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Council asks whether URA funds could be used to pay for an airport control tower; aviation director urges legal review
Summary
Councilors asked whether an urban renewal agency could fund a new control tower and how that would affect FAA matching; Scott Swanson, the city's director of aviation, said he does not expect URA funds would be used to build the tower and recommended legal and grant-coordinator follow-up.
A councilor asked whether urban renewal agency funds could be used to construct a control tower and whether doing so would shift costs to local taxpayers or jeopardize FAA grant matches. The question followed staff discussion of life-safety and catalytic projects in the airport-area project list.
Scott Swanson, executive director of the airport, addressed the question and described how FAA funding typically works. "I do not expect to be able to use URA funding for a control tower," Swanson said, and he recommended a deeper legal review to determine whether an urban renewal agency could act as a federal grant sponsor in a way that satisfies matching requirements.
Swanson noted past cost estimates from the airport master plan and current project listings show higher pricing now; he said the city would likely pursue the usual FAA grant match (roughly 90% federal) and that whether URA could fill local matching obligations would require legal evaluation and coordination with grant sponsors.
