| 1 | Representative(s) Jennings offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment |
| 4 | Remove line(s) 44-239 and insert: |
| 5 | by interlocal agreement between the City of Gainesville and the |
| 6 | authority, that is designed for the landing and taking off of |
| 7 | aircraft, whether or not facilities are provided for the |
| 8 | shelter, servicing, or repair of aircraft or for receiving and |
| 9 | discharging passengers or cargo, and all appurtenant areas used |
| 10 | or suitable for airport buildings or other airport facilities, |
| 11 | which may change from time to time by amendment to the |
| 12 | interlocal agreement between the City of Gainesville and the |
| 13 | authority. |
| 14 | (2) "Airport facilities" means facilities used for the |
| 15 | transportation of people and cargo as described by the |
| 16 | interlocal agreement between the City of Gainesville the and |
| 17 | authority, including, but not limited to, runways, taxiways, |
| 18 | taxi lanes, aprons, hangars, shops, terminals, buildings, |
| 19 | parking lots, roadways, and all other facilities necessary or |
| 20 | desirable for the landing, taking off, operating, servicing, |
| 21 | repairing, and parking of aircraft, and the unloading and |
| 22 | handling of passengers, mail, and express and freight cargo, |
| 23 | together with all necessary appurtenances and equipment and all |
| 24 | property rights, easements, and franchises relating thereto. |
| 25 | (3) "Authority" means the Gainesville-Alachua County |
| 26 | Regional Airport Authority created herein. |
| 27 | (4) "Board of county commissioners" means the Board of |
| 28 | County Commissioners of the County of Alachua. |
| 29 | (5) "Bond" includes bonds, debentures, notes, certificates |
| 30 | of indebtedness, mortgage certificates, or other obligations or |
| 31 | evidences of indebtedness of any type or character. |
| 32 | (6) "City" means the City of Gainesville. |
| 33 | (7) "City Commission" means the City Commission of the |
| 34 | City of Gainesville. |
| 35 | (8) "County" means the County of Alachua. |
| 36 | (9) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, |
| 37 | corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or |
| 38 | body politic and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or |
| 39 | other similar representative thereof. |
| 40 | (10) "Revenue bonds" means obligations of the authority |
| 41 | which are payable from revenues derived from sources other than |
| 42 | ad valorem taxes on real or tangible personal property and which |
| 43 | do not pledge the property, credit, or general tax revenue of |
| 44 | the authority or the city. |
| 45 | (11) "Refunding bonds" means bonds issued to refinance |
| 46 | outstanding bonds of any type and the interest and redemption |
| 47 | premium thereon. Refunding bonds shall be issuable and payable |
| 48 | in the same manner as the refinanced bonds, except that no |
| 49 | approval by the electorate shall be required unless required by |
| 50 | the State Constitution. |
| 51 | Section 3. Creation; purpose.-- |
| 52 | (1) The Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport |
| 53 | Authority is created, and the powers granted by this act are |
| 54 | declared to be public and governmental functions, exercised for |
| 55 | public purposes, and are matters of public necessity. Lands and |
| 56 | other real and personal property, easements, and privileges |
| 57 | acquired and used by the authority are declared to have been |
| 58 | acquired for and used for public and governmental purposes and |
| 59 | as a matter of public necessity. The authority is a public body |
| 60 | corporate and is an independent special district. |
| 61 | (2) The authority shall have jurisdiction over the |
| 62 | operation and maintenance of, and improvements to, the airport |
| 63 | and airport facilities. The authority has jurisdiction, control, |
| 64 | supervision, and management over other airports in the county |
| 65 | except any airport owned, controlled, and operated by a private |
| 66 | person. Said jurisdiction, control, supervision, and management |
| 67 | are in the best interest of the county and each municipality. |
| 68 | Section 4. Membership of the authority.-- |
| 69 | (1) The powers of the authority shall be vested in its |
| 70 | members in office from time to time. There shall be nine |
| 71 | members. No member shall receive any compensation for services |
| 72 | as a member. As a condition of eligibility for appointment and |
| 73 | to hold office, each member shall reside within the city or the |
| 74 | county. However, one member appointed by the Governor may reside |
| 75 | in a county contiguous to Alachua County. No person shall serve |
| 76 | as a member of the authority and, at the same time, hold any |
| 77 | publicly elected office in the State of Florida. |
| 78 | (2) Upon expiration of initial terms of office, subsequent |
| 79 | appointments shall be made as follows: |
| 80 | (a) The Governor shall replace by appointment any of the |
| 81 | three members appointed by him or her under chapter 95-457, Laws |
| 82 | of Florida, on or prior to the date of expiration of the |
| 83 | preceding term. |
| 84 | (b) The board of county commissioners shall replace by |
| 85 | appointment the member appointed by it under chapter 95-457, |
| 86 | Laws of Florida, on or prior to the date of expiration of the |
| 87 | preceding term. |
| 88 | (c) The city commission shall replace by appointment any |
| 89 | of the remaining five members on or prior to the expiration of |
| 90 | the preceding term. |
| 91 | (3) If, upon expiration of a member's term of office, the |
| 92 | appointing entity fails to replace by appointment its member, |
| 93 | and the member is willing to continue to serve, the member with |
| 94 | the expired term shall continue to serve until a replacement |
| 95 | appointment is made. |
| 96 | (4) The term of any member initially appointed prior to |
| 97 | the effective date of this act shall expire on July 31 of the |
| 98 | year such member's term was scheduled to expire under chapter |
| 99 | 95-457, Laws of Florida. No member shall serve more than two |
| 100 | successive terms. |
| 101 | (5) All members appointed subsequent to the effective date |
| 102 | of this act shall serve 3-year terms of office, beginning on |
