The Kenai City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a pair of ordinances on shortened timelines to accept nearly $2 million in grant funding to the Kenai Municipal Airport from the Federal Aviation Administration for the development of a new master plan and the purchase of new snow removal equipment.
Both ordinances were introduced and adopted during the group’s regular meeting on Aug. 7. That’s because City Manager Terry Eubank said that they were on a tight timeline for approval from the FAA. The federal fiscal year ends in September, he said, so “this is typically the time of year when the FAA is trying to get a bunch of their grants out the door.”
Per memos attached to both ordinances, the city had to accept the grants by Aug. 11.
The first grant, for around $1.2 million, will be used to purchase a wheel loader and a plow/sanding truck.
The federal government’s funds will be matched by $79,000 in local contributions. Most of that total had already been allocated, Eubank said, but the ordinance adds around $11,000 in local funds to hit the total. In addition to covering the local match, Eubank said that the city includes funds for contingency spending.
The ordinance saw no discussion from the council. The attached memo says that new and efficient equipment will support the airports operations and “expedite a safe environment for the aircraft and traveling public.”
The wheel loader will be purchased for around $770,000 from NC Machinery. The plow truck will be purchased for $440,000 from Bob’s Services.
The second grant, for $718,000, is for completion of “Phase I” of a new airport master plan. The memo says that a master plan is a review of existing facilities and traffic that provides a development roadmap for five years and an outlook for 20 years. Phase I of such a plan would include a swath of analyses of public involvement, activity forecasts, socioeconomic and financial evaluations, facility reports and more.
The federal government’s funds will be matched by $55,000 in local contributions. Most of that total had already been allocated, Eubank said, but the ordinance adds around $7,000 in local funds to hit the total. In addition to covering the local match, Eubank said that the city includes funds for contingency spending.
Master plans, Eubank said, are a “key component” for acquiring grants. He said that they need an updated plan to continue securing federal grant funding at the same rate that Kenai has seen in the past.
Airport Manager Derek Ables said that the last master plan was finished in 2017 — the projects in the plan are either in progress are already completed. He, too, said that to get grants, the airport needs a new plan.
A contract will be awarded to HDL Engineering Consultants for that work at $729,000.
Both ordinances were introduced without objection and adopted unanimously.
A full recording of the meeting and the text of both ordinances can be found at kenai.city.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.