Council accepts ADOT matches for six FAA grants; airport lease amendment clears ramp maintenance issue

The Prescott City Council on Sept. 23 approved six Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) grant applications to match federal FAA grants for airport projects and approved an amendment to city contract 1988-142 (now 1988-142D) to resolve maintenance and cost-sharing for a set of hangars. “Thank you, Mayor Goode, council, staff. This item… contemplates acceptance of 6, Arizona DOT grants,” Airport Director Rick Kreider said in presenting the item. Staff said the ADOT awards will provide roughly half of the non-federal match required for six FAA grants that together cover projects such as a dual-lane taxiway study, land acquisition (North and South Deepwell Ranch tranches), hangar development, widening Taxiway Delta, and runway electrical upgrades. The staff memo summarized the project portfolio at approximately $7,632,000 total, with an FAA participation of about $7,250,000 and an ADOT share in the low hundreds of thousands. Council approved the ADOT matches 6-0. Kreider said the land-acquisition grants will advance closing and reimbursement for the North Deepwell Ranch parcel (about 75.38 acres) and initiate a federal tranche for South Deepwell Ranch land acquisition. He also reviewed hangar development plans to add four large hangars and noted daily taxiway congestion that the Taxiway Delta widening project aims to mitigate. On a related airport item, council approved an amendment to MH Properties LLC’s lease (contract 1988-142D) to clarify ramp and parking maintenance. Kreider said the lease amendment removes a specific ramp area from the lessee’s responsibility and converts ramp/parking maintenance into a shared cost model: tenants will pay a formula (50¢ per square foot of hangar area for ramp maintenance and 40¢ per square foot for parking) to fund comprehensive maintenance. Kreider said the airport plans a separate rehabilitation project for the ramp, with an estimated cost “a little less than $2,000,000,” and that the lease term continues through Feb. 2039. The council approved the lease amendment 6-0. No members of the public spoke on the airport items during the voting meeting.