Airport decision expected May 21
Kalispell City Council members didn’t share their opinions about a proposed upgrade to the city’s airport Monday, but they did ask lots of questions about it.
The nearly three-hour work session included Jeff Walla of Stelling Engineers and Gary Gates, program assistant with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airports District Office in Helena.
Finished with its master plan update and recommended Kalispell City Airport layout plan, Stelling proposes an upgrade of Kalispell’s 83-year-old general aviation airport to meet B-II design standards.
That’s almost identical to the recommendation from a 1999 master plan and is up to the council to accept or reject.
That outcome should be known soon.
At a regular meeting next Monday, the council will vote on a resolution to set a formal public hearing for May 7. A final decision is expected to follow May 21.
Gates said the FAA supports the estimated $16 million upgrade, adding that it would be a priority among Montana airports.
Because of its size and funding constraints, the upgrade would likely take six to seven years to complete.
“There’s a lot of work ahead to reach the standards we have set for this airport. It’s going to be a challenge, to be sure, but this plan would meet our standards,” Gates said.
UPGRADING THE airport to B-II standards would make it eligible for $13.5 million from the Airport Improvement Program — 90 percent of the project’s cost.
Run by the FAA, the program raises money to fund airport improvements from fees and taxes on passenger tickets, aviation fuel and aircraft parts.
The latest reauthorization bill Congress passed cut the federal share for such projects from 95 to 90 percent, Gates said.
Kalispell also could be reimbursed for $3 million already spent on land and airport improvements toward a B-II upgrade that never materialized.
And because it’s listed on the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, Kalispell City Airport is eligible for $150,000 a year to maintain the upgraded facility, also from the Airport Improvement Program.
That maintenance money has been allocated for Kalispell each of the last four years even though it could not be spent because the airport does not meet B-II design standards.
Gates said that funding likely will be taken back and used at other airports if Kalispell does not go ahead with the proposed upgrade.
“So we fish or cut bait. That’s good to know,” Mayor Tammi Fisher said.
If the council adopts the recommended airport layout plan and moves ahead with a B-II upgrade, the next step is doing an environmental assessment.
Having paid for most of the $97,000 master plan update, the Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to pay for 90 percent of that assessment.
“Our next step is to reach a conclusion on whether the city wants to accept the recommended [airport layout plan] and complete an environmental assessment. We’re very interested in that decision,” Gates said.
Assuming the assessment comes back with a finding of no significant impact, as happened in 2002 and 2003, Kalispell would have to negotiate to mitigate two KGEZ radio towers that extend into what should be protected airspace and negotiate to acquire or get under contract 114 acres of land needed for the upgrade.
Those two steps must be done before any federal money is awarded.
COUNCIL MEMBERS posed several dozen questions to Walla and Gates.
They asked about various aspects of the proposed upgrade, what kind of aircraft could use it, the land acquisition and radio tower mitigation process and the grant assurances Kalispell must meet if it accepts federal funds.
An audio recording of the work session is available online at www.Kalispell.com. It can be found under the “mayor and city council” and “meetings on demand” headings.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.