Bonner County approves FAA grant amendment after debate over engineer estimates; county match rises

Bonner County commissioners voted to approve an amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program grant that raises the grant by $202,276 to a total of $432,749 and increases the county match to $21,637.

The amendment, for AIP 3-16-0033-024-2025, funds clearing and slope‑stabilization work tied to tree removal and construction of an access road at the county airport. Airport staff said the higher cost reflects a larger-than-anticipated number of trees and the need to build a road the project team had not counted on; the FAA has concurred with the increased costs.

County airport director Director Shuck told commissioners the additional costs are primarily the result of two issues identified during design and bid phases: an access route into the work area that proved unavailable and a much larger number of trees that must be removed and either ground or grubbed out. “The FAA does concur with these cost increases,” Director Shuck said. He said engineers’ early planning‑level estimates can vary from final bids and that this project’s final bids were significantly higher than the initial estimate.

Why it matters: the work is tied to FAA safety standards for runway approaches and, if not completed, could leave the airport out of…