Engineers are expected to present their final recommendation concerning the Kalispell city airport’s future on April 9 followed by a possible decision from the city council on May 21, according to a tentative timeline announced Monday night.
Charlie Harball, Kalispell’s city attorney and acting city manager, outlined the current schedule of upcoming discussions surrounding the contentious fate of the 83-year-old municipal airport.
Jeff Walla with Stelling Engineers, the firm that has been studying the airport and crafting the facility’s latest master plan, is set to present a finalized report at a work session on April 9. The report would include Stelling’s recommended action at the site along with an evaluation from the Federal Aviation Administration. Walla and Gary Gates with the FAA will explain their findings and be available to answer questions from councilors at the meeting, Harball said.
Following public hearings, the city council could make a final decision at the May 21 meeting.
Councilor Bob Hafferman has been jotting down his thoughts about the upcoming decision and said he would make them available to the public. He urged his colleagues to do the same.
“I’d like to see a little bit of thought going into what we’re doing,” he said, adding, “once you’ve committed, you’ve committed.”
Phil Guiffrida III came just short of offering an opinion when telling fellow councilors he recently had an “eye-opening experience” after he toured the airport and learned more about flight operations.
“I just want to recommend if you haven’t yet, go on a tour of the facility,” he said.
Councilors are faced with trying to settle a debate that has raged for decades. Opposing sides have argued either for the city airport’s removal or for its preservation through investment. Four separate studies in the last 30 years have been conducted on the airport. The latest, conducted by Stelling, began in September 2010 and was aimed at determining the feasibility, cost and funding sources for any improvements or expansion of the airport.
Stelling released an initial draft of the master plan that unveiled five possible options, including upgrading the current site, building a new facility near Glacier High School, relocating to Glacier Park International Airport, or leaving the current site alone and letting it eventually shutter.