I appreciate that.
>> Any other comments from the other
» Any other comments from the other
members?
>> I've got one. Okay. Go ahead.
» I've got one. Okay. Go ahead.
>> I just wanted to thank Commissioner
» I just wanted to thank Commissioner
Wayne for his service this year under
trying circumstances, all the extra
efforts he went to to attend our
meetings, and uh, we just hope uh, 2026
is a much better year for him.
>> Amen.
» Amen.
amendment. All right. [snorts] Anything
else? Executive Director Adams.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'd also like
» Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'd also like
to welcome new commissioner. Welcome to
the airport and the uh and we look
forward to working with you. Um, I also
again want to call out all the work for
this bond. It's been a tremendous, you
know, Dave and and team and Brian and
legal, they underscore the amount of of
time that this takes. It has been a
large undertaking. So, we appreciate all
the support and all the hard work that
everybody has put in. Um, and I also
want to just kind of note again the
budget. Being able to have a revenue
share at the end of the year year means
that the airport has been good stewards
of their funds that we're being fiscally
responsible and you know, I think we're
in great shape moving forward. Uh, with
that being said, we couldn't do all this
without our passengers. And the first
one to note is we have again during
December uh we had 1,12,000
passengers come through RSW. Um it is a
decrease from last December of about
1.7%
but for fiscal year 25 it's great news,
record-breaking news. We had 11,154,458
thou uh 458 passengers come through.
It's about a 1.1%.
So, it's pretty neat when 1.1% is about
120,000 passengers. So, we're we're
pumping through some people. So, while
1.1% is a small number in magnitude,
we're ready for all of this 14 gates in
our new uh expansion and the checkpoint
to come through. Uh traffic leader this
year was Delta, 217,000 passengers,
followed by Southwest United, American,
and JetBlue. Um and then across town at
Page Field, they've also been having
great numbers. their uh December was up
year-over-year 5%. So the airports are
are looking good moving into the new
year.
>> Terrific. Mr. Chair,
» Terrific. Mr. Chair,
>> I and uh
» I and uh
>> yes,
» yes,
>> just a couple of um echoes, Steve.
» just a couple of um echoes, Steve.
Listen, I appreciate the report and
everything you've done. Your staff has
done a tremendous jobs. I mean, it's
always hard if you've ever operated a
business to be under construction and
try to have um the experience. So, you
know, given just all the complications,
it seems like it's been going seamlessly
and appreciate all [clears throat] your
hard work in doing so. It was nice to be
out the airport when we did. Um, it's
amazing how quickly this is going and it
is by far the most talked about thing
and I'm out the road by so many people
within Southwest Florida. So, thank you
so much.
>> Thank you. [snorts]
» Thank you. [snorts]
>> I'd like to echo that. um you know,
» I'd like to echo that. um you know,
being new and just the time that I've
had with the briefings with you and your
staff, I'm thoroughly impressed with
what you're doing um in light of being
under construction and the way that the
management is being held and the fiscal
responsibility that you're taking with
the budget and the bonds. So kudos.
Thank you.
>> And ju just to make a clarification in
» And ju just to make a clarification in
case I misspoke, those 11 million
passengers are calendar year. It's not
our fiscal year. So ending up in
December.
>> Great. Great report. Great, great
» Great. Great report. Great, great
results. I want to know I flew back in
here last night from Tallahassee and I
got to see coming through Delta and u
all of the passenger experience areas,
everything's clean, every all the
whiteboard, all the facades are all up
there nice, neat and clean and so you
wouldn't even know somebody's hammering
nails behind the wall. So, you know, as
as it was a few months ago. So, the
experience is getting better and I'm
just I'm excited to see the pro
progress. So, kudos to that and thanks
for keeping us all safe with the uh FAA
approval again for the Sterling results
eight years in a So, I wanted to also
call you out for that. So, uh, anything
else?
>> No, sir. Thank you.
» No, sir. Thank you.
>> Port attorney items.
» Port attorney items.
>> Nothing further, Mr. Chairman. Thank
» Nothing further, Mr. Chairman. Thank
you. Do we have any public comment on
any other matters?
Easy crowd today.
Seeing none, I will call this meeting
ajourned.