Council, Ottumwa Airport staff discuss changes to runway

Nov. 08--OTTUMWA -- Discussion hovered between a 7,600- and an 8,400-foot airport runway Monday night.

"The key thing Rob [Garber] is getting at is that we really need to do as much as we can to become that regional airport," said Mayor Dale Uehling.

Garber, project manager for Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, and Tom Francis, Ottumwa Regional Airport Maintenance Supervisor, presented the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) plan to the Ottumwa City Council, showing projects slated to be completed year-by-year up to 2017.

The airport's current 5,885-foot runway needs to be extended to either 7,600 or 8,400 feet, Francis said.

"We're trying to show that for larger aircraft, we need a longer runway," Francis said. "We're trying to prove to the FAA that we need a regional airport here. We're trying to come up with a length that is feasible but still takes care of the aircraft."

And with each runway comes a 1,000-foot safety area. The problem with the 8,400-foot runway, Francis and Garber said, is that it extends into a terrain of land that would put the safety area into a 40-foot gulley.

"It would take a lot of fill to fill that," Francis said. "We're talking 500,000 cubic yards of fill if we go with the 8,400-foot runway."

After talking with Musco Lighting and the company's needs for different weather conditions, airport staff determined a 7,600-foot runway with an additional 1,000-foot safety area would suffice.

Cargill Meat Solutions and John Deere Ottumwa Works both use G5 regional jets, which need 7,200 feet of runway to land safely.

The council also took into consideration how much either runway would cost. While the FAA would fund 95 percent of the cost, the 5 percent that has to be funded locally could still be a considerable chunk of change. Five percent of a $2 million project would still cost the city $100,000.

Councilman Keith Caviness suggested that until more finalized information is available, the airport staff should shoot for the 7,600-foot runway.

Francis also discussed the airport's Wildlife Hazard Assessment recommendations with the council.

He said the most important recommendation is a deer fence. In order to qualify for the deer fence from the FAA, this study had to be completed. If the airport qualifies, the project will begin next summer.

Councilman Brian Morgan reminded the council that airport staff is already satisfying a majority of the report's recommendations.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the ordinance providing the financing mechanism for expenditures and indebtedness to finance urban renewal project activities as part of the Hospital District/Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor Urban Renewal Plan.

"The key thing with this is that it's all relevant to the council in considering and approving the second phase on Pennsylvania Avenue improvements," said Finance Director Bob Jay. "If you want to use any of the TIF [tax increment financing] fund or just a portion, you can also use CIP [Capital Improvements Program] or LOST [Local Option Sales Tax]. When looking at individual projects, it's not a definite requirement to use all of TIF. You can use 50 percent, part sales tax, part CIP."

Construction on Pennsylvania Avenue will be shut down for the winter and will start up again in the spring, according to the Department of Engineering.

Also approved at the council work session:

--Language revisions to a collective bargaining agreement between the city and Teamsters Local Union #238, which represents Public Works and Parks Departments, airport and Ottumwa Cemetery employees. City Administrator Joe Helfenberger said this revision helps establish a precedent for future contract negotiations.

--A contract between the cities of Eldon and Ottumwa for substandard housing inspection services on an as-needed basis.

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