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Council approves letter backing Sydney Municipal Airport crosswind runway funding request
Summary
The council voted to sign a community‑support letter for a congressionally directed spending (CDS) application for a proposed paved and lit 4,700‑by‑75‑foot crosswind runway, a parallel taxiway and lighting; estimated full project cost is $15.3 million with an anticipated roughly 90/10 federal/local split.
The Sydney City Council voted March 20 to sign a community letter of support for a proposed crosswind runway at Sydney Municipal Airport, a step the airport seeks to include with a congressionally directed spending application due March 26.
George, the airport manager, told the council the project would replace an existing turf runway that can be unusable as much as "about 60 days annually." He asked the council to sign a letter to support the airport's CDS packet to Senator Deb Fischer’s office, saying, "This funding is called a CDS fund, congressionally directed spending."
Roger Canobblock, an engineer with Garver, described four primary objectives: paving the turf runway, lighting the runway, constructing a parallel taxiway and installing taxiway lighting. "The intention is to ultimately configure it at 4,700 ft by 75 ft wide," he said.
Staff and consultants presented a preliminary full‑project request of $15,300,000. George and the engineer described a likely federal/local funding split in the neighborhood of 90/10, meaning the airport authority and possible state grant sources would need to cover an estimated 10 percent local match if the full amount were awarded. Staff also said the grant program sometimes funds partial awards and that the authority would reapply if not funded this cycle.
Council members moved to authorize and sign the letter of support before the application deadline; the motion passed on a voice roll call with Councilmembers Coons, Bondigard, Radcliffe, Lee and Kirkman voting yes. No member recorded a no vote or abstention.
The council action was limited to signing a support letter and did not commit local matching dollars beyond the authority's stated intent to pursue state and other funding sources should the grant be awarded. Officials said further council decisions and formal budget actions would be needed if and when federal funds are awarded and project design advances.
Next steps: staff will include the signed letter in the CDS application filed by the airport authority; if the award is made, later council consideration will be required for design, matching funds and construction authorization.
