Sum Up
Minutes of Spaceport Authority Meeting
October 5, 2007
Truth or Consequences, NM - The meeting was called to order by Chairwoman Kelly O’Donnell at 10:00am. Roll call was taken with eight members present. Officials and guests present included: Lou Gomez, NMSA, Mary Ann Myers, NMSA, Belinda Lucero, NMSA, Mike Holston, Procurement Solutions, Luci Woodard, DMJM and Jim Hayhoe, Village of Hatch.
Authority Members Present:
Kelly O’Donnell, Chairwoman
Jim Manatt
Ben Woods
William Loomis
Richard Holdridge
Brent Westmoreland
Toots Green
Jerry Hanks representing Lt. Gov. Diane Denish
Chairwoman O’Donnell introduced Brent Westmoreland, the newly appointed member of the Spaceport Authority.
Motion: Ben Woods moved to approve the agenda. Jim Manatt seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Motion: Jim Manatt moved to approve the minutes from the NMSA meeting held on August 21, 2007 and the NMSA Emergency meeting held on August 27, 2007. Richard Holdridge seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Brent Westmoreland abstained from voting on the minutes.
Chair Kelly O’Donnell advised that the FY09 Budget Request has been submitted and will be presented to the Legislative Finance Committee on October 24th.
Program Status Report:
Mike Holston reported that contract negotiations with URS are close to completion. He also stated that programming with Virgin Galactic and NMSA began with a kick-off meeting held in London. Mr. Holston reviewed activities in the last 45 days which included meetings with NMDOT, SAPAC, Ranch Management Plan meeting, FAA Cultural Study meeting. Other activities included a presentation to the NMFA Oversight Committee, retaining an Executive Recruiter, and obtaining a Design Development Task Manager under contract. Mr. Holston reviewed the management team and their responsibilities and also the design process. He also discussed the design package technical reviews and advised of the dates of submittal, approvals and third party reviews.
Luci Woodard with DMJM advised that all of the design elements are current and on track. She also discussed the test water wells and advised that a well field is being considered so that the wells would be separated by approximately 1000 ft. Ms. Woodard discussed the action plans for November which includes the cost validation on schematics, finalized approach for Sierra Electric and proposed mitigation on the EIS.
Discussion followed on the contract process and funding plan and also the need for authority to be established on contracts.
Legal Update:
Chair Kelly O’Donnell reported that there is a small contract with Tom Mills to continue his legal services with NMSA since he resigned from the NM Economic Development Dept. She also stated that the contract with Sutin, Thayer & Brown has been extended to provide general counsel to the Authority and they will be at the next meeting to give a briefing.
Mike Holston advised that the Development Agreement with Virgin Galactic is in draft and some of the issues being worked on are the insurance, user fees, and personal liability. He advised that the next negotiations meeting will be on October 15th. Discussion followed on lease payments and user fees vs. cost of operation of the spaceport. Mr. Holston advised that DMJM is in the process on completing a cost assessment and will be presenting that. He also stated that a small contract is in place with Aerospace Corporation to complete an operational assessment.
Chair Kelly O’Donnell discussed issues that have surfaced with the language in the statutes enabling the spaceport tax which precluded collection of the tax without implementation of another local government of a similar tax.
Mike Holston advised that Homeland Security performed a site evaluation on September 10th. They are interested in offering recommendations on operational safety and flight safety. They will provide recommendations within the next 60 days.
Mike Holston discussed the upcoming XPRIZE events and advised that there is a display booth that will be used at the event. He also advised that the booth is available for all to use at different events. Mr. Ben Woods advised that there will be 150 CEO’s from aerospace companies at the International Space Symposium. There will also be a reception on Friday evening, October 26th.
Jim Hayhoe representing the Village of Hatch presented information and requested the endorsement of the Spaceport Authority to place a Welcome Center in Hatch.
Motion: Ben Woods entertained a motion to endorse the location of Hatch for a welcome center. Richard Holdridge seconded the motion. Motion carried with one dissenting vote from Jim Manatt. Commissioner Manatt asked that the explanation for his vote be recorded in the minutes. He indicated that he was not opposed to a Welcome Center in Hatch but that he felt the action by the Authority was both pre-mature and politically ill-advised, in view of the fact that Sierra and Otero Counties were only now preparing ballot initiatives for the Spaceport Tax.
Budget Update:
Mary Ann Myers gave an update on the budget status, since the unencumbered balance is low she stated that a Budget Adjustment Appropriation Request can be submitted requesting $6000.00 to carry us through to December at which time a supplemental request can be submitted. She also stated that we are entering into a contract with Meyners & Co for FY 07 audit. Ms. Myers briefly reviewed the procurement process.
Motion: Jim Manatt moved to approve the FY09 Budget Appropriation Request. Toots Green seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting date will be on December 6th in Alamogordo.
Review of Spaceport Development Act:
Philip Crump facilitated discussion about the NMSA Board’s roles and responsibilities.
Executive Session:
Personnel Matters: The Chair stated she would entertain a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to 10-15-1 (1)-(2) of the Open Meeting Act for the purpose of discussion of limited personnel matters including the Executive Director’s position.
Roll Call Vote:
Chairman O’Donnell - yes
Toots Green – yes
Richard Holdridge – yes
William Loomis – yes
Ben Woods – yes
Jim Manatt – yes
Brent Westmoreland – yes
Back in Open Session: The Chair entertained a motion to enter back into open session pursuant to 10-15-1 (1)-(2) of the Open Meeting Act. The Chair stated that no action was taken in the matters discussed in the closed session and were limited to those specified in the motion for closure.
Motion: Jim Manatt moved to move back in to open session. Toots Green seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Motion: William Loomis moved to adjourn. Toots Green seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approved: ______________________ Date: ____________________
Kelly O'Donnell, Chairman
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