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Lewistown commissioners hear airport lease request, hangar repair plan and $3.5 million wastewater loan application
Summary
Commissioners were told a fiber-optic company has asked to lease 3–5 acres at the Lewistown airport, a 100x1,000-foot grass strip was requested for a fall racing event, and engineers found rot-related damage to a new hangar door that will be reinforced; city staff also reported a $3.5 million state loan application for a wastewater project.
At the Lewistown City Commission meeting, a commissioner reported several developments at the Lewistown airport including a request from a fiber-optic business to lease 3 to 5 acres for about five to 10 years and the possible construction of a pole building. The speaker said the business owner will not be available until September, so the city is awaiting further details.
The commissioner also described a request from the Mountain Montana Snowmobile Racing Association, working with the Little Belt Snowmobile group, to use a 100-foot-by-1,000-foot grass strip near the airport’s driver-drifter course for a grass-drag event scheduled for Oct. 3 and possibly a snowmobile race during the winter fair in February.
On airport infrastructure, the city was notified that a delivered hangar door had a crack that was not identified during the structural investigation. “RPA determined that the crack was initially caused due to rot occurring in the truss ends,” the commissioner said, adding that RPA structural engineers will issue a change order to add support columns on each side of the hanger door. The speaker said the columns are expected to add strength and will not affect the door’s functioning.
During the city manager report, Holly Phelps told commissioners that Robert Pesha and Associates has finalized a loan application to the state revolving loan fund for a wastewater project valued at $3,500,000. Phelps said staff continue to work with the Department of Environmental Quality on compliance matters related to that application.
Neither the fiber-optic lease nor the hangar repair work was finalized at the meeting. Commissioners received updates and asked staff to return with additional information; the loan application process will proceed through the usual state review and financing steps.
What comes next: city staff will follow up with the airport lease applicant when the owner is available, proceed with the contractor’s structural remediation plan for the hangar door, and continue the state loan application and DEQ coordination for the wastewater project.
