Kootenai County commissioners hear airport development and operations updates, then enter executive session

Kootenai County commissioners on March 24 heard a package of airport updates from the airport advisory board and airport director and unanimously voted to enter an executive session under Idaho law.

Frank Okonnell, chairman of the airport advisory board, told commissioners the board spent the first quarter reviewing development opportunities and a redlined rewrite of airport standards adopted in 2019, and that the rewrite has been submitted for a cursory FAA review before coming to the commissioners for formal adoption.

"We spent several sessions last year to go through and try and clean them up and make them more readable and short," Okonnell said, describing the redline submitted by Airport Director Gaston Patterson for the advisory board's review.

Okonnell described the development committee's focus on south‑side general aviation hangar development, possible north‑side commercial development and whether to allow individual "budget hangers" or larger developer‑built hangar groupings. He said committee members also discussed revising an annual fee schedule by applying a five‑year CPI average for the area and removing fees that no longer reflect current airport operations.

Patterson, who identified himself for the record as airport director, reported the airport's annual FAA Part 139 safety and compliance inspection went well, with compliments for maintenance and staff morale and one minor write‑up: a missing vehicle‑pass sign on a recently installed taxiway. "It was an open and close for them," Patterson said, calling it a "simple fix."

The director also outlined several near‑term projects: building the foundation for a public viewing area near Crawford Park, rough grading a parallel grass runway (to be dirt through the summer with hydroseeding planned for fall/winter), and expanding monthly metrics the airport will send to commissioners to track operations and inquiries from potential users.

Patterson said the advisory board approved the simplified standards and that the FAA's compliance office in Seattle will perform a cursory review. He said the fees subcommittee modernized the fee schedule and that any fee adjustments exceeding 3 percent will require a public hearing; when asked by a commissioner, he said the new fees would likely take effect "within the next 30 days" once a board resolution is passed.

On operations and emergency response, Patterson said the airport is preparing for fire season with Idaho Department of Lands and the U.S. Forest Service and that a U.S. Forest Service rappel/helitack team from Graangeville will base two Bell 412 helicopters and roughly 20–30 personnel at the airport this summer to support initial attack.

Patterson also reported that the Defense Logistics Agency fueling contract was recently awarded to the on‑field fixed base operator Stancraft, a change he said will streamline contract fueling for military and federal aircraft by allowing them to refuel without pre‑authorization or Star Card processing.

Okonnell and Patterson confirmed a Cessna 180/185 Skywagon Association fly‑in is scheduled for Aug. 3–7 and is expected to attract more than 150 aircraft, with multiple community events hosted at the Celane Resort and regional flyouts to nearby grass strips.

During the meeting Okonnell relayed a pilot concern that Cordelane's automated weather observation system (AWOS) readings sometimes overlap with a nearby site, creating pilot confusion about landing eligibility; Patterson committed to contact the FAA about the issue.

The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session "pursuant to Idaho code 742061F," which commissioners approved unanimously by roll call. After the closed session the board voted to exit and "exit executive session with staff to proceed as discussed." The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m.

The advisory board's standards rewrite will next be returned to the commissioners for formal consideration after the FAA's review; the board also plans a public hearing on revised fees if required by the scale of changes.