Airport Advisory Board

Minutes Airport Advisory Board The Airport Advisory Board of the City of DeKalb, Illinois, held a regular meeting on November 28, 2023, at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport, 3232 Pleasant Street, DeKalb, Illinois, in the West Community Hangar. Chair Robert Owens called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A. ROLL CALL Chair Robert Owens called the roll, and the following members of the Airport Advisory Board were present; Robert Owens/Chair, Bernard Pupino/Vice-Chair, Scott Carlson, and Matt Duffy. Also present was City Manager Bill Nicklas, Council Liaison Mike Verbic, Airport Operations Manager Ben Trompeter, and Andy Raih. B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Bernard Pupino moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Scott Carlson. Motion passed by a majority voice vote of those present. C. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES At the time of the meeting there were no minutes to approve. D. PUBLIC PARTICIAPATION There were brief discussions amongst the board on promoting more community participation at the airport. The discussion included the potential of taking out ads periodically in the local newspaper promoting events and activities hosted at the airport. Keeping the Airport Social Media pages current was also discussed and will continue to be a priority for the Airport. Additional waypoint signage was also discussed for the areas in close proximity to the Airport. E. OLD BUSINESS 1. Andy Raih gave an update on the ComEd hangar door repair. The update included that the repair has been completed, ComEd has relocated back into their hangar from the temporary maintenance hangar. ComEd was a good partner working through the repair and was appreciative of the City’s efforts to keep them under roof and expedite repairs. Chair Robert Owens took a moment to discuss the need to be conscious of the airport’s tenants and make airport decisions with tenants in mind. Robert appreciates that the tenants are a big part of the airport and its annual operations and wants that to continue. Chair Owens discussed the current commercial airline shortages being felt worldwide. Recently changing the retirement age of airline pilots from 65 to 67 recently passed in the house and is  pending senate approval. This change is hopeful to help alleviate the pilot shortage until a longer term solution is put in place. F. NEW BUSINESS Ben Trompeter was introduced as the newly developed Airport Operations Manager. Ben is a licensed pilot with experience at the DeKalb Airport in the role of line service technician. Ben introduced himself to the board and gave background on his past and future endeavors with the DeKalb Airport. G. ADJOURNMENT Bernard Pupino moved to adjourn, the motion was seconded by Scott Carlson and motion passed by a majority voice of those present.