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Resident urges Oskaloosa council to abandon SCRA regional airport project
Summary
At the May 18 Oskaloosa City Council meeting, resident Alicia Helm urged the council to end the long-running SCRA airport project, saying it has been divisive, costly and lacks transparent public support. She asked the council to redirect resources to local priorities.
A resident told the Oskaloosa City Council on May 18 that the SCRA regional airport project should be ended after years of community opposition.
"This project should never have even started in the first place," Alicia Helm said during the meeting's public comment period, arguing the project "has faced years of resistance" and urging the council to "cut your losses and focus on projects that actually benefit the people living within our city limits." Helm said residents deserve "transparency, honesty about where things stand" and criticized continued investment that she said sacrifices productive farmland.
Helm contrasted Oskaloosa's situation with neighboring Pella, saying Pella appears to be pursuing local airport improvements rather than the regional airport. She also questioned the project’s asserted economic necessity for businesses such as Musco, saying the company "has done incredibly well for many years without this airport."
Why it matters: The SCRA airport has been discussed in multiple meetings and remains controversial among landowners, taxpayers and residents. Helm’s remarks asked council members to reconsider the city's involvement and redirect time and funds toward projects she said would better serve local residents.
Council response and next steps: In later staff reports the city manager said he would watch Pella’s council action on the item and, if substantive conversation takes place there, bring any relevant developments back to Oskaloosa’s council for consideration. No formal action on the SCRA project was taken at the May 18 meeting.
The meeting materials and public comment record provide the council with on‑record reasons for residents’ continuing opposition; the council may place the topic on a future agenda after following Pella’s lead.
