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Saratoga County committee approves state matches for three FAA airport grants, advances runway design
Summary
The county Airport Improvement Committee accepted three New York State DOT match resolutions tied to FAA airport-improvement grants — covering terminal reimbursement, an obstruction study and design for rehabilitation of runway 523 — enabling reimbursement requests and moving design work forward toward a $7 million-plus reconstruction.
The Saratoga County Airport Improvement Committee voted March 4 to accept three New York State Department of Transportation match resolutions tied to Federal Aviation Administration grants that fund recent and upcoming airport work.
Ed Cook, who presented the items, told the committee the first grant (PIN 1902.60) carries a NYSDOT match of $7,422 and corresponds to an $82,000 FAA portion to reimburse work on the terminal project already completed. "By the board accepting this grant money, it allows us to then send in a reimbursement for that grant amount because we've already completed the project," Cook said.
Cook said the second grant (PIN 1902.61) has a NYSDOT match of $4,325 and an FAA allocation of $164,326 for an obstruction study of airspace around the airport. He said the study evaluates obstructions and likely will lead to a subsequent phase to obtain easements and remove vegetation where necessary. "This is for an obstruction study at the airport," Cook said, noting the study could require outreach to homeowners for easements to trim vegetation in approach surfaces.
The third resolution (PIN 1902.62) accepted by the committee covers design for rehabilitation of main runway 523. Cook said the NYSDOT match is $5,835 and the FAA grant portion was $221,724 for design work. He said geotechnical analysis showed reclamation is not feasible and the runway requires full reconstruction; the construction phase is expected to cost more than $7 million. "It's been 20 years since it was last rehabilitated," Cook said. "Based on the latest study from the geotech engineers, that's not possible [to reclaim]. It needs to be fully reconstructed."
Motions to accept each resolution were made and seconded; each motion carried following the committee's votes. The transcript records at least one committee member saying "I opposed" during the votes but does not include a roll-call tally in the transcript.
Why it matters: accepting the DOT matches lets the county submit reimbursement claims for completed work, funds an obstruction analysis that may require property easements, and advances design work that will be needed before a multi-million-dollar runway reconstruction project.
Next steps and timing: Cook said design work will proceed and the county plans the reconstruction in a window that avoids the track season; because full reconstruction will likely take about 90 days, construction is being targeted for spring 2027 rather than the earlier late-2026 estimate. The committee did not specify contractor selection at the meeting and staff said construction scheduling and procurement will follow the design phase.
(Reporting note: motions and votes are described as recorded in the committee transcript; specific vote tallies were not provided in the transcript.)
