Meetings watch: Civil Aviation Board

Clovis Municipal Airport Manager Kyle Berkshire said Tuesday that Boutique Air is exploring the possibility of adding a Clovis-Denver option in addition to its Dallas service.

The company, he said, is polling its customer base about whether it would use the option.

Great Lakes Airlines, Clovis’ previous Essential Air Services client, offered the route.

Berkshire’s announcement came during the Clovis Civil Aviation Board meeting Tuesday at the airport.

Also at the meeting:

• Chairman Tom Phelps and members Donnie Lewellen, Donald Sharer, Jim Jennings, Karl Spence and Russ Backoff attended. City Commissioner Chris Bryant was absent.

• Phelps said he was resigning from the board, noting, “I’m going to have something else that’s going to keep me busy.”

Phelps will become the interim city manager April 18. He said he didn’t know if rules forbid the city manager to serve on the board, and didn’t bother researching because he felt it appropriate to step down anyway.

City code says board members, “shall be appointed by the mayor, with the advice and consent of the city commission,” and does not forbid anybody from otherwise serving. However, city code also requires the city manager, “shall administer and supervise the operation of the airport.”

• Going forward, the board appointed Lewellen as chair and Sharer as vice chair.

• Berkshire said work on the road in front of the airport has been delayed due to inclement weather, but will hopefully be complete by the end of the week.

• Plans are in the works for a June spring fly-in and a Civil Air Patrol encampment in late June or July. Berkshire asked membership to let him know by the May meeting if they’d like to see anything in particular at the fly-in and that he would probably have an encampment date nailed down by then.

• Fuel sales over January and February were reported by Berkshire. The airport sold 10,053 gallons of Jet-A and 2,800 gallons of 100 low lead in January. In February, sales were 15,400 gallons of Jet-A and 3,400 gallons of 100 low lead.

• Berkshire briefed members on a March 25 hangar fire.

The fire was at a privately owned hangar used by Aerocare, and was limited to the hangar’s second floor. No injuries were reported and the chopper was outside of the hangar at the time, but the second floor was a total loss.

Aerocare was working on building a new hangar at the airport, Berkshire said, and could be using it as soon as next week. In the interim, the chopper is operating out of the hospital.

The full report isn’t out, Berkshire said, but the preliminary indication is an electric fire.

— Compiled by Managing Editor Kevin Wilson