Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Airport advisory urges phased displaced-threshold plan; board directs staff to draft revised lease assignment language
Summary
Advisory committee and staff discussed displaced thresholds and blast-fence design for Kremmling Airport; commissioners directed staff to prepare engineering follow-ups and to return a revised hangar lease form that restores an assignment option for future hangar sales.
Airport staff and the advisory committee presented a lengthy workshop on proposed displaced thresholds for Runway 27 (proposed 500-foot displaced threshold) and Runway 09 (proposed 375-foot displaced threshold), engineering cost estimates, and blast-fence design for larger business jets.
Dennis Carpenter, speaking for the Airport Advisory Committee, urged phased work to increase runway useful load and pilot safety, saying the changes would make the airport more attractive for certain business-jet traffic and help local fuel sales and transient visitor economics. The committee recommended a pragmatic, phase-based approach rather than a single large fill-and-extension project. Staff warned that the FAA has stated it would not fund displaced thresholds and that local-only costs could be significant, particularly for the east-end embankment (Armstrong consultants' estimates previously ranged into the millions for fill and retention work).
The board agreed to direct staff to continue engineering follow-up—confirming core samples, runway pavement strength questions and blast-fence specifications—and asked the airport team to present a clear phased plan at a future meeting. Separately, county legal staff discussed returning the airport hangar lease to allow assignment on sale (reinstating a long-standing assignment right removed in a prior lease revision). The board asked staff to prepare a resolution and lease draft with the assignment language for formal consideration next week; an interested developer has indicated readiness to sign once the lease language is finalized.
Why it matters: runway geometry, blast fencing and lease terms influence safety, regulatory compliance, economic development from transient aviation and future private hangar investment. The workshop left technical design and funding questions open, but directed staff to return with targeted engineering and a lease resolution for consideration.
