The Sedona Oak Creek Airport Authority Board of Directors spent some time discussing old business during its most recent meeting on Monday, June 24. 

Still, some of the issues that had been brought up in April were tabled for further discussion at the next meeting, which will take place in August. The long wait did not please one of the tenants present: Adam Deibel, of Sedona Car Rentals. 

“At your last meeting, you mentioned that you were going to move to once-a-month meetings, and I am disappointed that you have not and that it appears that your next meeting is not next month,” he said, regarding a suggestion made in February that the SOCAA Board of Directors start meeting monthly instead of every two months as it currently does. “You have a lot of work to do, more than you can get done in one meeting, and everything just gets pushed and pushed and pushed because you can’t get anything done in every-two-months meetings. There are too many questions to ask and I would like you to return to that discussion and meet once a month.” 

“In my case, if I bring you another proposal, I now have to wait until August, that’s not fair,” Deibel continued. “It gets too long to get something past this board.” 

On April 22, Deibel asked the board for the airport to work with him on three improvements on his leased premises, the most important of which were a replacement storage shed and a shade for washing vehicles. At the time, Deibel said he had previously addressed the board, but members at the time were unable to agree on the expenditure and design. 

Since then, he and Airport Business Manager Nelson Durkee said they have been working with the county to decide on the best structure for his premises. However, no decision has been made of yet. 

“We’ve addressed the tenant’s request with something more practical than what’s out there now, it obviously needs to be replaced,” Durkee said during the discussion of the matter. “Unfortunately, all of them have been rejected for one reason or another. “The management, the tenant and the county are working hard to find a solution that would be accepted by all, because of this I ask that we table this for a future meeting until we can work out something that everyone can agree on.” 

Deibel, who did not comment during the topic discussion, shared his concerns during public comment. 

“With regards to my lease holding improvements, we have been working, we have been spending a bunch of time — a ridiculous amount of time — to try to get some progress in regard to what can we do,” he said. “The county is not allowing me to put up a new metal structure there — they said that they feel that it might be dangerous with jet blast and prop wash. So, they’re holding me to a different standard. What Nelson didn’t tell you is that anything I put up has to be engineered to a 115-mile an hour wind blow to wash cars under. 

“It seems that this project is falling victim to some political posturing and it’s going to get pretty expensive and probably, therefore, get killed.” 
Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Randy Garrison, his executive assistant, Brandi Bateman, and Assistant County Administrator Jack Fields, who were present, did not comment on any of the matters discussed. 

The tenant, however, was not the only person to propose changes during the meeting. General Manager Deborah Abingdon said she is working on a document to share information about the airport with the media. 

“In light of recent requests for information, I have been preparing a template that staff can use to inform the media if there is an incident,” she said. “Because these things happen at times when I’m not here, there may not be any management here at all, so if I have a template for them, they know what they can say, what they can’t say, regulations and best practices. This may assist them as far as keeping the media informed.” 

On the June 14 Sedona Rock Rock News editorial [“Inept airport misleads, wastes taxpayer money”], Managing Editor Christopher Fox Graham wrote, “The Sedona Airport has had two plane crashes in a month. We heard about one of them on the police scanners in our newsroom and sent a photojournalist. 

“The airport told our staff there was no crash or at least nothing they would define as a crash, even though our staff could clearly see a crashed aircraft just off the runway.” 

The two accidents occrred on May 1 and June 5. When asked about the former — a single-engine 1964 Beechcraft Bonanza S35 that crashed during an aborted takeoff — Abingdon called it an “incident.” 

The general manager also proposed a change in the timeline to prepare agenda items for the Board of Director’s meeting. 

“What we [Abingdon and Durkee] would like to offer is make the deadline for accepting agenda items about three weeks prior to the meetings,” Abingdon said. “A drafted agenda will be sent out to the board for review and comment two weeks prior to the meeting and then the final agenda with supporting documentation should ready to go for posting a week prior. [That] should give you ample time to review and prepare.” 

In the past, the public announcement for the following meeting and the agenda have been posted on the Sedona Airport’s website as late as the weekend before — only two days before the meeting, which usually takes place the last Monday of the month. In April, the NEWS asked Durkee about the date and agenda for that month’s meeting on Thursday, April 18. 

“You may check back at our website not later than Saturday at noon, but possibly as early as tomorrow after-noon,” the Business Manager wrote. 

According to Abingdon, if these rules are followed, the final agenda for the Aug. 26 meeting will be available to the public on Aug. 19. 
Lastly, Abingdon asked the board to consider an RFP for development to the airport’s non-aeronautical property. That land includes the Overlook parking lot, which she said members of the community have expressed interest in. 

“We are looking at it now as a parking lot but it has so much potential, there is so much interest throughout the community, we’ve had several individuals approach us with ideas. There has been discussion about improving or changing the roadway, she said. “I just think it might be something worth considering, rather than us trying to do everything piecemeal with a limited budget.” 

Among those interested is Resorts Condominium International or Starpoint Resort, a timeshare company that owns Sedona Pines Resort among other property, which presented a partnership proposal during the meeting. 

The offer was to pay the airport a monthly fee plus cleaning expenses so the current staff can hand out flyers about the organization’s activities in the area. Because the advertising material would be specifically designed to Overlook visitors and approved by the airport, SOCAA would receive $1 for every person who takes the pamphlet to the location or sends out a text message asking about RCI’s offers. No decision about the partnership was made during the meeting.

Natasha Heinz can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 117, or email at nheinz@larsonnewspapers.com