Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport Scrap topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and council signal it’s time to move on from stalled regional airport
Summary
Speakers at Monday’s Oskaloosa City Council meeting urged an end to the South Central Regional Airport Agency project; staff warned that federal grants tied to land acquisition would need repayment if the project is closed without a disposal plan.
Mike Nardini, SCRAA secretary and city administrator for a neighboring city, told the council the regional-airport effort began in 2012 and has acquired 378 acres of an estimated 600-acre need while the Federal Aviation Administration has provided roughly $5,300,000 in grants to the project.
Nardini said FAA guidance gives the agency until about 2039 to complete the work but also requires repayment of either the federal grant share or the fair-market value of property if the project does not proceed: “we would need to repay back the federal acquisition share or the grants that was used for the property or the fair market value of the property, whichever,” he said.
Multiple residents and council members urged a clean break. One speaker during public comment said it was “past time to move on,” and Nick Ryan, introduced from the speakers’ list, told the council: “Let’s dissolve this thing. Let’s nail the coffin shut on this once and for all.”
Council members discussed options that would avoid rushed land sales while protecting local governments from unexpected repayment liabilities. Legal counsel flagged potential contract provisions and liquidated-damage clauses in existing agreements but said they needed time to review. Staff emphasized giving SCRA time to market land to limit any shortage that might be owed back to FAA; FAA officials have indicated that repaid funds could later be reallocated to the region’s remaining airports.
Members asked staff to draft an amendment to the existing agreement expressing the parties’ intent not to pursue the regional-airport plan and directing the SCRA board on a timeline to dispose of property so the boards can meet FAA notice requirements. No formal final action was taken Monday; the council directed staff to continue drafting amendment language and to return with specific options and legal analysis at a future meeting.
What’s next: staff will return with recommended amendment language, a legal review of obligations to Mahaska County and other partners, and options for a sale/liquidation timeline intended to minimize any federal grant repayment burden on the cities.
Sources: presentation and Q&A with Mike Nardini (SCRAA secretary) and council discussion at the July 6, 2026 Oskaloosa City Council meeting.
