Lago Vista airport advisory board backs $62,500 letter-of-intent for engineering, seeks FAA exemption acknowledgement

At a meeting of the Lago Vista Airport Advisory Board, members voted unanimously to draft a letter of intent (LOI) pledging $62,500 in local funds to support engineering for a runway and electrical rehabilitation project and the local match for an automated weather observation system (AWOS) installation.

The vote came after board members said the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has forecasted a rehabilitation project for the airport with an estimated total cost of about $6.6 million. James Peck, vice chairman of the Airport Advisory Board, said TxDOT intends to offer the project as a 90/10 matching grant and that the agency has programmed the AWOS replacement for fiscal 2026. Peck said TxDOT’s initial estimate for the AWOS was “just under $200,000” and that the city’s 10 percent share for the AWOS would be about $15,000.

Why it matters: the TxDOT forecast and the planned engineering work would allow the city to move past a years-long compliance and access dispute tied to federal policy and position the airport to receive state block-grant funds sooner than expected. Board members said resolving compliance questions also reduces the risk of future audit issues tied to federal grant rules.

Board members described the engineering phase as the next immediate step. TxDOT staff estimated the overall engineering contract for a project of this size could be on the order of $600,000, and the agency asked for a local commitment to cover roughly 10 percent of that engineering cost (board members discussed a local range of about $47,000–$62,000). The LOI motion approved by the advisory board included a $62,500 commitment to cover the engineering contribution and the AWOS local match.

“We thought that was tremendously good news,” Peck said, describing TxDOT’s willingness to use discretionary state funds in its airport systems plan to support the project and noting the state’s offer to program the work as soon as fiscal 2028 (TxDOT had said earlier it would prefer fiscal 2027 but that timeline was aggressive). Peck urged that the LOI be drafted in coordination with the city manager so it can be presented to city council for approval.

The motion to draft the LOI was moved and seconded from the advisory board and passed unanimously; the board recorded a 4–0 favorable vote. Board members said the LOI would be submitted to TxDOT to enable selection of an engineering firm and to secure scheduling for the rehabilitation work. The AWOS installation — considered a safety priority — was described as already approved for state programming, with the city’s contribution required to move to procurement.

FAA access/exemption: the advisory board also agreed to draft a separate letter for the city to send in response to a September 2023 communication from the FAA’s Washington, D.C., compliance management group. The FAA had identified that Lago Vista appears to qualify for a Section 185 exemption related to through-the-fence and grandfathering issues tied to agreements predating the 2012 FAA reauthorization. Board members said prior city correspondence had indicated a willingness to try to renegotiate access agreements, but negotiations have not resolved the deed- and CCR-based access language.

The board voted unanimously to draft a letter acknowledging the FAA’s finding that the city qualifies for the Section 185 exemption and explaining that, after investigation, the city would not pursue changes to the deed restrictions (CCRs) because of the cost and time required. Board members said that letter would be developed for city review and that the city council and city manager would determine final signatories. “This is exactly why this is as critically important as it is to get the compliance related matters resolved,” a board member said during discussion.

Additional context and next steps: board committees reported related items that feed into the project timeline. Funding and finance committee members said they are completing a forensic review of airport expenditures dating to 2017–2018 to clarify past line-item changes as the city took on fuel operations and other responsibilities. The advisory board also discussed potential revenue projects — including box hangars and fuel sales — that members say could generate recurring enterprise-fund income to cover future maintenance after the runway work is complete.

The advisory board’s LOI and the draft FAA response will be prepared for city review; any financial commitment beyond a letter of intent will require city council approval and final signature by the city’s authorized officials.