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Record of Proceedings

Merced Regional Airport Authority Meeting Summary - January 27, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Tuesday, January 27, 2026
BodyMerced, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, January 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 24:42

Transcript — Verbatim
2:39

Do you want to wait for any it's up to you?

2:45

Do you want to wait a few more minutes?

2:46

Five more minutes.

2:48

My hearing is terrible.

2:49

Did you want to wait another few minutes or do you want to get started?

2:52

Yeah, we why don't we give it a couple more minutes just on a just to be safe?

2:56

Okay.

3:37

Yes.

3:38

Okay.

3:39

If you'll you'll start, please.

3:45

Okay.

3:47

So at least seventy-two hours prior to each regional airport authority meeting, a complete agenda packet is available for review on the city's website at WWW.

3:56

City of Merced.gov or at the City Clerk's office at six seventy-eight West 18th Street, Merced, California, nine five three four.

4:14

Assisted hearing devices are available for meetings held in the council chambers.

5:00

Okay, Pledge of Allegiance.

5:09

A Pledge of Allegiance through the flag of the United States of America.

5:14

To the Republican under God.

5:23

Okay.

5:28

Okay.

5:28

Back to Karen, I guess, for roll call.

5:30

Roll call.

5:32

Hearst called in sick today.

5:35

Um a bomb.

5:37

Present.

5:39

So Hio.

5:40

Present.

5:41

Johnson.

5:43

Present.

5:45

And Silva.

5:47

Present.

5:51

Scoble.

5:52

And present.

6:02

Okay.

6:02

No one for public comments.

6:04

You know, Chair, I currently have zero uh request to speak forms from audience members wishing to speak on items not listed on the agenda.

6:12

Okay.

6:14

Well, and you want to go right to uh reports?

6:18

Airport manager.

6:19

Anyone airport manager.

6:33

Good afternoon, Council and Chairman Scoble.

6:37

Thank you for being here today.

6:38

I have our uh airport manager report here.

6:40

Um with a little PowerPoint and put some pictures of the uh terminal for the terminal there so we can have something nice to look at.

6:50

So um as of current, we have been focusing on uh closing out the CARES Act grant for the new terminal replacement project.

6:57

And with that said, we got the close out grant letter from the FAA, which on November 7th was completed.

7:04

Um the airport manager Rev Williams, along with Aircraft Economic Development Associate Karen Baker had a meeting with the uh FAA to go over our annual ACIP meeting for this MERSED.

7:20

With that, we identified uh roadmap for 2026 through 2030 to review by the FAA with hopes of aligning with federal priorities for the FAA for airport projects, and the FAA was uh successfully submitted to ACIP for review for MERSED for 26 to uh year 23.

7:41

Uh the airport staff is still working with the engineering department and DD construction along with the consultants meet and hunt on the punch list for the closeout of the construction project of the terminal replacement.

7:53

The terminal floors were resurfaced in all the public areas per request to airport staff, along with the airport apron, concrete valley gutter was replaced to meet the FAA specs for engineering specifications.

8:06

After completion, a QA survey was conducted by BSK and a surveying consultants to ensure that the materials and engineering met the requirements for the FAA P501 specifications.

8:19

As far as the airport improvement projects, phase three of the FAA radio tower is underway with adding new navigation communication radios for the airport.

8:28

This project will complete late spring 2026, and this is funded by the FAA entirely.

8:35

The FAA wrote uh remote transmitter receiver project will be switching from PGE to MID, which the current radios are hosted in the existing building terminal.

8:49

Now our DOT Essential Air Service by the attached order, the U.S.

8:53

Department of Transportation extended the Essential Air Service obligation award letter of advanced air at Merced from January 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2026 until the conclusion of the air carri selection case initiated by the order of 2565, issued on May 10th, 2025, whichever occurs earlier.

9:14

I kind of wanted to show you uh presentation of all the different new upgrades in the terminal as well for you.

9:25

So you can see in the back here, this is the view on the planes who come in, and they've replaced the concrete to the door below the welcome sign over there.

9:34

And then where I'm at sitting down here, where I'm working the red, is where the valley gutter replacement was taking place.

9:43

I love that drawing.

9:46

Here is the checkpoint here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Airport Operations█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Procedural█████████████████20%
Marketing And Outreach██████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████10%
High Speed Rail█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Merced Regional Airport Authority Meeting - January 27, 2026

The Merced Regional Airport Authority met on January 27, 2026, to receive the airport manager's report, review passenger and cargo statistics, and hear Advanced Air's Q4 marketing report. Roll call was taken with one member absent, and no public comments were offered. The airport manager noted that earlier meeting dates had been bumped by City Council high-speed rail items. The meeting closed with a unanimous motion to adjourn.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None. The chair reported zero request-to-speak forms for items not on the agenda.

