The Soldotna City Council appropriated $488,574 in the Airport Improvements Capital Project Fund for additional expenditures on the 2019 Runway Rehabilitation Project. A previous ordinance appropriated $7 million to rehabilitate the Soldotna Municipal Airport runway, funded by an FAA grant, but additional storm drain work is required in order to complete the project.
“This ordinance would appropriate contingency funds from an airport grant that are necessary for the completion of the Runway Rehabilitation Project,” according to Soldotna Public Works Director, Kyle Kornelis. “We received airport improvement program grant. It’s 100% federal share. No local match required. There’s a 15% contingency allowable overage above the grant amount. We appropriated the amount sufficient for the construction contract. This would simply appropriate some of that available contingency fund and allow us to wrap up the construction this season and close out the grant.”
The reasoning for the work is to fix a runway drainage issue. Construction crews regraded and flattened the runway as there was a vertical curve that created a sight distance issue, but in so doing, standing water started forming at the end of the runway because the drainage patterns changed.
“This is 100% reimbursable, no local match required,” Kornelis added. “The construction efforts have been authorized by FAA already. This is a City of Soldotna housekeeping appropriation, not required by the FAA.”
The work will be completed as soon as possible depending on lead-time and the fall weather.