Council accepts $1.14 million FAA ATP grant for new terminal, approves related contracts

The Veneta City Council voted July 7 to accept a $1,140,000 award from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminals Program to build a new 2,800‑square‑foot terminal at the Veneta Airport, staff announced at the meeting.

“Dollars 1,140,000 is the FAA ATP program,” the chair said, describing the project as a terminal with a kitchen, office spaces, bunk rooms and a pilots’ lounge. Staff warned that some land‑use and height restrictions remain to be resolved with partners before final implementation.

Council also approved Amendment No. 18 to the long‑standing LBR engineering contract to add construction‑services scope for the terminal project. The council approved awarding the apron and taxiway construction contract (agenda amount $1,205,390) and separately approved a contract to construct the new airport access road and parking area (agenda amount $817,331.50). Both construction awards were explicitly contingent upon receipt of the FAA grant.

Staff described the access road alignment and how the road, apron and terminal would connect to existing taxiways and hangars; they said work on items labeled as number 8 and number 9 on the agenda could begin this summer and, if all goes well, the airport terminal could be under construction later in the schedule with an optimistic opening around March or April next year.

Council members voted in favor of the grant acceptance, the contract amendment and the construction contracts with no recorded opposition. Staff cautioned that the project still requires clearing height and land‑use issues and that receipt of grant funds is a condition for some contract work.