Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Tuesday, March 21, 2023 @ 1:32 p.m.
Altman Taps Brakes on $77,000 Contribution for Del Norte Airport Runway Project, Asks Colleagues To Wait Until Budget Workshop in May
Runway 18-36 at the Del Norte County Regional Airport is showing alligator cracking and other signs of wear. | Photo courtesy of the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority
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Airport Director Ryan Cooley’s ask for Crescent City to kick in $77,000 to help rehabilitate one of the runways at the Del Norte County Regional Airport hit some turbulence Monday.
Councilors weren’t opposed to the contribution. But one, Ray Altman, urged his colleagues to wait until a budget workshop in May before committing those dollars. He said he wanted to get an overall picture of the city’s finances first.
“I’m just thankful you’re not amending this budget again,” Altman told his colleagues. “I just gotta say, I haven’t seen a whole lot of money left over for stuff. I’d like to see what’s left over, if anything.”
Noting that the discussion was veering off the agenda, City Attorney Martha Rice advised the council to wait until their next meeting in April to revisit the issue.
The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority is in the design phase of a near-complete restoration of Runway 18-36. This also includes replacing the lighting system with LED lights. The project will cost an estimated $8 million to $9.2 million, Cooley said.
About 95 percent of the project will be paid through Federal Aviation Administration grant dollars and entitlement funds as well as passenger facility charges. The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority will have to pay $400,000 to $460,000 — a 5 to 15 percent match.
The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority is a joint powers authority that includes Del Norte County, Curry County, Crescent City, Brookings, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and Elk Valley Rancheria.
Of the authority’s member agencies, Del Norte County has agreed to provide funding for the runway project, Cooley told councilors on Monday. The county has also agreed to “assist in any way necessary” depending on how the JPA’s other members contribute, he said.
Del Norte County is also the only member agency that contributes financially to the airport authority every year, Cooley said.
“There are other members who are waiting to see what the other members are going to do,” he said. “But if we wait for everybody to wait for everybody else, we might not get anywhere.”
Cooley said he still has to meet with the Curry County Board of Commissioners and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s tribal council.
The City Council was in almost unanimous agreement that granting Cooley’s request for $77,000 was necessary. Councilor Kelly Schellong, who represents the city on the airport authority board, pointed out that the airport’s other runway, Runway 12-30, is scheduled for rehabilitation in 2027.
She asked her colleagues to consider setting aside a small amount of funding each year to save up for that project instead of contributing the money in one lump sum.
Cooley said if the council needs to split up that $77,000 over two budget cycles, the airport authority can work with it. BCRA staff needs to know if it can depend on those dollars so they can include it in their own 2023-24 budget, he said.
Crescent City Mayor Tem Blake Inscore also urged his colleagues not to wait until the city’s budget workshop on May 9 to discuss whether the city should contribute $77,000. He pointed out that while Crescent City is a JPA member it hasn’t contributed any financial support to the airport for years.
“When we’re talking about millions and millions of dollars in our budget, we always find the things that we want,” he said. “If the Council doesn’t believe we can find $77,000 to support our local airport — as important as it is to our local economy — if there’s no willingness to see we can make everything else to work for a $77,000 ask, either we don’t collectively understand where we are financially. I’ve just done this long enough to know that this is not a huge ask.”
City Manager Eric Wier acknowledged Inscore’s statement about the city budget dealing with millions of dollars, but the city also has a lot of priorities. Cash flow is also a concern, he said.
Ernest Perry, Del Norte County’s former planning director, told councilors that they don’t have to ante up the money by July 1, but need to make a commitment to the airport to help meet that 5 percent match. Financial support from the FAA is rare and isn’t something the community should jeopardize, Perry said.
“To state the obvious, if you don’t have runways you don’t have an airport,” he said. “The jet that comes in here is really nice compared to how we used to fly in and out. If those runways aren’t improved, the jets can’t land anymore.”
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