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FAA proposes bundling Bowers Field projects into $12–15 million package; county faces concentrated cost share
Summary
County staff told commissioners the FAA wants to bundle several Bowers Field projects — parallel taxiway, hangar taxi-lane expansion, runway lighting and runway narrowing — into a single $12–15 million project, which would concentrate the county’s 5–10% local match into one or two years and could mean an estimated $750,000–$1.5 million local share.
Josh Fredericks, Kittitas County Public Works Director, briefed the board on the Bowers Field capital improvement plan and recent discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration. Projects under discussion include a hangar taxi-lane expansion, a parallel taxiway (to remove the need for back-taxiing on the runway), new runway lighting, and narrowing of the runway surface.
Fredericks said the FAA has indicated it prefers bundling these related projects into a single $12–15 million Capital Improvement Project rather than phasing them over multiple years. "If we combine all these projects together, that's a 12 to $15,000,000 project," he said. He explained the typical funding split for airport projects is roughly 90% FAA funding with the local sponsor covering the remainder; if the county receives an additional WSDOT aviation grant, the county’s direct cash share can be reduced to about 5% of the project.
Fredericks estimated the county’s potential share at roughly $750,000 (5%) to $1,500,000 (10%), depending on final grant support and the FAA funding decision. He said bundling would likely move the county’s cost into 1–2 fiscal years and that the FAA’s current planning timeline points toward work in the 2028–2029 timeframe. Fredericks recommended the board note the FAA’s approach and said staff will monitor funding and provide updates when the FAA’s report arrives.
