City presses consultants as FAA holds environmental review over Gene Hurley Park documentation

DeFuniak Springs council members pressed airport consultants on Monday after officials said the Federal Aviation Administration had put submission of the city’s draft environmental assessment on hold pending a Section 4(f) review related to Gene Hurley Park.

The hold, consultants said, stems from FAA staff requests for documentation showing whether prior city discussions linked the park’s relocation or closure to airport work or to independent industrial development. "We have a draft EA ready to submit," said Keith Shippy, the consultant under contract to complete the EA, "but she told me not to submit the draft EA until she could do a little due diligence on her end with regard to the park." Shippy told the council the FAA in Orlando is taking additional steps, including a legal review, and that the FAA will provide comments after a 30-day review period once the draft is submitted.

Why this matters: council members said delays put multiple pots of local and federal money at risk and could hinder construction scheduling. One council member, identified in the record as Councilman Bierbaum, said the city has already paid for the EA and is now months behind schedule: "we've paid a 170 plus thousand dollars for an environmental assessment, and it's not on time," he said, noting the project timeline has extended well beyond the 18 months the city expected. Consultants and staff told the council they would search past minutes and records to try to provide the FAA the written timeline and statements the agency requested.

Consultants gave a parallel update on project design and construction readiness. Matt Saranek of Garber said his team received notice to proceed on investigative work in February and a design notice to proceed in August; the team expects a 50% design submittal this week and planned to issue bid documents in January. "We were given notice to proceed on February 2 with the investigative portion of our development of the project," Saranek said, and said the team is aiming to deliver issued-for-bid documents in January and to begin construction in the second quarter next year if the EA is approved.

Council members also pressed staff about funding timelines. Presenters outlined several funding sources: a county ARPA contribution the presenters said was $5,500,000, a city ARPA allocation of $2,000,000 and DOT grant funds for design and work-plan tasks. Staff and consultants emphasized that whether funds are "obligated" versus "spent" will determine ARPA compliance and urged the council to get written Treasury guidance on the city’s subrecipient status and obligation requirements before the December 2026 deadline discussed in the meeting.

On technical issues, Garber presented an alternative to shaving down a runway "hump" that would have required relocating water, gas and telecom utilities. Raising the runway end slightly would satisfy FAA line-of-sight criteria while avoiding heavy utility relocation work, Saranek said, leaving more runway available during construction.

What the council directed or agreed to do next: staff were asked to compile minutes and a concise timeline showing the city's prior discussions about Gene Hurley Park, to put a memo from the city attorney on official letterhead for the FAA reviewer, and to pursue Treasury guidance on ARPA obligations. Council members signaled they want another airport workshop at or soon after the next regular council meeting and asked consultants to try to attend or provide fuller written answers within two weeks. The workshop adjourned for a brief recess.

The EA hold by the FAA, the multiple funding sources at stake and the tight schedule for obligations and construction were the most recent factual developments; no formal vote or ordinance resulted from the workshop.