| 103 | August 1 and expiring on July 31 of the appropriate year. |
| 104 | (6) Except as may be otherwise provided herein, vacancies |
| 105 | in office shall be filled for the balance of the term by the |
| 106 | appropriate appointing entity, in the same manner as set forth |
| 107 | in subsection (2). A vacant position shall remain vacant until a |
| 108 | successor has been appointed by the appropriate appointing |
| 109 | entity. |
| 110 | (7) A member may be removed by the entity appointing such |
| 111 | member upon grounds constituting misfeasance, neglect of duty, |
| 112 | incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties. |
| 113 | Upon conviction of a felony, a member shall be automatically |
| 114 | removed. The unexcused failure to attend three consecutive |
| 115 | regular meetings of the authority shall be deemed neglect of |
| 116 | duty, without limiting the meaning of the term "neglect of |
| 117 | duty." |
| 118 | Section 5. Organization; meetings; notice; quorum.--A |
| 119 | chair, vice chair, and secretary-treasurer shall be chosen by |
| 120 | and from the authority membership. The chair, vice chair, and |
| 121 | secretary-treasurer shall each serve a term of office of 1 year, |
| 122 | and no member shall hold the same office for more than two |
| 123 | consecutive terms. |
| 124 | (1) The authority shall meet at the call of the chair, at |
| 125 | the request of three or more of its members, and at such other |
| 126 | times as may be prescribed by rule of the authority. |
| 127 | (2) The authority shall give notice of all meetings at |
| 128 | least 48 hours prior thereto, which shall be published in a |
| 129 | newspaper in general circulation in Alachua County, and shall |
| 130 | include agenda items whenever such items involve leasing of any |
| 131 | airport property. All meetings of the authority shall be so |
| 132 | noticed except emergency meetings, which shall only be called |
| 133 | when there is an immediate danger to the public health, safety, |
| 134 | or welfare, do not require at least 48 hours' prior public |
| 135 | notice, and reasonable notice under the circumstances shall be |
| 136 | provided in such cases. |
| 137 | (3) The presence of five members is required to constitute |
| 138 | a quorum, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the members |
| 139 | present and eligible to vote, but no fewer than four of the |
| 140 | members present and eligible to vote, is required for any action |
| 141 | or recommendation by the authority. |
| 142 | Section 6. Restrictions.-- |
| 143 | (1) No person who has transacted business with the |
| 144 | authority shall be eligible for appointment to the authority |
| 145 | until 3 years after the last transaction. No person who has |
| 146 | served on the authority shall be eligible to transact business |
| 147 | with the authority until 3 years after the person's last date of |
| 148 | service. Said transactions include transactions either for |
| 149 | oneself or as an employee of, agent for, or consultant to any |
| 150 | other person or legal entity. However, nothing in this paragraph |
| 151 | shall be construed as prohibiting an appointed member from |
| 152 | purchasing supplies or services from any fixed-base operators or |
| 153 | tenants at the airport or Airport Industrial Park, or for |
| 154 | renting individual aircraft hangars or tie-downs offered to the |
| 155 | general public and owned by the authority, provided that the |
| 156 | price and terms of the transaction are available to all members |
| 157 | of the public. |
| 158 | (2) No member, officer, agent, or employee of the |
| 159 | authority, either for himself or herself or as agent for anyone |
| 160 | else, or as a stockholder or owner in any other legal entity, |
| 161 | shall participate in or benefit directly or indirectly from any |
| 162 | sale, purchase, lease, franchise, contract, or other transaction |
| 163 | entered into by the authority or the city. The provisions of |
| 164 | this subsection shall be cumulative to any general laws of the |
| 165 | state that may from time to time be applicable to members, |
| 166 | officers, agents, or employees of the authority and that require |
| 167 | the disclosure of, or prohibit, conflicts of interest. |
| 168 | (3) No member, as an individual, may represent the |
| 169 | authority, speak for the authority, or speak on behalf of the |
| 170 | authority without being directed through a formal action of the |
| 171 | authority to do so. |
| 172 | Section 7. Powers and duties.-- |
| 173 | (1) The authority shall have jurisdiction over the |
| 174 | operation and maintenance of all airport and airport facilities |
| 175 | in the city or county, except any airport owned and operated by |
| 176 | a private person. |
| 177 | (2) The authority has the power to and may: |
| 178 | (a) Approve, file with the chief executive officer (CEO), |
| 179 | and pay any surety bond required of any member or of any |
| 180 | employee of the authority. |
| 181 | (b) Advertise for sealed bids when required by law; |
| 182 | however, the authority may reject all bids and readvertise or |
| 183 | select a single item from any bid as further provided in this |
| 184 | act. |
| 185 | (c) Adopt before October 1 an annual budget that has been |
| 186 | prepared by the CEO and which must include an estimate of all |
| 187 | revenues and anticipated expenditures for the following fiscal |
| 188 | year. |
| 189 | (d) Require in all bond documents that moneys derived from |
| 190 | such bonds be paid to or upon order of the authority. |
| 191 | (e) Have the authority's finances audited in the same |
| 192 | manner as other independent special districts are audited. |
| 193 | (f) Rely on the provisions of this act in exercising its |
| 194 | powers. |
| 195 | (g) Appoint or employ and constitute its own airport |
| 196 | guards or police officers, or to contract with the city, county, |
| 197 | or agency of the state to provide 1aw enforcement services and |
| 198 | protection through its duly sworn officers, and all such |
| 199 | officers shall have full power of arrest to prevent or abate the |
| 200 | commission of an offense against the ordinances of the city or |
| 201 | county, the laws of this state, or the laws of the United |
| 202 | States, when any such offense or threatened offense occurs upon |
| 203 | the airport. |