OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Ocala Airport Advisory Board Meeting - August 11, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, August 11, 2026
BodyOcala, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, August 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:20

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Tom Smaller.

0:09

Tom, how are you doing?

0:10

Hey, Kevin Reed.

0:11

Nice to meet you.

0:13

All right, how are you doing?

0:15

Good, good.

0:18

Awesome.

0:19

Well, it's nine o'clock.

0:20

It's the 11th of August.

0:22

This is the August Airport Advisory Board meeting.

0:26

Let's call it to order.

0:31

I'll bring an invocation.

0:33

Lord, we thank you that we are able to come together to do the business that you have at hand.

0:38

Father, we especially at this moment remember Terry Crawford and ask a special blessing on his family of peace and comfort in his loss.

0:47

Lord, we thank you for this time.

0:49

Be with us as we go forward.

0:51

Amen.

0:53

Pledge.

0:54

Pledge of the allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:58

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:01

One nation under God.

1:03

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:07

Roll call.

1:09

Randy Klein.

1:11

Kevin Reed.

1:12

Here.

1:12

Thomas Smallin.

1:13

Here.

1:14

Advoid.

1:15

Here.

1:18

Can we uh I have to leave a little earlier, so if we could take things we need to vote on first.

1:25

Well, the first one is the minutes.

1:26

So that's that's perfect.

1:30

Um take a motion.

1:32

Move to accept the minutes as presented.

1:36

Second.

1:38

All in favor?

1:38

Aye.

1:41

All right, we'll jump right into new business.

1:48

The uh FAA RPZ regrading uh project.

1:52

This is the construction side of the project.

1:55

Uh the grant goes to City Council for their consideration next Tuesday.

2:00

It's 406,165 from the FAA.

2:05

21,377.

2:07

Uh 21,377 uh is the uh airport share for total cost 427, 542.

2:15

This regrades the south end of the airport, uh, right adjacent runway 36 on the approach end um to FAA standards.

2:24

Pretty simple project, just moving some dirt around and smoothing things out.

2:30

Any questions?

2:31

Staff recommends approval.

2:33

No questions.

2:34

Move to approve.

2:35

Second.

2:36

All in favor?

2:37

All right, so approved.

2:39

Next.

2:41

This one, um we don't have the grant quite yet in hand.

2:47

Um, but I I need the board to consider it because it's gonna go to council uh uh on September 1st.

2:56

So this particular grant, we submitted a pre-application back in February for some equipment upgrades inside the air traffic control tower.

3:07

Uh replacing the touch screen that controls all the airfield lighting.

3:12

Uh we're gonna repaint the control tower, re-roof the control tower, put in new shades, which doesn't seem like a big project, but the shades have to be FAA spec, and they're very expensive, very expensive for vinyl roll-down shades.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Airport Operations█████████████████████████████████████████████84%
Procedural█████████16%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocala Airport Advisory Board Meeting - August 11, 2026

The Airport Advisory Board met on August 11, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Council Chambers. The board approved the previous meeting's minutes, approved two FAA grants, received the Airport Director’s report, and honored the late board member Terry Crawford.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the July AAB meeting.

New Business

  • FAA Grant – RPZ Grading Runway Project: The board approved a grant of $406,165 from the FAA with an airport share of $21,377 (total $427,542) for regrading the south end of the airport adjacent to Runway 36 to meet FAA standards. The motion carried unanimously.
  • FAA ATCT Grant: The board approved a 100% FAA-funded grant estimated at $220,000 for equipment upgrades inside the air traffic control tower, including replacement of the airfield lighting touch screen, painting, re-roofing, installation of FAA-spec shades, and new controller chairs. The grant will be submitted to City Council on September 1, 2026. The motion carried unanimously.

Airport Director’s Report

Airport Director Matthew Grow provided updates on several projects:

  • FDOT Pond Relocation: Design underway following approval last month.
  • MALSR/RPZ RY36 Grading: Awaiting council grant approval and subsequent award to contractor (already bid).
  • Terminal Apron Rehab: 99% complete; waiting for two vault lids currently on a boat, expected next week.
  • Masterplan: Final document submitted to FAA for review (2–6 months).
  • A9 Driveway: Permitting with city, progressing slower than desired.
  • T-Hangar Campus Rehab: In permitting.
  • A12 Infrastructure: Waiting on funding; interest from developers to take over the entire project.
  • Concrete Pads: Tied to T-Hangar project, in permitting.
  • TWY-C Phase I: Redesigning stormwater based on new stormwater master plan, potentially saving over $700,000 in construction costs.
  • ATCT Lighting Controls: Related to grant just approved.
  • Airshow Planning: Final agreement with revenue sharing and termination clauses goes to council next week; estimated city expenses for police and fire $45,000.
  • Fuel and Ops: July 2026 operations down nearly 1,000 compared to July 2025; Avgas sales set a record; jet fuel slightly down; overall fuel sales trending positive, nearly 100,000 gallons above last year. Director noted fuel prices dropped 20 cents yesterday.

Board Comments & Tribute

  • Board members observed a moment in memory of Terry Crawford, a longtime board member appointed on April 1, 1975. His dedication and contributions to the airport were praised, and he will be missed. Details for his celebration of life: Saturday, August 29, at First Baptist Church, with viewing at 1:00 PM and service at 2:00 PM.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved July AAB meeting minutes (unanimous).
  • Approved FAA RPZ Grading Runway Project grant (unanimous).
  • Approved FAA ATCT Grant (unanimous).
  • The meeting adjourned after board comments.

Note: No public comments were made.

Meeting Transcript

Tom Smaller. Tom, how are you doing? Hey, Kevin Reed. Nice to meet you. All right, how are you doing? Good, good. Awesome. Well, it's nine o'clock. It's the 11th of August. This is the August Airport Advisory Board meeting. Let's call it to order. I'll bring an invocation. Lord, we thank you that we are able to come together to do the business that you have at hand. Father, we especially at this moment remember Terry Crawford and ask a special blessing on his family of peace and comfort in his loss. Lord, we thank you for this time. Be with us as we go forward. Amen. Pledge. Pledge of the allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Randy Klein. Kevin Reed. Here. Thomas Smallin. Here. Advoid. Here. Can we uh I have to leave a little earlier, so if we could take things we need to vote on first. Well, the first one is the minutes. So that's that's perfect. Um take a motion. Move to accept the minutes as presented. Second. All in favor? Aye. All right, we'll jump right into new business. The uh FAA RPZ regrading uh project. This is the construction side of the project. Uh the grant goes to City Council for their consideration next Tuesday. It's 406,165 from the FAA. 21,377. Uh 21,377 uh is the uh airport share for total cost 427, 542. This regrades the south end of the airport, uh, right adjacent runway 36 on the approach end um to FAA standards. Pretty simple project, just moving some dirt around and smoothing things out. Any questions? Staff recommends approval. No questions.

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