Caledonia Argus

Area cities support airport Funding issues remain unresolved

Posted: 11/18/03

By Shannon McKinney
Argus News Reporter

People who attended the airport meeting on November 14 believe the Houston County Airport is a valuable resource to the community.

The big question now is how to pay for its needed improvements.

Representatives of the Cities of Spring Grove, Eitzen, Caledonia, and area flyers attended the meeting and lent their support for keeping the airport. Other cities of the county were invited to attend the meeting but did not.

Houston County is meeting with the cities as a way to determine their interest in the airport and what kind of support they would like to provide in keeping it. The county is also seeking their involvement in setting up an airport commission.

As a way of generating discussion, several months ago Houston County offered to sell the airport to the cities of Spring Grove and Caledonia for $1. Spring Grove expressed an interest in it, while Caledonia did not.

Spring Grove Mayor Pearl S. Holland said they responded positively to purchasing the airport from Houston County with the stipulation that they be able to check out the financial books and not be liable for any past debt. Holland said, ìItís good for the industry.î

Caledonia City Council Member John Klug, said he was not interested in buying the airport because he believes it is a benefit to the entire county and so it should be county owned. However, Klug is open to the idea of financially supporting a portion of the cost of an Airport Layout Plan (ALP), which the Minnesota Department of Aeronautics (MDA), said is necessary for planning the improvements. The airportís runway has been deemed structurally failed by the MDA.

An ALP can cost up to $70,000. It had been suggested as a cost saving measure that Houston County Highway Engineer Allen Henke create the ALP, but it has since been learned that Henke does not possess the aeronautics background to produce such a plan.

Houston County Commissioner Ann Thompson said the state would pay 70 percent of the ALP, which would leave 30 percent for the county to fund. It is this 30 percent that Klug said he would be open to partially funding.

Eitzen Mayor Ron Meyer, who attended the meeting, supports the airport because it is important to attracting businesses to this area. ìI hate like heck to see it leave. Itís good for the community and the EDA (Economic Development Authority),î said Meyer.

He said at this point he wonít commit to anything financially until talking to Eitzen city council members.

La Crescent Mayor Mike Poellinger told The Argus that they could not attend last weekís meeting due to their city council meeting the same night. However, he fully supports keeping the Houston County Airport. ìAs time goes by it (the airport) could be the condition of some future business coming into our county,î he said.

He believes that cities in the county should be unified in supporting the airport. ìI think weíre all in it together, whether weíre tied to it or not,î he said.

During the meeting, Thompson said a representative from the MDA provided the county with information about grants that are available to the county. For example, repaving the runway could cost between $350,000 and $500,000. The federal government would pay for 90 percent of the costs with the county paying 10 percent.

One goals for the next meeting include defining the scope of the airport layout plan. ìWe would be more interested in a more limited study. We know how much land we have and thereís not a lot of places to go,î Thompson said.

It has been suggested by the state that the runway is too close to the hangars and that the two need to be moved farther apart. Additionally, the runway could be lengthened by 1,500 feet to 5,000 feet.

The county is also interested in setting up an airport commission. Currently there is an airport advisory committee that involves the highway department, some commissioners, and flyers who use the airport.

Thompson said they would like to define who should be on the commission, and its responsibilities.

The next airport meeting scheduled for Monday, November 17, will be reported in next weekís Argus.

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