Airport commercial plan tabled

It’s still up in the air as to whether or not the county will support the airport moving forward on a commercial terminal study.

After a lengthy discussion at the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, the Commissioners decided to table making a decision on whether or not to spend $711,111 for a study for the commercial terminal modernization program at the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport.

At first, the resolution to fund the project looked like it might die due to a lack of a motion.

After no motions were made, Chairman Reid West asked the commissioners if there was a motion to table.

The motion was tabled with a 3-2 vote, commissioners Wally Johnson and John Kolb voted against tabling the motion.

In March, Congress voted to provide supplemental appropriations of $1 billion in additional federal discretionary funding for airport infrastructure improvements, Airport Manager Devon Brubaker said in a previous meeting.

Supplemental appropriations for the Federal Aviation Agency Airport Improvement Program are very rare.

The funding being offered would be at the same match level other FAA AIP funding levels for eligible expenses are at, including 93.75 percent federal, 3. 75 percent state and 2.5 percent local. 

During the conversation, Commissioner Wally Johnson asked why the county would spend $711,111 on a project that may not get funded. He also wanted to know how the airport would be successful when there are six other airports in Wyoming that could also apply for the funding. He didn’t want the county to spend money on a plan that might just sit on a shelf getting dusty.

“To me, it looks like it’s a gamble relative to how we are going to stand up to the other airports,” Johnson said.

Brubaker said he wanted to do all he could to try and improve the airports chances of scoring higher on the list of possible airports receiving the funding and having a design plan in progress would do just that.

Brubaker explained that Congress is looking at bills to provide up to $5 billion for small airport improvements for up to the next five years and if that’s the case he will keep pursuing it.

He said he has spoke with the engineers of the project and they have agreed to go as slow or as fast with the design based on whether or not the airport is going to get the funding.

As for the plan sitting on the shelf obtaining dust, “I assure you that will not happen,” Brubaker said.

Currently, there are 40 airports in Wyoming and 34 are eligible for the federal funding. Brubaker said a lot of them catch afford the match or aren’t ready to move forward, which would put this airport ahead of them.

Commissioner John Kolb said he was supportive of the project, but he wasn’t ready to fund a project that may not get done.

Brubaker said the project has already been planned for and it will move forward. It’s just a matter of whether or not the county wants to try and obtain more funding or not. The county must decide if it wants to spend 40 percent of the project, which would be roughly $6.5 million or go for the funding and spend around $1 million.

“The project is going to happen,” Brubaker said.

Commissioner Don Van Matre said he has always been supportive of the airport, but he’s not sure about this. Brubaker said he would still apply for the funding with or without the design plan, but he knows without the design plan, the airport will probably not get the funding.

The issue was then opened up for public comments, but no comments were made. The Commissioners then tabled the issue.

 

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