Marion City Council directs staff to begin closure of Marion Municipal Airport runway by June 30, 2025

The Marion City Council voted March 6 to direct staff to proceed with the necessary steps to close the Marion Municipal Airport runway by June 30, 2025.

The action followed a public hearing and a presentation by City Manager Ryan Waller on research by the city-appointed Airport Visioning Team (AVT) and repeated negotiations with the airport’s fixed-base operator, Luxaire. Waller said the city’s analysis found that, without a dedicated revenue stream and given limits on federal funding eligibility, keeping the runway under municipal ownership would require debt that the council judged unsustainable.

Waller told the council the lease with Luxaire, approved in April 2022, included a one-time payment of $73,000 and annual payments of $74,682 to Luxaire and created a safety-inspection requirement. He said the AVT—made up of residents, pilots, members of the Marion Municipal Airport Committee and two councilmembers—met for roughly 11 months and concluded the airport operating budget would be “breakeven at best.” Waller said the airport runway is not listed in the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), which made it ineligible for federal AIP funding; the city could only pursue competitive state grants.

Waller also told the council the city has spent more than $4.5 million on the airport to date and that the runway had been purchased with tax-exempt bonds; because of bond covenants the city cannot donate the runway and would need to sell it at fair market value. He said the city issued a request for proposals seeking a private buyer and received zero responsive proposals by the March 3 deadline; a single offer arrived by email on the day of the meeting and had not been reviewed.

Residents and aviation stakeholders urged the council to delay closure and pursue other options. Bruce Taylor, owner of Collins Road Theatres and a pilot based at Marion Airport, said, “I would encourage you not to close the airport,” and suggested the city explore transferring the runway to a private operator.

Pilot and longtime resident John Chargo said the airport appears “on the cusp of greatness” and called the timing for closure short-sighted: “Closing the airport now is, like, leaving a tied game at halftime.” Keith Huebner, president of the Experimental Aircraft Association for Eastern Iowa, urged more time for outreach and suggested educational partnerships similar to those at nearby airports.

Several speakers described the airport’s role in training and youth outreach. Daniel Dietz, who said he lives near the airport and works in aerospace, described flight lessons that inspired local young people and argued that the airport’s community and educational value cannot be captured solely in dollars: “How do you put a monetary value on that? You can’t.” Jeff Kaminski cited a 2022 Iowa DOT study he said estimated the Marion Airport generated about $3 million in economic benefits to the community and urged the council to seek more public input.

Councilmembers who served on the airport subcommittee said the matter had been under study for more than two years. Councilmember Steve Sturnett said the work was lengthy and acknowledged many people heard the history for the first time that evening. Councilmember Sarah Menser said the council had sought partners and options for 3½ years and reiterated that the city had not set out to close the runway but had reached a point where continuing municipal ownership was judged untenable without a new funding model.

Following the public hearing and discussion, Mayor Pro Tem moved to direct staff to proceed with the necessary requirements to close the Marion Airport runway by June 30, 2025; the motion was seconded, taken by voice vote and carried.

The city’s next steps, as described in the staff presentation, include completing the procedural steps required to remove the runway from municipal operations, complying with bond covenants and continuing to review any late proposals that might meet the city’s RFP requirements. City staff said the unsolicited offer received the day of the meeting had not been reviewed and could be considered if it met RFP terms, but council took the procedural step to begin the closure timeline.

The council’s direction does not preclude later changes if a viable, timely private purchase or other solution is presented, but it starts a legal and administrative process toward runway closure on the June 30 date.

Ending: The council’s decision to start closure procedures came after months of study, lease negotiations and public outreach. Residents and pilots at the meeting asked the council to delay or pursue private-sale options; city leaders said the runway’s funding and legal constraints limited the municipality’s ability to continue operation without new revenue or a qualified buyer.