Public meetings will address next steps in runway expansion project

By REBECCA MCKINSEY
r.mckinsey@carrollspaper.com

Years of planning are coming down to 800 feet.

But before that length can be added to the Jefferson Municipal Airport’s runway, a few more steps need to be taken.

The next will play out at a public meeting, planned for 5:30 p.m. March 3 in the city council room.

The meeting will allow residents and property owners, those living near the airport and elsewhere, to ask questions or offer concerns about the project.

Its next steps include the acquisition of two pieces of land and the relocation of a county road, 243rd Street, near the airport.

The project’s engineer, Dustin Leo from DGR Engineering in Ankeny, will provide a summary of the project, which has been in the works for years, at the March 3 meeting.

The project ultimately will add 800 feet to the airport’s 3,200-foot runway. The expansion will make the runway accessible to business jets.

“We’ve got to do it,” Jefferson Airport Commission Chairman Jim Forbes said in a previous interview. “Otherwise, companies that might want to settle in Greene County, they’re going to fly right over the top of Jefferson.”

In regards to the two parcels of land the airport wants to acquire, the land owners have already been contacted and are aware of the airport’s plans, City Administrator Mike Palmer said.

The land purchases will help meet both upcoming goals: realigning the county road and eventually extending the runway.

After the public meeting, a more formal public hearing will be held at the following city council meeting at 5:30 p.m. March 10. Council members approved both dates during their Tuesday meeting.

The public hearing likely will be followed by a city council resolution to move forward with the land acquisition, Palmer said.

According to the project’s tentative timeline, those involved hope to complete the land acquisition by June or July, he added.

“That’s the main thrust this year, to get the land acquired,” he said.

Although all proposals are tentative, the project’s budget slates $1.2 million for the runway extension — most of which is covered by federal funds — as well as $470,000 for land acquisition and $800,000 for the road relocation, he said.

The airport is city-owned, but operated by the Jefferson Airport Commission, which matches about 90 percent of Federal Aviation Administration grants for projects; the final 10 percent match comes from the airport’s revenues, Palmer said.

The airport commission’s funds are drawn from leased farmland.

As of now, the tentative timeline has the county road realignment taking place in 2016, design work for the runway’s extension drawn up in 2017 and the extension itself being completed in 2018, Palmer said.

“Getting the land and the county road relocated are big, big steps,” he said.