Planes on the apron at Salida Airport Harriet Alexander Field at sunset. Photo by Zech Papp.
The Salida Airport Harriet Alexander Field Advisory Committee heard updates on several projects in process this week, including the pending sale of some hangars on the airport property.
In one instance, the current occupants of one hangar will remain, but the land lease approval for the new owner will first have to be approved by both the Salida City Council and Chaffee County Board. One other smaller hangar will apparently also be up for sale soon. The board approved forwarding the land lease proposals to the city and county, which jointly operate the airport.
Airport Manager, Zech Papp reviewed the previously announced Airport Improvement Project grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for board members. The more than $600,000 grant will be used for runway refurbishing, including asphalt repair and sealing. He would like the project to be completed, if possible, before the Salida Airport Airshow in July.
Papp also addressed the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) funding which will be used to repair or replace a piece of failed equipment, called a ceilometer. That equipment tells pilots the height of the cloud ceiling on approach to the airport. The parts replacement will cost around $4,000. It is expected that the Colorado Department of Transportation should reimburse the airport for that expense.
Board members learned that a height variance for the new beacon tower was approved, and that engineering work, including testing soil samples for the tower base, should begin next month. This will be followed by bidding for the project, which will raise the tower height to 57 feet. Broadband dishes on the tower will have to be below the beacon, and Papp said fees (income) from one company already with a dish on the tower, and another which has expressed interest in doing so, will be negotiated.
Papp reported the airport master plan, under development since 2016, should be completed and signed within the next two months, after specifics on property borders are defined for the FAA.
The board also discussed the Airport Overlay Plan, which defines an airport area envelope that FAA regulators want kept free of any residential development. Papp said that future industrial park style development, however, would be feasible and beneficial to the airport and the community’s economic development.
The meeting adjourned and members went into executive session discussing possible performers for the community airshow, set for July 11.
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