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July 29--By the Salina Journal
In a special meeting Wednesday morning, the Salina Airport Authority board approved two government grants -- one federal and one state -- for a pair of projects at Salina Municipal Airport.
The authority accepted a $226,890 Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Grant to pay for 65 percent of the cost to design a new airport aircraft rescue and firefighting station.
The airport authority is responsible for 35 percent, or $122,172, of the $349,062 contract with BWR Corp. The airport authority's share will come from a 2010 bond issue.
Three locations are being considered for the fire station, said Tim Rogers, executive director of the airport authority.
"I think we've got a pretty good start on the location and the footprint of the building," he said.
The authority also accepted a $475,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation, which will fund half of a $950,000 pavement resurfacing project. Three taxiways on the airport are scheduled for repairs this fall.
The airport authority's share of $475,000 will come from a 2010 bond issue.
Because the sole bidder, APAC-Kansas Shears Division, submitted a lower bid of $738,775, the airport authority will expand the project to include more extensive shoulder work on the taxiways than the funding would allow, Rogers said.
The taxiway work is expected to be completed between late August and early September.
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