Stokes: City tower idea won't fly

Kalispell plans to approach KGEZ owner John Stokes with a probable offer to lower his two 325-foot radio towers at no cost to him.

That's because their heights jut up into airspace that must be clear of obstructions before the Federal Aviation Administration will provide money to extend the city airport's runway up to 1,100 feet to the south.

Consequently, the two towers would need to be reduced to no more than 150 feet above the runway's surface.

The Kalispell City Council is expected to soon hire Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers of Seattle for $34,000 to study how the two towers could be lowered or moved.

"The city is wasting their time with those options," Stokes said.

He told the Inter Lake he has no intention of moving or modifying the towers, arguing that cannot be done without degrading the broadcast signal - despite the city's belief otherwise.

"They would have to prove it in court," Stokes said. "It's my property."

The city's airport is expanding. Sixty-two aircraft are based there, and more plane owners want to move there. Last year, the airport put in a new aircraft parking area, plus it installed utilities to serve 13 future hangars.

Its runway is 3,600 feet long. That's good enough for single-engine recreational planes. But it is not long enough for newer-model faster planes or heavier aircraft - which need a longer runway to lift off and land.

Consequently, the airport wants to extend its runway up to 1,100 feet to the south. It hopes to get the FAA to provide up to $1.2 million to buy that land.

"It needs to be done right now. The longer you wait, the more expensive the land is going to be," airport Director Fred Leistiko said.

So far, the FAA has stockpiled $600,000 for the runway extension project - the most it can legally set aside before Kalispell complies with some federal requirements.

One requirement was to declare an oblong-shaped zone around the airport as an "airport affected area." Kalispell did so in 2006. That zone extends 10,000 feet from each end of the runway and one mile to each side.

There are height restrictions within that zone. And at their present location less than 10,000 feet from the runway's south end, the two KGEZ towers cannot reach more than 150 feet above the runway's surface - even though they are on unincorporated land.

Until that height issue is fixed, the FAA won't release the $600,000 or any other future money to extend the runway.

Hatfield & Dawson's job will be to study the towers - with an eye to determining how they can be lowered or possibly replaced with smaller upgraded versions. Leistiko said some engineers have speculated that current technology will enable 90-foot towers to be put in place without diminishing KGEZ's signal strength.

However, Leistiko, City Manager Jim Patrick and several City Council members don't want to speculate what tower options they would support until Hatfield & Dawson provides specific recommendations with dollar figures.

Kalispell officials said they don't want to put Stokes out of business, they don't want to condemn any of his property, and they don't want Stokes to pay for any potential modifications.

Kalispell officials hope to get the FAA to pay for at least part of the mitigation measures, with the city or some other source to pay the rest of the bill.

"We don't want to remove the towers because we don't want to put him out of business," Leistiko said.

"The hell they don't," Stokes said.

Council Member Hank Olson said, "We want to approach Stokes with: 'Can we fix the towers at no expense to him?'"

Stokes can turn down any offer the city makes, but Leistiko said a certain type of condemnation procedure could be attempted as a last resort.

Under this concept, the city might try to condemn the portions of the towers that are above 150 feet - if it can get a court order to do so. Then it would build new towers at government expense with the court order telling Stokes to switch to the new towers when they are finished, Leistiko said.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com