Airports planning revisions to include public input
From our weekly issue dated May 14, 2008
June 1 is the deadline for approval of grant funding for the process of updating the master plans for Josephine County airports.
If the money is made available, a citizen advisory panel will be established, and the process of revising the 20-year outlook for the county’s two airports will begin.
Airports Manager Alex Grossi said that the Grants Pass Airport in Merlin has outgrown its existing plan, and that questions about the future use of Illinois Valley Airport mean revisiting items previously included in its plan.
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The master plans, which function as Federal Aviation Administration-sanctioned guidelines for the direction of airport growth, are not akin to construction plans, Grossi admitted.
“Airport Layout Plans (ALPs) are nothing more than roadmaps; just because it’s written here doesn’t mean that’s going to happen,” Grossi said. “An ALP is just a direction the FAA feels comfortable saying, ‘If it gets to that point, this is how it could happen.”
The updating process, governed by federal law, requires public notice and hearings, Grossi said, and will not occur quickly.
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He added, “In going over the scope of work for the process, the engineers had slated for three public meetings, but we felt that it required at least four public meetings with at least a couple of open houses.
“There will be a selection process to get people from various interest groups all together in the planning process for alternatives for the airports,” he said.
That group will review all the information and work through the alternatives to determine the best fit for the next 20 years for the airports.
While conscious that various constituencies have designs on the airport facilities, Grossi is focused on trying to generate revenue. At Illinois Valley Airport, that means hangar leases and rent from existing buildings.
“That airport is not self-sufficient enough to be able to support (all proposed projects),” he said. Funding, Grossi said, comes from the users of the airport. And aside from some economic development dollars, no funding comes from the county
“But if economic development money went away, we don’t even have enough money for matching funds or daily maintenance,” he said.
Funds slated for the I.V. Airport in the county’s fiscal year 2008-09 budget include $84,000 to revise the master plan and some $436,000 for security fencing. Approximately $494,000 in federal grant monies is anticipated.
