GFDC Meeting this week: Wednesday July 21 @ 6pm at the City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Way, El Cajon

• This is their first in-person meeting in over a year – we should all make it a point to attend because this is all about OUR Airport!

• Important topics on the agenda:

  • Authority for Director of Airports to sign low-value leases and licenses for 5 years

  • Gillespie Field Airport Manager’s report

    • Discussion of new rules affecting airport access – no “access card” requirement yet, but VP/D’s – vehicle, pedestrian – deviations will require mandatory training for all who drive onto the airport

  • Possible Discussion: Draft ordinance requiring “prevailing rates” for pay and benefits to anyone doing business on county property (KSEE)

    • This is new, and has the potential for dramatically increasing the labor costs of every aviation business on Gillespie Field – could have enormous impact on the cost of flying at Gillespie

The GFDC MEETING will be informative and important. This is where we interact with the airport and the county – about – our airport. We have a voice, and this is the official chain of command for getting things done at our airport. We are often in the “defense” mode – fighting off one attack or another on the economic viability of businesses at KSEE. This meeting will be no different. The “equality” ordinance (currently in draft form) could force every business, and every contractor who does business on county property to pay “prevailing” rates for labor and benefits which will definitely increase the cost of fuel, tie-downs, hangars, supplies – virtually anything that employs a labor force on county property. The ordinance is an “unfunded mandate,” meaning no one has measured the cost to pilots and aviation businesses. It is a “grab” in the name of social equity I suppose – and if you don’t want the cost of flying to skyrocket – you need to be informed and get involved.