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Urbana seeks FAA and state airport grants for beacon and pavement work
Summary
City staff told council they will apply for an FAA Airport Infrastructure Grant to replace the aging rotating beacon and for an ODOT airport grant to repair taxiway/runway pavement; both measures passed council approval to submit applications.
Urbana City Council on April 22 approved two items directing staff to pursue airport infrastructure grants: one to replace a failing rotating beacon and another to repair runway/taxiway pavement.
For the beacon, staff said the city sought to replace an aging rooftop rotating beacon with a ground-mounted LED beacon to improve reliability and maintenance. Staff presented bids opened the morning of the meeting: an engineer's estimate of $165,080; a low bid from Jeff Howard Electric at about $100,006; and a second bid from Bond Industries at about $160,004. City staff said the FAA AIG (Airport Infrastructure Grant) would cover most of the eligible cost and reported the local share as approximately $7,749.40 under one calculation. "The FAA is gonna cover 95% of that, and it will cover the remaining, $7,749.40," a staff member said.
Council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor/administration to submit a final FAA AIG application and to execute any resulting contracts. Staff said if the grant is awarded, the city will remove the old beacon, leave a short mounting stub to avoid penetrating the hangar roof membrane, and install the new beacon on a pole south of the hangar.
Council also approved a state airport grant application to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Office of Aviation for runway and taxiway pavement preservation. Staff proposed applying for a $720,460 project; staff initially described the local share as 5% with ODOT covering the remainder, then corrected the distribution in the meeting: ODOT would cover approximately 94.8% and the local applicant share about 5.2%. "This one has to be submitted again by May 1," a staff member said, and council approved the resolution directing submission.
Both resolutions passed by unanimous vote. Staff emphasized the timing: the FAA/ODOT grant rounds have deadlines this spring and staff said these are last-chance or time-sensitive opportunities to secure federal and state funds. Council did not change the project scopes at the meeting; staff said further authorization would be sought if grants are awarded and contracts require city acceptance.
