Kittitas County staff report FBO move, binding-site-plan work and renewed questions about crosswind runway 725

Kittitas County airport staff reported the county moved into a newly constructed fixed-base operator (FBO) building this year and has shifted equipment to the airfield side to improve maintenance access.

That move, staff said, has allowed quicker access to the runway for tasks such as snow plowing and mowing and has freed a larger space for aircraft- and airfield-related storage and operations. "We were able to move into the FBO building...we have nice a nice big space out there for that," an airport staff member said.

The airport presentation described ongoing work to update the airport binding site plan so larger lots will be available for developers who pursue leases. "If you recall, the binding site plan is how we separate the lots out of it at the airport...we're working with them through the avenues to update the binding site plan, so that those lot sizes are available," the staff member said. Staff also said marketing the Bowers Business Park area and encouraging industrial development are priorities for the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) and county staff.

A separate, more consequential issue discussed was the crosswind runway identified as runway 725. County staff said they had a pending Federal Aviation Administration approval to remove runway 725 from the airport layout plan (ALP), but that approval was later rescinded. "We had received a pending approval from the FAA to remove that from our airport layout plan, and then that was rescinded at the end of this year," the staff member said. The change affects the county's planned parallel taxiway design, federal funding opportunities, and coordination with the county's engineering firm, JUB Engineers.

Staff said they continue to work with FAA partners on funding and with JUB Engineers on design. The presentation also explained that FAA guidance indicated the FAA would prioritize the primary runway for funding and that removal of the crosswind runway requires a formal ALP process. "Their conversations with me have been you gotta go through a full airport layout plan to remove that," the staff member said. The staff member added the FAA told the county that improvements to the primary runway are the FAA's priority and that the crosswind runway would be an entirely county-funded expense.

County staff described coordination between the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) and a Technical Advisory Group (TEG) created for a feasibility study. Members of the AAC, representatives from Central Washington University (CWU), business community members and county staff participated on the TEG; staff said draft feasibility documents were circulated to both groups and updates were provided at monthly AAC meetings.

Commissioners heard that some ports in other jurisdictions had removed crosswind runways and converted that footprint to developable land; the county's feasibility work is considering similar options such as using higher, drier ground near the runway for economic development if removal proves feasible. Staff emphasized the public dialogue required during any formal ALP update if runway removal is pursued.

Ending: County staff said they will continue ALP discussions with FAA, pursue marketing and lot-sizing updates through the binding site plan, and coordinate design work for the parallel taxiway with JUB Engineers. No formal vote on any airport action was recorded in the transcript.