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City Commission approves Liberal Airshow 2025; staff to finalize emergency plan and fencing
Summary
The Liberal City Commission voted 5-0 to permit the Liberal Airshow on Oct. 4, 2025, with city departments continuing to finalize an emergency response plan and estimates for permanent and temporary fencing and overtime costs.
The Liberal City Commission voted 5-0 on Feb. 11, 2025, to approve hosting the Liberal Airshow on Oct. 4, 2025, and directed staff to finalize related safety and cost items.
The event organizers and city staff told commissioners they have a draft emergency response plan to submit to the Federal Aviation Administration and the local emergency planning committee, and said they would return with final fencing quotes and a proposed funding source for overtime and installation costs. “We held a meeting yesterday morning with PD, fire, and the airport. They’re all here tonight…we’ve come up with a good draft that meets the needs of all the parties involved,” Kelly of the Fire Department said during the discussion.
Why it matters: the airshow will use airport property and outside displays at the Air Museum, raising temporary public-safety, traffic, and perimeter-control needs. Commissioners approved the event itself but asked staff to return with the final emergency plan, cost estimates and identified funding sources before obligating additional city funds for fencing or overtime.
City staff described staffing and cost estimates for the event: police planned to deploy six officers at a time (two shifts were discussed), with an estimated overtime bill to the city of about $25,100; firefighters and airport staff also will work overtime. Staff estimated roughly 6 police officers, 8 firefighters and 4 airport staff would be required, with the combined overtime cost for those city departments in the $9,000–$10,000 range; the larger $25,100 figure was tied to extended police shift coverage. Brian, representing airport/maintenance staff, described plans for about 1,500 feet of new permanent fencing around outside displays (four feet tall), a 20-foot gate on the north end and a four-foot walk-through gate on the southwest side, plus 780 feet of temporary fencing for event operations.
Organizers said permanent fencing would remain in place after the show to meet FAA/TSA expectations for display containment and to reduce ad-hoc escorting of museum patrons onto the airfield. The first contractor quote included coring through existing concrete and was roughly $66,000; changing installation method reduced that preliminary figure to about $33,000. Staff later said when all quotes are in they expect fencing to be “around $30,000” but will return to the commission with final numbers and a recommended funding source.
The commission approved the event after a motion that explicitly approved hosting the Liberal Airshow on Oct. 4, 2025. Commissioners noted the emergency plan still needs formal signoffs through the local emergency planning committee and that Seward County EMS and other county entities will be involved as required.
Organizers and relevant staff said they will present a final emergency response plan and the definitive fencing quote to the commission before the city commits to those additional costs.
