Bismarck wants to get out of the airplane fueling business, but some questions need to be answered before it turns operations over to a private concern.

For the last year and a half, the city has been working on a way to divest itself of fueling operations at the Bismarck Municipal Airport. A Request for Proposals was issued, and after selection committee review, Aircraft Management Services Inc., a locally-owned business, has been recommended to take over operations, airport manager Greg Haug said at Tuesday's city commission meeting.

Haug said more than 20 inquiries were made in regard to the RFP and six firms were qualified to bid for the operations. AMS made the only qualified proposal and, after interviewing AMS, the selection committee recommended the company take over fueling operations.

The agreement with AMS is complicated, involving rental of the General Aviation building, city-owned hangar, fuel farm facility and parcels adjacent to these structures. There also is purchase of the city-owned equipment that is needed for fueling.

Rental of the General Aviation building and hangar is considered short-term, with plans to remove them in the next several years. AMS is expected to eventually construct their own facility.

The big picture discussion, said Mayor John Warford - who was a member of the selection committee - is whether or not the city should be competing with private business. Depending on what the city does, either continuing to provide the service or getting out will have huge impacts on future budgets, Warford said.

"With the former airport administration building to come down, another site would have to be found," Warford said. "A lot of the equipment is old and tired. If we stay in, a new field truck will have to be bought. There are some big implications to stay in. The committee was unanimous in wanting to get out of fueling and go with AMS."

Commissioner Steve Schwab wanted to know what the plans were for the city employees who run the fueling operation. Fueling operations has five full-time and five part-time employees who also perform other flight-line duties.

"That's a good question - one we would address depending on the outcome of the commission's decision," Haug said.

The airport will continue to have needs for flight-line employees outside fueling. Plans are to come up with a reorganization plan, Haug said. Schwab said that other city departments should be looked at to fill any openings with airport workers.

Commissioner Sandi Tabor said a number of questions need to be answered regarding leasing and human resources.

"We're at the point of do or die. Either we decide to move forward and negotiate through some issue and get out of the business, or not. There are about four big-picture things that staff have to address," Tabor said.

By the next meeting, Haug expects to have answers on the sale of equipment, whether it will be a lease or lease-to-buy agreement, rental of facilities and property over the short term and what the long-term plans for AMS are and a plan for the existing employees.

The agreement offered by AMS is good for 60 days.

The commission approved a motion to divest itself of the fueling operations subject to suitable answers being provided to the questions that have been raised.

"When we hear the answers to the list of questions, if we don't like them we can say thanks, but no," Tabor concluded.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)