(A) Establishment and composition. There is hereby created pursuant to M.S. § 360.042, and acts amendatory thereof, a Joint Airport Authority to be known as the Eveleth-Virginia Airport Authority, composed of six members, three of whom shall be appointed by a majority vote of the City Council of the City of Eveleth, and three of whom shall be appointed by a majority vote of the City Council of the City of Virginia. Two members shall be City Council persons, appointed by a majority vote of the City Council of the City of Eveleth, and two members shall be City Council persons, appointed by a majority vote of the City Council of the City of Virginia. The members of the Authority shall serve without compensation.
(Amended 7-15-1991)
(1) Each city may appoint a City Council member as an alternate to attend the Authority meetings in the absence of one of their City Council members.
(2) Pursuant to M.S. § 360.042, the members of the Joint Airport Authority must include inhabitants of the Cities and the members of the Joint Airport Authority must be appointed by the governing body of each City in the manner set forth in the Joint Powers Agreement.
(3) Quorum. One member of the Eveleth City Council and one member of the Virginia City Council must be present at a meeting, along with two other members from either city to constitute a quorum of the Authority.
(B) Term of office. Effective September 8, 2020, the current members’ of the Authority terms shall end and new members shall be appointed effective September 8, 2020. City Council persons’ terms shall be for one year with the first term expiring December 31, 2021. The term of the remaining members shall be one year with the first term expiring December 31, 2021. If a member vacates his/her position before the end of his/her term, a replacement shall be appointed by a majority of the City of Eveleth or City of Virginia City Council and shall serve the remaining portion of that term. A member may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by resolution of the City Council making the appointment. The resolution removing the member must be filed with the Secretary.
(C) Officers. The Joint Authority shall elect one of the appointed City Council persons to be Chairperson of the Authority, one of the appointed City Council persons to be Vice-Chairperson and shall appoint a Secretary and Treasurer who must be members of the Authority. The officers so elected or appointed shall hold office for the term of one year and until their successors are appointed and qualified. The first terms will expire December 31, 2021.
(D) Duties and powers of the Authority.
(1) The Authority shall have full authority and responsibility for the maintenance, management and regulation of the Eveleth Municipal Airport.
(2) The Authority shall oversee construction at the airport, with prior approval of Eveleth City Council and Virginia City Council.
(3) The Authority shall not acquire necessary property for and to establish, construct, enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate and regulate and take over air navigation facilities and airport protection privileges to be acquired, controlled and operated by without prior approval of the Eveleth City Council and the Virginia City Council.
(4) The Authority, with prior approval of the Eveleth City Council and the Virginia City Council, may enter into contracts with the county pursuant to M.S. Ch. 303.
(5) Rules and regulations provided for by M.S. § 303.17(3), as it may be amended from time to time, may be adopted by the Authority, but shall be enacted only after approval by the respective city councils, pursuant to the provisions of M.S. § 303.20, as it may be amended from time to time.
(6) No real property, other air navigation facility or air protection privileges, shall be disposed of by the Authority by sale or lease or otherwise, except by authority of both city councils.
(7) The Authority may lease space, area or improvements and grant concessions for aeronautic purposes or purposes incidental thereto subject to the provisions in M.S. § 303.17(4), as it may be amended from time to time.
(8) The Authority, with prior approval from the City Council of Eveleth and the City Council of Virginia, shall have authority to hire or retain professional services (which includes the Airport Manager and Fixed Base Operator and Airport Engineer) that may be necessary for maintenance and management of the Airport. The City of Eveleth or City of Virginia will provide a staff person to be the Authority Coordinator. Such Authority Coordinator will be paid by the Authority at a rate agreed upon by the City of Eveleth and City of Virginia.
(9) The Authority shall set the hangar land lease rates for commercial and non- commercial hangars land lease agreements, and lease rates for the airport buildings, all subject to prior approval from the City Council of Eveleth and the City Council of Virginia. All lease agreements are subject to prior approval from the City Council of Eveleth and the City Council of Virginia.
(10) Conflict of interest. No member of the Authority shall have an immediate familial, employer, or employee relationship with the Airport Manager, Fixed Base Operator, Airport Coordinator, fiscal agent for the city, or the City Council of Eveleth or the City Council of Virginia.
(11) Signatures. The Authority Chairperson, Authority Secretary, or Fiscal Agent representative may sign all documents and correspondence on behalf of the Authority.
(12) The Authority shall keep and maintain full and complete financial records including a perpetual inventory of all property, real and personal, showing the approximate date acquired and the cost thereof. The fiscal agent for the Authority shall be either the City of Eveleth or the City of Virginia.
