Sawyer County airport work stalled while state finalizes ALP contracting; preconstruction meeting set

A Sawyer County resident asked the Public Works Committee for an update on engineering funding tied to the Hayward airport master plan, and the county’s airport manager said the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) remains under contract negotiation at the state level even though funding for the ALP has been approved.

Ron Olmer, a Hayward resident, told the committee he remembered a consultant saying at an earlier meeting that it would request state funding to engineer a phase of the master plan that could close Airport Road and add hangars on property at the corner of Airport Road and Hospital Road. "If they haven't requested it, my question is mute. If they've requested it, we'd like to know what the status of that request is," Olmer said during public comment.

Mr. Leslie, the county airport manager, responded that the ALP contracting remained incomplete. "I believe that the funding has already all been approved for the ALP, but the state has to get the contracting... they have to get the contracts written and signed and executed," he said, noting the ALP is a required document that records existing and potential airport improvements and ties to federal funding eligibility.

Leslie said the county has scheduled a preconstruction meeting for a runway project on April 2 at the terminal building with a Teams dial‑in for stakeholders. He described the meeting as intended for airport users and contractors to review expected closures and impacts to the grass runway. He cautioned that the meeting is primarily for project stakeholders and is not being held as a public meeting.

On equipment, Leslie said three bids arrived for a package of snow‑removal equipment (plow, broom and blower) and that there is an apparent low bidder, but the county has been advised by the state not to discuss award details yet. He estimated the full equipment suite to be in the "half a million dollar range, give or take," and said the county's share of the match on a portion of the funding would likely be about $12,000 because that portion requires a 2.5 percent local match. Delivery, if awarded, would be within a year under the bid specifications he described.

Leslie also named Becker Hoppe as the consultant expected to update the ALP but said Becker Hoppe has not yet been awarded an ALP contract by the state Bureau of Aeronautics. He said the county’s new Bureau of Aeronautics representative, Colin Davidson, has been involved in getting bid packages and contracts in place.

During discussion committee members and staff said state staffing turnover and delayed contracting have slowed progress on the ALP and related engineering requests.

The committee did not take formal action on the ALP status or the equipment bids at this meeting.