Board chooses Garmann Miller

A firm has been chosen to draw plans for renovations to a Portland Municipal Airport breezeway that will become the headquarters for the staff of Lutheran Air.
Portland Board of Aviation selected a bid of $6,300 Wednesday from Garmann Miller & Associates of Minster, Ohio, for the work.
Garmann Miller will draw up plans for the renovation, which will include a bedroom, dining area, living room, office, kitchenette, laundry room and full bedroom. They will then be submitted to the state for approval.
Once approved, the bidding process for construction will begin.
The renovations were originally expected to be complete to allow Lutheran Air to move in Sept. 1. But because permits from Indiana Department of Homeland Security are part of the process, the board stepped back from that plan.
It instead purchased a trailer to serve as a temporary headquarters for the Lutheran Air staff, which moved to the airport in October.
The board is now moving ahead with plans to renovate the breezeway and hopes to have that work completed in 2016. Lutheran Air has committed to picking up 60 percent of the total cost of the project with a cap of $40,000.
“(Board member) John (Lyons) and I have talked a little bit about this with Garmann Miller and they have given us a lot of information,” said member Jim Runkle. “Other people that have used them; they sound like a really good company to go with.”
Garmann Miller, an architectural and engineering firm, headed up the Fort Recovery High School renovation project that was completed in 2014.
The other bid for drawing plans for the breezeway renovation came from Project Design & Management of Fort Wayne at $10,325.
The board also appointed two leaders, and a new member was acknowledged to the board.
John Lyons was elected president and Runkle vice president.
The newest member, Mitch Sutton, was also welcomed to the group. Sutton is a part of Jay County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and owner of Sutton Rentals.
In other business, the board — Lyons, Sutton, Runkle and Dick Baldauf:
•Learned from airport manager Hal Tavzel that the airport sold 4,601 gallons of fuel in December totaling $17,526.
So far in January, the airport has sold 3,072 gallons totaling $10,218.22. Tavzel also noted the total fuel revenue in 2015 was $235,053 from selling 57,733 gallons. It was about 12,000 gallons more than in 2014 for an increase of $225,121.
•Approved a bid from Miles Mowing & Lawn Care in Portland for $85 per hour per truck to remove snow at the airport.
•Heard safety inspections for the airport’s fuel farm are scheduled for April. The tanks were installed by Sparling Corporation of Romulus, Michigan and are located southwest of the airport parking lot. Tavzel said the tanks might require cleaning, which is needed every three to five years.
•Learned from Jason Clearwaters of Butler, Fairman & Seufert, the airport five-year capital improvement plan set for 2017 to 2021 was sent to the board for final review. The plan lays out how the airport will use state and federal funds for any future development. The deadline to turn in the plan to the Indiana Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration is Feb. 1.
The board approved the plan for submittal.
•Heard from Clearwaters the board is still awaiting comments from the FAA on the airport layout plan, which was submitted Nov. 15. The board learned in the last meeting it did receive comments from INDOT Dec. 15 with suggested improvements.
•Learned the environmental study for land acquisition is still on hold as the airport is waiting for the archeological investigation report. Clearwaters said he was told Monday he should get a response by the end of this week.
•Paid claims totaling $1,433.32.