Federal and state funding for renovation of the Cook County municipal airport runway has been secured. The Airport Commission is seeking support from county commissioners and federal legislators from Minnesota for federal funding of an expansion of the runway as well. The FAA came up with a less optimistic cost-benefit of the expansion than the airport’s engineering firm came up with.
Progress continues in the pursuit of federal funding for expansion of the Cook County municipal airport. On August 28, 2012, Airport Manager Rod Roy and Airport Commissioner John Barton reported to the county board that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent a long list of questions related to analysis of the cost-benefit ratio of the project.
The airport’s engineering firm put the cost-benefit ratio at 1:1.42, but the FAA thought it would be only 1:.4. The break-even point would be a 1:1 ratio, Barton said. “There’s a lot of competition for limited resources,” he said. “Our original position [on the cost-benefit ratio] holds.”
Barton and Roy were seeking a letter of support for the project from the county board and are seeking support from U.S. Representative Chip Cravaack and U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken.
The expansion project would result in a landing strip 5,000 feet long and 100 feet wide. The current runway is 4,200 feet long and 75 feet wide.
The U.S. Forest Service uses CL215s to fight fires, Roy said, but these planes cannot land on the current runway. The airport engineering firm’s cost-benefit ratio included the benefits of landing all U.S. Forest Service firefighting equipment, including the kinds that can land at the current airport, because the Forest Service will not land anything here if it cannot land everything. The largest supporter of the expansion project is the U.S. Forest Service firefighting headquarters in Grand Rapids, Manager Roy said.
In its analysis, the FAA did not consider the Forest Service equipment that could already land here a benefit of the expansion.
Some emergency planes, such as the type used to transport medical patients, can land here, but only in good weather. In windy conditions, the runway is too narrow for these planes to land safely.
The rocky terrain makes this an expensive project, Barton said. The renovation, which is being designed to dovetail seamlessly with the expansion, will cost just over $1.8 million. The expansion will cost about $7 million. The project was originally expected to cost $19 million before the requirement for a parallel taxiway was dropped.
The project will require a match of 10 percent. The FAA has already awarded a grant for the renovation phase, and the state has agreed to pay half of the match for that phase.
The county will be responsible for $700,000 of the cost of the expansion phase, but the money the airport is receiving for selling the stretch of County Road 8 in front of the airport—about $350,000—will count toward that match. (The county owns both the road and the airport, but the airport still had to officially sell that portion of road to the county when it was reconstructed.)
In addition, the gravel the county will supply for the expansion—worth $200,000 – 300,000, according to Highway Department Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad— will count toward the required match as well. Highway Engineer David Betts might want the gravel near the airport for road projects, but it’s not called “the airport pit” for nothing! Airport Manager Roy said.
The county board approved a contract with Northland Constructors of Duluth Inc. for the renovation of the current airstrip at a cost of $1,817,146.06. The contract is pending receipt of the funding and approval by County Attorney Tim Scannell.
The board also authorized Board Secretary Janet Simonen to work with the Airport Commission on a letter of support for the extension project.
More rain gardens
The board voted to support a Soil & Water Conservation District grant application for installation of rain gardens on county property east of the south set of tennis courts and north of the hockey rink in Grand Marais. If the grant is awarded, the work will not be done before the new community center and hockey rink are built.
Community Center amenities
Commissioner Sue Hakes said the Community Center Steering Committee is making some “tough decisions” about the inclusion of room for pool amenities such as a slide and diving board and about the surface of the gym floor.
A wood floor is more expensive to maintain but lasts about twice as long, she said. Wood is preferred for basketball, a dark multi-purpose surface is preferred for tennis, and either one works fine for volleyball, she said.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he thought providing a multi-purpose surface would be fair. Commissioner Hakes said she would vote for whatever surface would benefit the most users. “We took a straw poll,” she said, “and most people voted undecided!”
Visitors Bureau benefit
Cook County Visitors Bureau (CCVB) Executive Director Sally Nankivell presented the bureau’s 2013 budget for approval by the board.
Commissioner Jim Johnson said lodging tax receipts seem to show the county has been seeing some economic growth. Nankivell said, “We really do believe that there has been a benefit.” She said she has been hearing that people feel CCVB is “doing a good job drawing people here and enhancing the guest experience.”
Nankivell said local residents do not necessarily see what they do or the benefits the county reaps from it. “Residents aren’t our target audience,” she said.
The board approved a 2013 budget of $461,911.50.
Tip of the Trail appraisal and auction
The board discussed auctioning off numerous pieces of tax-forfeited land, including the former Tip of the Trail resort at the end of Sag Lake Trail (County Road 83). It is now zoned lakeshore residential.
Assessor Mary Black said local business owners might want to buy the property to keep potential commercial competition away. Anyone who bought it now would not have any guarantee that the county would agree to re-zone it back to commercial status. The board discussed the decline in the number of “ma and pa” resorts throughout the county.
Commissioner Jim Johnson said the county has no use for the property. He called the buildings on it “an eyesore,” saying they are deteriorating.
The board passed a motion authorizing Assessor Black to pursue an appraisal of the property for its residential value as well as a professional analysis of its potential “highest and best use.”
Assessor Mary Black said a lot of the other tax-forfeited property is vacant land or boat launches.
Courthouse anniversary time capsule
The board authorized the use of up to $1,500 by the Cook County Historical Society for a courthouse 100th anniversary celebration on September 21. A time capsule will be buried.
Historical Society Director Carrie McHugh is accepting ideas on what could be put into the time capsule. Contact her at history@boreal.org or by telephone at 387-2883.
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