September 8, 2020 at 4:49 p.m.
Funding unlikely
Portland Municipal Airport extension project will probably have to wait for another year
Funding unlikely
Barring a last minute change, Portland Municipal Airport will have to wait at least another year for construction to begin on its long-discussed runway extension project.
Portland Mayor John Boggs said that a “perfect storm” of emergency funding requirements under the federal coronavirus stimulus package left the Federal Aviation Administration without any money left in its multi-billion dollar budget to fund the city’s runway project this year.
The delay in funding will potentially delay construction by at least a year and could result in the previously selected $2,398,762 bid from HIS Constructors Inc. to complete phase one of the 1,500-foot runway extension to change or lapse.
The CARES Act directed the FAA to fund 100% of any airport project it was in agreement with this fiscal year. There is no guarantee that 100% funding will be in place in future fiscal years, meaning Indiana and Portland could each have to fund 5% of the project while the FAA pays for 90% of the tab if the project is not funded before the end of the month.
The FAA technically has until the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 to fund the project. However, Jason Clearwaters of Butler, Fairman and Seufert, the airport’s engineering firm, said that isn’t going to happen based on conversations he’s had with FAA representatives.
“We don’t have any anticipation of getting a grant early,” Clearwaters said.
The FAA typically only funds projects near the end of the fiscal year, meaning if no funds are coming this year, the FAA would not likely not award funds until August or September of 2021, he said.
If the airport receives grant funds for the project next year, the earliest both phases of the airport’s runway extension to 5,500 feet could be completed is 2022, Clearwaters said.
“I hate to see it drag on,” Boggs said.
The mayor has contacted the office of Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young and held a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and Clearwaters in early August to discuss the project’s delay.
Banks, Braun and Young, Portland’s three representatives in Congress, each voted for the CARES Act, which provided the FAA a $10 billion stimulus on top of its $17.7 billion budget for the current fiscal year.
A majority of the stimulus funds went to emergency situations and aid for airports, Clearwaters explained, while funding for new, non-essential projects such as Portland’s runway extension were prioritized last in the FAA’s changed direction in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. And as the FAA was funding 100% of projects it was involved with, it ran out of money quicker than previously expected, leaving Portland without a source for its multi-million dollar runway extension, he added.
Without funding, the airport cannot hold HIS Constructors to its bid, Clearwaters said. He has been in contact with the Indianapolis-based contractor about what a bid for the project next year could look like.
The FAA did notify the airport that it will receive $341,623 out of an annual entitlement grant by the end of the month.
That money will be used to pay for the $266,400 mitigation credit the city paid to Indiana Department of Environmental Management in March for the enclosure of 555 feet of Alexander Ditch, Clearwaters said.
That payment was made weeks before the CARES Act passed and was expected to be fully reimbursed by the FAA this year.
When the payment was made, it was expected to nearly cover the city’s 5% financial obligation for the runway extension project under the normal 90-5-5 split.
Grant money will also be used to pay Clearwaters’ firm to design paving and lighting for the airport project, he said.
Indiana airports were awarded more grants by the FAA this fiscal year than any other state in the country, according to its database.
Airports closest to Portland to recieve grants include New Castle Henry County Airport ($192,575), Anderson Municipal Airport ($155,000) and Huntington Municipal Airport ($1,803,463).
Clearwaters said he knows of at least four other airport projects in Indiana that also got delayed or had funding reduced because the FAA ran out of money for projects.
Portland Aviation Board is expected to discuss the ramifications of the project delay and more at its Sept. 16 meeting.
Portland Mayor John Boggs said that a “perfect storm” of emergency funding requirements under the federal coronavirus stimulus package left the Federal Aviation Administration without any money left in its multi-billion dollar budget to fund the city’s runway project this year.
The delay in funding will potentially delay construction by at least a year and could result in the previously selected $2,398,762 bid from HIS Constructors Inc. to complete phase one of the 1,500-foot runway extension to change or lapse.
The CARES Act directed the FAA to fund 100% of any airport project it was in agreement with this fiscal year. There is no guarantee that 100% funding will be in place in future fiscal years, meaning Indiana and Portland could each have to fund 5% of the project while the FAA pays for 90% of the tab if the project is not funded before the end of the month.
The FAA technically has until the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 to fund the project. However, Jason Clearwaters of Butler, Fairman and Seufert, the airport’s engineering firm, said that isn’t going to happen based on conversations he’s had with FAA representatives.
“We don’t have any anticipation of getting a grant early,” Clearwaters said.
The FAA typically only funds projects near the end of the fiscal year, meaning if no funds are coming this year, the FAA would not likely not award funds until August or September of 2021, he said.
If the airport receives grant funds for the project next year, the earliest both phases of the airport’s runway extension to 5,500 feet could be completed is 2022, Clearwaters said.
“I hate to see it drag on,” Boggs said.
The mayor has contacted the office of Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young and held a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and Clearwaters in early August to discuss the project’s delay.
Banks, Braun and Young, Portland’s three representatives in Congress, each voted for the CARES Act, which provided the FAA a $10 billion stimulus on top of its $17.7 billion budget for the current fiscal year.
A majority of the stimulus funds went to emergency situations and aid for airports, Clearwaters explained, while funding for new, non-essential projects such as Portland’s runway extension were prioritized last in the FAA’s changed direction in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. And as the FAA was funding 100% of projects it was involved with, it ran out of money quicker than previously expected, leaving Portland without a source for its multi-million dollar runway extension, he added.
Without funding, the airport cannot hold HIS Constructors to its bid, Clearwaters said. He has been in contact with the Indianapolis-based contractor about what a bid for the project next year could look like.
The FAA did notify the airport that it will receive $341,623 out of an annual entitlement grant by the end of the month.
That money will be used to pay for the $266,400 mitigation credit the city paid to Indiana Department of Environmental Management in March for the enclosure of 555 feet of Alexander Ditch, Clearwaters said.
That payment was made weeks before the CARES Act passed and was expected to be fully reimbursed by the FAA this year.
When the payment was made, it was expected to nearly cover the city’s 5% financial obligation for the runway extension project under the normal 90-5-5 split.
Grant money will also be used to pay Clearwaters’ firm to design paving and lighting for the airport project, he said.
Indiana airports were awarded more grants by the FAA this fiscal year than any other state in the country, according to its database.
Airports closest to Portland to recieve grants include New Castle Henry County Airport ($192,575), Anderson Municipal Airport ($155,000) and Huntington Municipal Airport ($1,803,463).
Clearwaters said he knows of at least four other airport projects in Indiana that also got delayed or had funding reduced because the FAA ran out of money for projects.
Portland Aviation Board is expected to discuss the ramifications of the project delay and more at its Sept. 16 meeting.
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