SCRAA Chair Talks 28E Agreement Issues
An aerial view of the land that might be impacted by a new regional airport. (file photo)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The question if Mahaska County is still part of the airport project has a different view from the SCRAA.
Jim Hansen is the chair for the South Central Regional Airport Association (SCRAA) and says that the board doesn’t have an official position because it’s not been addressed in a meeting.
“From my perspective, the terms of the agreement are fairly clear. It requires permission from the other two parties, (Pella and Oskaloosa), to withdraw from the agreement. So without that, I don’t think they have any basis for doing that,” says Hansen.
With Mahaska County’s vote, their representative to the board was then terminated by Mahaska County Supervisor Mark Doland. In comments made during the board of supervisors meeting, Doland said, “I terminated our role on the board. So I called Mr. Warrick and told him we are no longer a part of the board.”
We asked Hansen how the board will function after losing a member, or does he consider the position still filled. “I’d like to think it was still filled, although I don’t know what Mr. Warrick (Mahaska County Representative) will continue to do. It creates a void on our board because we’ve got a six person board.”
“That county representative is supposed to be the secretary of the board,” added Hansen. “So it’s an officer position. So that creates a bit of a problem logistically on how to handle that.”
“We’re going to continue moving forward with the project,” added Hansen.
The SCRAA posted notice this past week for a new engineering consultant for the next phase of the project. “We’re also in the process of choosing legal counsel for the next phase of the project,” says Hansen.
The engineering firm selected will help to design and build the airport and the legal will help with the acquisition of land.
Hansen said that in the initial stages of the airport, there were some informational meetings with a few of the landowners, “but at some point along the way, their attorney told us not to talk to them, so we haven’t talked to them.”
“We can’t proceed with acquisition until the FAA gives us the go ahead to do so,” says Hansen. “They are currently waiting on a funding for us for the acquisition. So once we have a consultant in place, we’ll put together that plan.”
The cities of Pella and Oskaloosa will be presenting to the FAA how they intend, along with a timeline, to pay for their respective portions of the airport.
Mahaska County had no financial liability for the airport project, where the FAA will pay for 90% of the project, and the two cities pay the remaining 10%. Mahaska County also had no financial liability for the ongoing operation of the airport after it was built.
Mahaska County’s steps to remove themselves from the 28E agreement has now put Mahaska County’s taxpayers on the hook. Besides the initial $50,000.00 the supervisors carved out of this year’s budget to pay for an attorney in regards to the airport, they may be facing liquidated damages claims from the two cities.
Hansen says that the SCRAA has spent approximately half-a-million dollars on the project, with portions coming from Pella, Oskaloosa, and the FAA.
The taxpayers of Mahaska County could then be facing skyrocketing legal fees and the consequence of $250,000.00 liquidated damages, as outlined in the 28E agreement.
If the two entities were to claim that each vote taken by the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors in regards to the 28E agreement constituted a liquidated damage claim, the taxpayers would be facing $750,000.00 in fines, plus the legal fees for ongoing litigation.
“We’re moving forward as we can, but this will need to be resolved fairly quickly in order to keep the project moving forward,” says Hansen.
Residents in Sioux County, Iowa are nearing the end of a similar project that will have a new airport replacing two older airports. When completed and opened in 2018, the airports at Sioux Center and Orange City will be closed.
The two cities and the county have been a part of the new regional airport in Sioux County, where Hansen says that the county has been “very cooperative in the process. They seem to understand the benefits associated with it.”
Hansen says that eminent domain wasn’t needed to acquire the land for that airport.
That’s the plan for the South Central Regional Airport when it opens. The airports in Pella and Oskaloosa will then be closed. The funds raised from those closures will then help to pay each city’s portion of the new airport.
Discussions about a new airport started with Pella and their need for a new airport due to safety concerns. The airport is running on a temporary permit to allow Class C aircraft operations.
After some initial planning that may have placed the airport near Otley. Those initial plans date back to 2001 when it was known as the Red Rock Airport.
Oskaloosa and Mahaska County then became involved in 2011 that lead to the 28E agreement in 2012 for the current SCRAA.
Hansen believes that the cost sharing benefit for the taxpayers of the two cities was an initial driving factor in the decision for the three entities to partner up for the new airport.
For the FAA, closing two airports that don’t serve current needs or future needs would also save them money.
The regional airport at Ottumwa is expanding their airport and has been opposed to the new regional airport between Pella and Oskaloosa.
Tom Lazio, Mayor of Ottumwa, spoke in opposition to the new regional airport during a recent public hearing held at George Daily Auditorium in November of 2016.
Ottumwa outlined in their letter the complex that has been established near their airport is a basis for continued economic growth for their community.
Similar growth is experienced near many regional airports, including those in Ankeny, Grinnell, and Newton, whose airport helped attract the builders for Iowa Speedway.
The environmental assessment prepared by the FAA states, “The development of a new airport, located between Pella and Oskaloosa, represents a component of the transportation infrastructure that will contribute to the development of a regional population and employment center.”
In the combined laborshed survey of 2013, 24.8% of individuals employed worked in manufacturing, while an additional 16.8% worked in education, and 12.6% worked in health care, while agriculture and forestry made up 3.3% of the work force.
If the proposed site for the regional airport, known as Site A is abandoned, the SCRAA has held onto Site B as a possibility.
Site B is located in Black Oak Township (T76N, R16W) and extends over all or parts of Sections 26, 35 and 36. Based on the initial concept plan, the City of Leighton is located less than three-quarters of a mile from the crosswind runway.
Several landowners along the 163 corridor between Oskaloosa and Pella have spoken out against the airport, both in written comment and in meetings during the call to the public.
Keith Groenendyk wrote a comment for the meeting in November stating, “The shadiness of everything that has gone down even after the people told you we don’t want it.”
Groenendyk went on to say, “Do the right thing. Your taking away jobs from farmers and America needs farmers. How can you take jobs away from hard working people and their houses too.”
Hansen said in closing that he’s tried to make himself available to discuss issues and to help people understand “What we’re doing and what we’re not doing with this project.” Hanson doesn’t believe that the supervisors have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the project with him. “That’s unfortunate.”
“I would reiterate, I’m more than willing to sit down and chat, just like I am today with you [Oskaloosa News] about the project, about the 28E agreement, timelines, anything like that,” added Hansen.
Oskaloosa News has reached out to speak with landowners who would be impacted by the new regional airport. We hope to share their thoughts on the matter soon.