(E) Contributions to capital costs. The City of Eveleth and the City of Virginia, subject to qualifications hereinafter set forth, shall contribute equally to that portion of the cost of additional lands that may be added to the present Eveleth Municipal Airport and the capital cost of construction improvements and development of the airport which is not covered by the county of St. Louis, state and federal contributions thereto. Title to the present airport shall remain in the City of Eveleth and title to any additions thereto shall be taken in the names of the City of Eveleth and of the City of Virginia and the cities shall share equally in the ownership thereof.
(Ord. 74, effective 10-6-1951)
(F) Operating costs. The City of Eveleth and the City of Virginia shall share equally in the cost of maintaining and operating the airport and all additions thereto. Neither city shall charge the Authority any rentals or other compensation for the use of airport, easements or airport facilities, now or hereafter acquired or installed.
(G) Budget. The Authority shall, each year prior to August 1, prepare a budget for financing the airport for the ensuing calendar year. A copy of the budget shall, not later than August 1, be furnished to the City Council of the City of Eveleth and the City Council of the City of Virginia and shall contain the following items:
(1) Estimated revenues divided as follows:
(a) Federal and state grants;
(b) Contributions from the City of Eveleth;
(c) Contribution from the City of Virginia;
(d) Contribution from the County of St. Louis;
(e) Contributions from the State of Minnesota;
(f) Contributions from the United States of America;
(g) Miscellaneous revenues.
(2) Estimated expenditures:
(a) Personnel services;
(b) Services other than personnel;
(c) Supplies and maintenance;
(d) Equipment;
(e) Real estate and improvements;
(f) Miscellaneous expenditures; and
(g) Capital funds for approved projects.
(3) Final decision of the respective City Councils as to requested contributions shall be reported to the Authority which shall adjust its budget if necessary so that its budget may at all times be balanced. If either City Council fixes its contribution at less than one-half of the amount requested by the Authority, the contribution of the other shall be proportionately reduced unless the latter shall decide to pay a larger portion of the total contributions. Money not expended in the budget may be earned over to the following year.
(4) The Authority shall not have power to levy taxes or borrow money and it shall not approve any claim or incur any obligations for expenditures unless there is unencumbered cash in the appropriate airport fund to the credit of the Authority with which to pay the same. If there are any surplus revenues over the cost of maintenance and operation costs, the Authority may, if it so elects, instead of carrying over the same to the following year, return the same to the respective cities and county in the same proportion as they were contributed by the cities and the county.
(H) Finances. All receipts belonging to the Authority shall be deposited in a bank selected by the City of Eveleth and the City of Virginia, and credited to the account of the Joint Airport Authority. No disbursements shall be made, except by check in a manner as the Authority may determine, nor unless a verified claim for services and commodities actually rendered or delivered as fees shall be submitted to and approved for payment by the Authority, and authenticated by the signature of the Chairperson or Treasurer of the Authority and the Administrator for the fiscal agent. An audit of the funds of the Authority shall be made annually. Such audits may be made of the funds of either the City of Eveleth or the City of Virginia.
(I) Reports. The Authority as soon as possible after the end of each calendar year shall prepare and present to each City Council a comprehensive report of its activities and finances. The Authority shall also prepare and present federal and state officials with reports as may be required by law, regulation or contract.
(J) Disposition of property upon termination. This section when adopted by the City Council of the City of Virginia and when a concurrent ordinance is adopted by the City Council of the City of Eveleth shall constitute a contract between the cities, and shall remain in full force and effect for 20 years thereafter; provided, however, that, the provisions thereof, except as to the duration of the contract, may be amended by mutual agreement of said cities. Thereafter, it shall continue in force from year to year. If either city desires to terminate the joint operation of the airport and the Joint Authority, it shall notify the other city to that effect and the City of Eveleth and the City of Virginia shall dispose of all property which may have been acquired including surplus fluids in manner that shall then be agreed upon. The City of Eveleth shall, at all times, retain title to the lands, easements and structures presently included in the Eveleth Municipal Airport. If no agreement as to disposition of additional acquired lands, property and facilities is reached within three months after termination of the plan for joint operation of the airport, the respective City Councils shall each appoint some person who may be a city official, as its representative and the Minnesota Commission of Aeronautics shall appoint a third person who shall together compose an advisory Board for the disposition of the airport property. This Board shall, as soon as possible, prepare and recommend to the City Council of each city a complete plan for the disposition of all additional lands, structures and facilities acquired subsequent to the passing of this section.
(K) Consideration abandonment of Virginia Airport. In consideration of passage of an ordinance by the City of Eveleth vesting in the Joint Airport Authority the management and operation of the present Eveleth Municipal Airport so that the Airport and its facilities are available to both cities, the City of Virginia hereby abandons the Virginia Municipal Airport, and from and after 12-31-1951, the airport shall be closed and it shall cease to operate and function as an airport and the use of the land for airport purposes shall, on that date, be discontinued.
(Ord. 74, effective 10-6-1951; Am. Ord. passed 2-26-2019; Am. Ord. passed 9-8-2020)