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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Rochester International Airport Commission Meeting - April 14, 2026

Boards and Commissions — Tuesday, April 14, 2026

BodyRochester, Minnesota

SessionBoards and Commissions

DateTuesday, April 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 31:11

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:31

Okay, we're gonna call this meeting of the airport commission to order.

0:37

It is April 7th, 2026 at 2 p.m.

0:41

And uh we have a quorum.

0:46

We do it, I guess we can do the um open comment period, but no one is here.

0:51

Uh doors are open, but we don't have anyone here to comment.

0:55

So we'll uh just move along.

0:59

Uh do we need to do we don't need to do a roll call because everybody's here in person.

1:05

And uh we do need to uh approve the consent agenda.

1:12

So more so it's moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda, which consists of the minutes of the airport commission meeting on March 3rd.

1:21

Any questions or corrections anyone has seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

1:28

Any opposed?

1:31

We're gonna go on through reports, and so we're gonna have 5A is airport financials, followed by 5B, which will be the airport operational and marketing data.

1:39

And who's gonna do those first?

1:41

Hi, I'm Kyle Gaffney.

1:42

Thank you, Mayor.

1:43

Um we're pretty early in the year, so numbers are still coming in.

1:49

Um income is in line with where it should be for the year at this time, landing fees, our rent, things like that.

1:56

Um two areas that are a little bit uh different than last year.

1:59

One is uh maintenance expense.

2:01

We've had a little bit more snow this time this year than we did last year.

2:05

Uh so those expenses are a little bit higher, and then the under the administration category, the investments attributed to the airport or our share of the city's investments.

2:18

Previous year we had some good gains.

2:20

This year we had some losses the first couple months, so it's creating a little shift in our overall uh budget.

2:26

Um, but nothing to be concerned with this time.

2:30

Uh any questions on the financials.

2:34

All right, moving on to the statistics.

2:37

Uh the employments are uh a fun one to look at right now because they're they're pretty high.

2:42

Uh pretty dramatic increase over last year.

2:45

Um looking at our organizational objectives again.

2:49

I'm interested in updating these.

2:51

Uh Mary and I have started that conversation uh to come up with some different um um benchmarks here that we can review.

3:03

Um I do expect the departing flight options per day to increase once United uh comes into until then they'll remain pretty steady uh compared to last year.

3:15

Our passenger numbers are up a pretty good amount this year.

3:18

Uh Delta's up 22 percent, Americans up 31 percent.

3:23

Um that's you know a 27% increase for the year, uh, which is great.

3:30

And that in turn creates um increases in our other revenues such as uh parking lot uh fees and things like that.

3:39

Um next page there.

3:46

What is that attributed to?

3:48

Um simply smaller numbers.

3:52

Um it was 362 so far this year.

3:55

Well I see I see four was higher.

3:59

Yep.

4:00

And that'll be like the sun country flights um to um Laughlin.

4:07

That's it.

4:07

Um but fly out of RSD.

4:11

All right, our uh load factors, uh we're up to 76 percent for Delta and 70 5% for American.

4:22

Um that's what we want to see.

4:24

Over 80 would be ideal, um, but we're we're going in the right direction.

4:31

As I mentioned, other revenues increase such as the parking rent or sorry, the rental car activity, uh the parking lot transactions with the increased passengers.

4:42

We have increased revenues there as well.

4:45

I just ask um compared to pre-pandemic, are we you know we're we're tracking and improving over the last two years?

4:52

Do we are we still way down because the flights are so far down yet?

5:00

Um, yes, you know, uh, we're hoping to get there with United, you know, closer to uh comparables, um, but it's still um a pretty significant uh difference.

5:10

Um else do you have yeah, for international passengers just slightly down from previous years at this time of year.

5:17

Uh we didn't have the February data for those numbers yet, either.

5:21

Um our cargo um is up a little bit.

5:25

But this is only January, correct?

5:28

Yeah.

5:28

February numbers hadn't come in yet for that report.

5:31

Well, that could be low too, given what was happening in the state at the time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Airport Operations█████████████████████████████████████████████54%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████████33%

Procedural███████████13%

Summary of Proceedings

Rochester International Airport Commission Meeting - April 14, 2026

The Airport Commission met on April 14, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. to discuss financial reports, operational statistics, marketing updates, and to take action on several items including a fiber optic relocation project, parking lot design services, and a change order for an ARFF vehicle. The meeting also included an update on the Joint Airport Zoning Board (JASB) proceedings.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes of the March 3, 2026 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were made during the open comment period.

