FAA grants $ for airport land purchase

Portland’s airport will receive grant money to purchase land for its runway expansion.
Portland Board of Aviation has been awarded a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for land acquisition and approved a pay request to the FAA for 90 percent of the grant money.
The board also approved a request to add concrete in three different areas and heard an update on the FAA approval process of the new airport layout plan.
The board was informed by Jason Clearwaters of Butler, Fairman and Seufert, the airport’s engineering firm, that a new Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant was awarded to Portland Municipal Airport by the FAA on Sept. 12. The grant money will be put toward the $650,000 purchase of 41.24 acres of land, plus $32,103 for legal and engineering fees, that will be used to extend the airport’s runway from 4,000 feet to 5,500 feet.
The FAA will provide $509,585, and the State of Indiana will contribute $22,648.18. The remaining amount of the money will come from the City of Portland, which approved its share of the expenses at Monday’s city council meeting. Portland will provide $110,462.58 from the city’s rainy day fund and $64,056.42 from the city’s cumulative capital development fund.
The board then approved submission of a pay request to the FAA for $458,625. That number would be 90 percent of the grant money, with the last 10 percent being paid out once the deal for the land closes.
The city has been pursuing the runway extension since 1999, finally receiving approval from the FAA in January 2014 after conducting a justification study that found that the extension could nearly double traffic at the airport. The board requested the grant funding in April. Once the deal on the land is closed, construction on the the runway extension is set to begin in 2018.
Board members John Lyons, Dick Baldauf, Mitch Sutton and Jim Runkle also approved three concrete projects in different parts of the airport.
One concrete addition will be a triangle-shaped section next to a service taxiway, to improve the turning radius around the corner, especially for the winter. Airport manager Hal Tevzel explained that overextending the front landing gear of an airplane can damage it. The new 2,295-square-foot addition will cost $9,900.
Another slab will be added to create a patio area outside the new Lutheran Air medical helicopter headquarters. The board discussed drainage issues in front of the area and felt a concrete patio could help funnel water toward a nearby drain. The new 15-foot-by-23-foot patio will cost $2,126.
Concrete will also be placed in the rear of a hangar. A new renter of the hangar has a helicopter that must be towed into the hangar backward. Concrete currently doesn’t extend to the back of the hanger, so the board voted to add $1,400 worth of concrete. Board members discussed that they had done the same in the past in other hangars.
The three concrete projects were contracted to TJ Concrete and Construction of Portland.
Clearwaters also explained that he had received comments from the FAA on the proposed Airport Layout Plan, which was submitted Nov. 15. The FAA returned the plan with 15 comments on the report document, and 51 comments on the plan set. Clearwaters said most of the comments were minor problems like misspellings. They will be addressed, and the plan will be returned to the FAA for final review.
In other business, the board:
•Heard from Clearwaters that the Aviation Association of Indiana will be holding its annual conference Oct. 11 through Oct. 13 in Michigan City.
•Discussed success of a fly-in held Aug. 27 during Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association Show. Two biplanes gave 225 plane rides, and an additional plane gave out 60 rides before being grounded because of bad weather. Tavzel thought about 475 people were served at the breakfast organized by the Westchester United Methodist Church.
•Heard a fuel update from Tavzel. In August, the airport sold 6,972 gallons of fuel in 188 fueling operations for a total revenue of $23,455. To date this month, the airport has sold 4,067 gallons of fuel in 109 fueling operations for a total revenue of $14,172.71.
•Approved payment of $9,496.27 in claims.