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Goshen airport to close main runway April 6; board waives tenant rents and advances construction steps
Summary
Goshen City airport staff told the board the main runway will close April 6 for rehabilitation; the board ratified an administrative notice to proceed tied to an anticipated FAA grant, agreed to move the June meeting date, and approved temporary rent and fee waivers for affected tenants and the FBO.
Airport staff told the Goshen City board that the airport’s main runway will close on April 6 for rehabilitation and that construction work will begin once the closure is in effect. "We are in our last round of submitts. Construction is scheduled to start after the runway is closed on April 6," staff member Danielle said, adding that a final invoice from Walpert remains outstanding and that federal closeout and reimbursement paperwork had been submitted and received.
The board ratified an administrative notice to proceed so the contractor can begin submittals, which staff said is necessary because concrete mix testing alone takes four to six weeks. Staff said the taxiway/apron project carries an estimated total cost of $860,000 and that the city’s local share is $20,822. The motion to ratify the notice to proceed was made, seconded and approved by the board.
To limit disruption during the runway closure, the board approved temporary operational and financial changes. Randy reported that many T-hangar tenants will relocate while the runway is closed; the board voted to waive T-hangar rents for April and May for affected tenants (the waiver was described as excluding hangars tied to New Horizons Aviation because of a stated conflict). The board also approved a motion to waive office rent and flowage (fuel) fees for Sweet Aviation for April and May so the FBO can operate reduced weekday hours and remain available for emergency call-outs.
Staff said the FBO will operate roughly 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday during the closure and will respond to emergency refueling calls for medical or other essential helicopters. As a contingency for training and flight operations, the flight school plans to relocate four aircraft to Elkhart and four to Warsaw during the two-month closure so instructors can continue student flights.
Other operational notes from staff included a locally funded airport storage building whose materials have been delivered and which Freedom Builders expects to begin within 7–10 days, with a projected completion in the first week of May; and seasonal charges for corporate hangar snow removal (invoiced at about $8,000 for the 25–26 winter season, up from roughly $2,900 the prior year).
Staff also told the board the contract for ground-based navigation services with DBT Services is due May 31; a longtime DBT technician named Greg is proposing to provide the service through his new company at pricing staff described as comparable. Staff said it will bring proposed contract terms to the next meeting for board consideration.
The board agreed to plan the June meeting for June 1 to align bid openings and discretionary funding timelines for apron expansion work. The meeting adjourned after routine business.
