On Monday, Delaware City Council approved a resolution to submit a grant application to the Ohio Department of Transportation for taxiway work at the municipal airport.
The resolution was approved the previous week by the city’s airport commission.
The city is requesting $394,468 from ODOT’s Division of Aviation under the fiscal 2017 Ohio Airport Grant Program, representing 95 percent of the total for construction. The city’s 5 percent amount is $20,761.50, which is in the city’s 2016-2020 Capital Improvement Program.
“The 95/5 should make it easier for the smaller airports to get their share,” said commission chairwoman Janie McIntire.
The project “includes the reconstruction of the taxiway connector (Taxiway C) linking the terminal apron to Taxiway A and Runway 10/28 at Delaware Municipal Airport,” states a council fact sheet. “This project is Phase 2 of the Taxiway A Rehabilitation. Phase 1 is being constructed now utilizing an Federal Aviation Administration fiscal year 2015 grant, Phase 2 is the reconstruction of the taxiway connector from the terminal apron to Runway 10/28 (this request), and Phase 3 will be a mill/fill overlay of the final 2,900 feet of Taxiway A.”
The application is due to ODOT on May 1.
The commission will submit a fiscal 2018 ODOT grant for Phase 3 of the project.
“I know these are large projects, a very costly project to go after, an ODOT grant,” said Joe Bullis, city public works superintendent. “I’m still of the mindset if you don’t ask, they can’t tell you no. If you still get a portion of it, it’s better than nothing.”
Bullis said he is pleased with the job Kwest Group construction is doing on Phase 1 of the project.
Also at the airport commission meeting:
Operations supervisor Kevin Piatt said the used runway sweeper acquired this past winter by the airport from Ashtabula “worked very well. … It’s much better than plowing and sanding the runway.”
Commission member Walt Gaub said he inspected the T-hangars, and thought they were fine structurally, although there was some rust and insulation issues.
There was a discussion on drones. Piatt said they are required to have an FAA license, the airport needs to be notified if a drone is within five miles, and the drone’s maximum altitude has to be 400 feet high. “You can’t tell them you can’t be in our airspace,” Piatt said. However, “you do have control over them using your facility to launch it.”