Discussion Items

Financial Report (5A): Kyle Gaffney reported that income is in line with expectations, but maintenance expenses are higher due to increased snowfall. Investment losses for the airport's share of city investments created a slight shift in the budget, but no concerns were raised.
Operational and Marketing Data (5B): Passenger numbers are up 27% year-to-date, with Delta up 22% and American up 31%. Load factors are 76% for Delta and 75% for American. Marketing efforts in February saw a softening of demand, likely due to external activities, and a shift in budget toward destination marketing for United connections through Chicago. An inbound patient-focused campaign featuring a national artist continued to perform well. Searches for Fort Myers were high, and the airport doubled down on promoting that destination. Activity rebounded in March.
Fiber Optic Relocation Project (7A): The project was originally part of the runway phase four project but was pulled out due to high change order costs. The rebid resulted in a contract award to Mathawitz Construction at $1.075 million, saving approximately $1.5 million. The work involves replacing a concrete-encased duct bank running from the air traffic control tower to the radar site. The motion to accept the grant and award the contract passed unanimously.
Parking Lot Reconstruction Design (7B): A professional services agreement with Meet and Hunt was approved for preliminary design and programming of the terminal parking lot reconstruction. The parking lot, built in the 1960s, has 900 spaces and needs upgrades. The study will include geotechnical investigation, survey, and evaluation of options such as covered parking, covered walkways, ADA compliance, EV charging, and stormwater drainage. Estimated costs range from $2–5 million, depending on scope. The project will be funded primarily locally unless state or federal funding is secured. The commission expects recommendations by mid-summer.
ARFF Vehicle Change Order (7C): A change order with Oshkosh Airport Products was approved for additional FAA-eligible items not on the original advisory circular used to spec the truck. The net increase is $4,836 federally eligible, with a state match of $95,116 (verbal commitment pending written confirmation). The motion passed, with the condition that the item goes to city council only after the state commitment is received in writing.

Joint Airport Zoning Board (JASB) Update

Mary provided an update on the JASB proceedings. The third meeting was held on April 1, 2026, with all 10 members present. A presentation was given by Evan Verrett of Meet and Hunt. Representatives from the city of Stewartville and High Forest Township spoke during the public hearing. The JASB unanimously adopted zoning ordinance number seven, which will be forwarded to MINDAT for final review and approval. The process is expected to conclude soon, with the ordinance circulated for signatures among JASB members.

Key Outcomes

Consent agenda approved.
7A: Grant acceptance and contract award for fiber optic relocation approved.
7B: Professional services agreement for parking lot design approved.
7C: Change order for ARFF vehicle approved, pending written state commitment.
JASB update: Zoning ordinance adopted, next steps with MINDAT.
Meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, we're gonna call this meeting of the airport commission to order. It is April 7th, 2026 at 2 p.m. And uh we have a quorum. We do it, I guess we can do the um open comment period, but no one is here. Uh doors are open, but we don't have anyone here to comment. So we'll uh just move along. Uh do we need to do we don't need to do a roll call because everybody's here in person. And uh we do need to uh approve the consent agenda. So more so it's moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda, which consists of the minutes of the airport commission meeting on March 3rd. Any questions or corrections anyone has seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? We're gonna go on through reports, and so we're gonna have 5A is airport financials, followed by 5B, which will be the airport operational and marketing data. And who's gonna do those first? Hi, I'm Kyle Gaffney. Thank you, Mayor. Um we're pretty early in the year, so numbers are still coming in. Um income is in line with where it should be for the year at this time, landing fees, our rent, things like that. Um two areas that are a little bit uh different than last year. One is uh maintenance expense. We've had a little bit more snow this time this year than we did last year. Uh so those expenses are a little bit higher, and then the under the administration category, the investments attributed to the airport or our share of the city's investments. Previous year we had some good gains. This year we had some losses the first couple months, so it's creating a little shift in our overall uh budget. Um, but nothing to be concerned with this time. Uh any questions on the financials. All right, moving on to the statistics. Uh the employments are uh a fun one to look at right now because they're they're pretty high. Uh pretty dramatic increase over last year. Um looking at our organizational objectives again. I'm interested in updating these. Uh Mary and I have started that conversation uh to come up with some different um um benchmarks here that we can review. Um I do expect the departing flight options per day to increase once United uh comes into until then they'll remain pretty steady uh compared to last year. Our passenger numbers are up a pretty good amount this year. Uh Delta's up 22 percent, Americans up 31 percent. Um that's you know a 27% increase for the year, uh, which is great. And that in turn creates um increases in our other revenues such as uh parking lot uh fees and things like that. Um next page there. What is that attributed to? Um simply smaller numbers. Um it was 362 so far this year. Well I see I see four was higher. Yep. And that'll be like the sun country flights um to um Laughlin. That's it. Um but fly out of RSD. All right, our uh load factors, uh we're up to 76 percent for Delta and 70 5% for American. Um that's what we want to see. Over 80 would be ideal, um, but we're we're going in the right direction. As I mentioned, other revenues increase such as the parking rent or sorry, the rental car activity, uh the parking lot transactions with the increased passengers. We have increased revenues there as well.

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