Airport Manager's Report

  • The CARES Act grant for the terminal replacement project is being closed out; the FAA grant closeout letter was completed on November 7. A punch list remains with airport staff, the engineering department, DD Construction, and Mead & Hunt.
  • Terminal public-area floors were resurfaced, and the apron concrete valley gutter was replaced to meet FAA P501 specifications; BSK survey consultants conducted quality assurance.
  • Airport staff met with the FAA for the annual ACIP meeting and submitted a 2026-2030 project roadmap for Merced for review.
  • Phase 3 of the FAA-funded radio tower project is underway, adding new navigation and communication radios. It is expected to be completed in late spring 2026 and will move radios from PG&E to MID power.
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation extended Essential Air Service for Advanced Air at Merced from January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, or until the air carrier selection case initiated by Order 2565, issued May 10, 2025, concludes, whichever occurs earlier.
  • In response to council questions, the airport manager said the federal shutdown delayed the terminal opening ceremony date and the Advanced Air timeline. The existing terminal remains in full use, and Advanced Air remains interested in serving Merced. If no federal budget is approved by January 30, similar delays could occur.

Passenger and Cargo Report

  • Annual totals for 2025 showed 9,479 enplanements and deplanements, an increase over the previous year.
  • Cargo totaled 399,600 pounds, with a November peak of about 51,000 pounds tied to holiday, back-to-school, and summer activity.
  • Non-revenue passengers are carrier employees flying on the aircraft; monthly counts varied, with 4 in January, 8 in July, and 3 in December in the data presented.

Advanced Air Quarterly Marketing Report

  • Sean Fabian, Advanced Air's head of operations, was expected to join remotely but dropped off; airport staff presented the report.
  • Advanced Air initiated an interline agreement with Alaska Airlines, allowing passengers to book through Alaska's website and connect along the West Coast.
  • Email marketing results included a 12.4% open rate and click rates of 3.5% to 3.8%. A campaign celebrating 20 years of 20% off flights had a 49% open rate and a 2.9% click rate.
  • New marketing promotes the route as "Your Gateway to Yosemite, no crowds, no hassle, semi-private flights, Hawthorne or Merced, as low as $81."
  • Social media ads for Merced to Las Vegas and Los Angeles advertise one-way weekday fares as low as $54 and $52. One ad spent about $2,500 and received about 1 million impressions.
  • Marketing partnerships include the Merced County Hispanic Chamber, Merced County Farm Bureau, UC Merced, El Capitan, Merced Fireman's Ball, and St. Paul Lutheran Church, with ads also promoting Mammoth, Yosemite, and Redwoods.
  • Council discussion noted that airport parking is free and secure, there is no rental car desk at the terminal yet, and YARTS remains the main ground connection to Yosemite.

Key Outcomes

  • The only formal action was a unanimous motion to adjourn, with all present voting aye.
  • Next steps include completing terminal punch-list items, coordinating an opening ceremony date with the DOT, awaiting the DOT air carrier selection decision, and continuing to monitor Advanced Air's marketing and passenger growth.

Meeting Transcript

Do you want to wait for any it's up to you? Do you want to wait a few more minutes? Five more minutes. My hearing is terrible. Did you want to wait another few minutes or do you want to get started? Yeah, we why don't we give it a couple more minutes just on a just to be safe? Okay. Yes. Okay. If you'll you'll start, please. Okay. So at least seventy-two hours prior to each regional airport authority meeting, a complete agenda packet is available for review on the city's website at WWW. City of Merced.gov or at the City Clerk's office at six seventy-eight West 18th Street, Merced, California, nine five three four. Assisted hearing devices are available for meetings held in the council chambers. Okay, Pledge of Allegiance. A Pledge of Allegiance through the flag of the United States of America. To the Republican under God. Okay. Okay. Back to Karen, I guess, for roll call. Roll call. Hearst called in sick today. Um a bomb. Present. So Hio. Present. Johnson. Present. And Silva. Present. Scoble. And present. Okay. No one for public comments. You know, Chair, I currently have zero uh request to speak forms from audience members wishing to speak on items not listed on the agenda. Okay. Well, and you want to go right to uh reports? Airport manager. Anyone airport manager. Good afternoon, Council and Chairman Scoble. Thank you for being here today. I have our uh airport manager report here. Um with a little PowerPoint and put some pictures of the uh terminal for the terminal there so we can have something nice to look at. So um as of current, we have been focusing on uh closing out the CARES Act grant for the new terminal replacement project. And with that said, we got the close out grant letter from the FAA, which on November 7th was completed. Um the airport manager Rev Williams, along with Aircraft Economic Development Associate Karen Baker had a meeting with the uh FAA to go over our annual ACIP meeting for this MERSED. With that, we identified uh roadmap for 2026 through 2030 to review by the FAA with hopes of aligning with federal priorities for the FAA for airport projects, and the FAA was uh successfully submitted to ACIP for review for MERSED for 26 to uh year 23. Uh the airport staff is still working with the engineering department and DD construction along with the consultants meet and hunt on the punch list for the closeout of the construction project of the terminal replacement. The terminal floors were resurfaced in all the public areas per request to airport staff, along with the airport apron, concrete valley gutter was replaced to meet the FAA specs for engineering specifications. After completion, a QA survey was conducted by BSK and a surveying consultants to ensure that the materials and engineering met the requirements for the FAA P501 specifications.

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