Council advances bond reallocation to match airport runway grant
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Summary
On first reading council moved to reallocate a previously earmarked $1 million from a gateway bond to serve as the county match for a repaving grant for Runway 2 at Chester County Airport; the grant would pay roughly $9 million of an estimated $9.9 million project.
Chester County Council advanced on first reading ordinance 2026-05 to amend prior bond ordinances and reallocate $1,000,000 from a previously planned spec-building fund into a 10% local match for a federal repaving grant for Runway 2 at the county airport.
County administrator Brian Hester told council that the November 2025 vote had already approved using the $1,000,000 toward the runway match and that the current ordinance would formally amend the original bond language to complete the reallocation. Hester said the federal grant would cover approximately $9,000,000 of an estimated $9,900,000 repaving cost; the reallocated $1,000,000 would provide the county’s matching funds, with remainder available for hangar renovations if the runway match does not exhaust the bond allocation.
The ordinance was introduced for first reading and will return for a second reading before final adoption. Councilors said the ordinance and related exhibits are in the meeting packet and noted that the amendment also explicitly adds the airport as an eligible use under the bond’s projects list.
If adopted, the reallocation is intended to expedite critical pavement work at the county airport while preserving remaining bond resources for hangar upgrades and related airport improvements.