COUNTI  LUMPKIN COUNTY Regular Meeting Minutes Executive Conference Room Hill, Dahlonega, GA 30533 September 17, 2024 4:00 P.M.  Lumpkin County Airport Authority  Lumpkin County Administration Building, 99 Courthouse  RT 837  Call to Order  Thei meeting was called to order at 4:06 pm. Present: Authority Chairman Bobl Hawk, Dean Lemoine, Jackiel Lee Absent: Greg' Trammell and BOC Chairman Chris Dockery Also present: Charles Trammell, Ashley Peck, Alan Ours  Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes  Ms. Lee moved to approve the agenda andi was seconded by Mr Lemoine. The motion carried unanimously.  July 16, 2024- Regular Meeting Minutes  Ms. Lee moved to approve the minutes andi was seconded. by Mr. Lemoine. The motion carried unanimously.  Financial Update No significant changes or updates.  Ms. Lee movedi to accept thej fnancials and was seconded. by Mr. Lemoine. The motion carried unanimously.  Old Business  Fuel Update  Airport Manager Ashley Peck went over thel history oft the fuel issue, what we've done, and where we are right now. May 2022 is when the current fuel was delivered. Wel had the fuelt tested and the quality was within ASTM standards, but the company that pulled its said duet to the amount of water of debris int the samples, they recommended we have thet tank cleaned. They removed 75 gallons of water and 15 gallons ofr rust debris, and the company feels there might be a water intrusion. Ms. Peck said staff replaced thei filters on the fuel system. The company had discussed liningt the tank with epoxy as a way to extend the life oft the tank, which was estimated to cost $26,000 to $29,000. Afters some more testing, the company recommended to remove the aviation fuel and restrict it for non-aviation purposes., Duet to age, they do not recommend doing the epoxy lining. Ms.] Peck said we discussed putting in ar new fuel farm with various capacity sizes: 2,000 gallons, 4,000 gallons, or 6,000 gallons. Staffa a got quote of$5,764.421 to dispose of the old fuel. We reached out to the City ofI Dahlonega to see ift they could use it, butt they declined, and County Fleet would like between 200 and 300 gallons for small engines. The County Attorney does not recommend sellingi it. Ms. Peck noted that staffr requested funding for a new fuels system ini the 2025 budget, and that has been approved by the BOC. The Authority needs to decide on ai new fuel system and ifyou want to approve having the existing fuel removed. Ms. Peck said there are some visitors here  to add additional information.  Page 1    Visitor Richard Gurr said hei is an active pilot and owns al hangar at the airport. Hes said everyonel has been wondering whati is going on with the: fuel. Hel has been looking into thei matter of fuel shelflife. For commercial operations, there is generally nothing wrong with fuel thati is ay year old. Beyond that, itis difficult to get information because most commercial airports don'thavei its sitting that long. The military does have some guidance about fuel older than a year. From year 1 to year 2, the military says itl hast to be contained in as sealed container with minimal air and water exposure. Certain additives have tol be added to the fuel during that time. After year 2, therei isI no guidance because they normally would not keep itt that long. Mr. Gurr said microorganisms can develop in fuel, and you start having chemicall breakdown in 100 octane aviation fuel aftert tool long. Old fuel can cause clogging in fuel injected engines. Mr. Gurr said he would not take a chance using such old fuel in his own airplane. It can be used in ai machine without a catalytic converter. Anything with a catalytic converter would be destroyed by thei fuel. Tim] Moss said he climbed ont top oft the fuel tank tol look at it. The company that cleaned the tank left somel bolts out ofthe lidi that covers it and a couple oft thel bolts were sheared off. He said the seal is compromised andi iti is in unsafe condition. Mr. Moss also saidt the pressure exchange relieve valves were: stuck inj place. Mr. Gurrs said thej purpose of those caps is when they are loading thet tank with fuel, the pressure has tol have somewhere to go. The cap should lift off the sealt to relive pressure. Mr. Gurr said thei tank is double walled. Hes said there are companies that can inspect the tank walls and certify ifiti is structurally sound. There is no need to epoxy it. Mr. Gurr said