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Council tables airport manager agreement, asks for committee report and grant details
Summary
Goldendale council unanimously tabled consideration of a proposed six-month trial airport manager agreement and asked the Airport Committee to return with the committee agreement, grant funding details, and recommended ordinance language for airport fees.
The Goldendale City Council voted unanimously on May 5 to table consideration of a proposed six-month trial airport manager agreement and to ask the Airport Committee to provide a fuller report and the committee agreement at the next meeting.
Rick Lundeen, who has been assisting at the Goldendale Airport, attended the council meeting and described ongoing projects: a recently completed fuel farm (funded in part by a roughly $500,000 grant), two additional grants worth about $360,000 each for runway work, and a plan that includes runway widening and purchase of land between taxiways plus approximately seven additional acres to the north. Lundeen also described operational work—weekly fuel checks and equipment maintenance—and flagged aging runway lighting components (PAPI units) whose manufacturer is no longer in business.
City staff and council discussed whether the airport manager role should be filled through a posted job description and application process or handled via the proposed agreement for a specific person. Some councilmembers asked for more visible Airport Committee involvement and regular reports to council. The budget committee had recommended the drafted airport manager agreement, citing fiscal impacts in the meeting packet, but several council members asked for the Airport Committee to present its agreement and to provide a report on grants, project timelines, and proposed ordinance language to allow the city to charge fees for hangar leases, tie-downs, and other airport services.
Council also discussed airport funding. Staff said the airport receives some revenue from fuel sales but is otherwise supported from the general fund; grant revenue pays for major capital items. Councilmembers noted the city does not yet have an airport ordinance covering fees and that drafting such an ordinance would require work by the ordinance committee and the city attorney. The council asked the Airport Committee to return at the next council meeting with its committee agreement, a summary of grants and funding sources, and a recommendation regarding the airport manager agreement. The motion to table and request the committee report passed unanimously.