he also looked at some fuel tank prices from a Georgia company, and a 6,000 gallon tank is $36,000 (not including installation). Mr. Gurr said he wants tol be more engaged witht the airport and offer help tol Ms. Peck and the Authority. Bobl Hawk asked] Mr. Gurri ifhet thinks the tank is shot.) Mr. Gurrs said he does not believe sO. Workers can actually go inside viai the manhole cover and sandblast it. They have AST certified companies which can use a sonogram machine to check the integrity ofthe walls. Mr. Gurr was alsos skeptical oft thei idea that the tank might! have al leak allowing water toi intrude. When youl have a lot ofe empty spacei inside a tank, itc can create a lot of condensation and rust. The cleaning company could get a brand-new seal and replace those old bolts, and they could also check the pressure relief caps. The oldi fuel would have tol be disposed of before cleaning and checking the tank. Bobl Hawk asked Ms. Peck ifthef fuel disposal company could also examine thei tank to certify ifiti isi in good condition. Ms. Peck saids she can check. The company that did thei initial review, United] Pump, is familiar with aviation fuel installs. They have worked with Dobbins Airl Force Base. They are well known, but of course we can discuss options, she added. Mr. Hawk said we: should evaluate whether we should recondition the oldt tank or purchase ai new tank. Ms. Lee saidi if we don'tsell a lot ofi fuel, we do not need to buy a large capacity fuel tank. Ms. Peck asked the Authority ift they were: ready to proceed with disposing oft the old fuel. There is about 1,600 gallons left in thet tank. Mr. Gurr suggested that she might want to check with GDOT to see ift they can assist with removing the fuel. Charles Trammell asked how much will it cost us to clean the tank andl have as sonogram performed oni it? What if we do all of that and find out thet tank ist no good? Mr. Gurr said he isn'ts sure, but we will need to get rid oft the old fuel before anything can be done. The company should be able to sonogram the tank before cleaning it. Mr. Trammell said we do not need to go down a rabbit hole again with the fuel, and Ms.) Lee reiterated that we should not get a large capacity tank. Mr. Trammell said the issue wei is can'tselli it fast enough, andi no other Dean Lemoine moved to dispense oft the fuel andi was seconded. by Ms. Lee. The motion was approved unanimously. Mr. Lemoine moved to give. 300 gallons of the fuel to the County andi was. seconded by Ms. Lee. The motion was The Authority then discussed how to ascertain ift the fuel tank has al breach anywhere ini the walls. Ms. Peck said itis possible tol have at tightness test performed. Mr. Hawk said we needt to decidei if we want to replace it, andi if so, how we can dispose of the old one. Ms. Peck reminded everyone that there is funding in next year's budget fora a new fuel farm. Shes said next month, perhaps we can make a recommendation on sizing. Ifthe Authority wants to proceed with acquiring ar new fuel tank, then she will not waste money on testing the current one. She will have to getr rid of the oldi fuel first. Fort the installation ofar new tank, we couldi include removal of the old tank ini the scope of work.  Regarding thet tank'ss service, Mr. Gurr deferred to Timl Moss.  airports have been willing to split as shipment with us.  approved unanimously.  New Business  Hangar B Lease  Page 2    Ms.] Peck said Hangar B, formerly Mr. Steele's hangar, has been sold. A new leasei is required because oft the transfer of ownership. The Authority will needt to decide on thei term oft thel lease and the amount, ori ifthere are any other conditions they would like toi impose. Ms. Peck suggested the Authority should restrict or regulate any commercial activities. Mr. Hawk said therei isa ai federal regulation that prevents airport operators from restricting commercial, aviation-related activities at an airport, but Charles Trammell said GDOT told him we cannot allow any businesses toi run in the airport. Ms. Pecks saidi it could be added as a clause to the contract. Mr. Lemoine moved to approve the lease at the current amount) for ten years, with the added clause that the Authority must approve any commercial activity. Ms. Lee seconded. the motion, which was approved unanimously.  Comments/Questions Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:08 pm. &  1-19-29 Date  Secretary/Clerk  Page 3