An environmental assessment. A possible citizens’ repeal. Acquisition of all 114 acres of necessary property.
The Kalispell City Council may have approved a plan to upgrade the municipal airport, but the contentious and convoluted battle is far from over.
After handing the decision to voters in May before taking it back, the council voted 5-4 on July 16 to follow the latest airport master plan’s recommendation and develop the site to B-II aviation standards in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration. Councilors Kari Gabriel, Jim Atkinson, Randy Kenyon, Jeff Zauner and Wayne Saverud voted in support of a resolution to use federal Airport Improvement Program funding to upgrade the airport.
Atkinson called the decision “forward thinking” and a vote in favor of the community and local businesses.
The decision was “hopefully a statement that our community is in business to do business with the rest of the world,” he said. “We want to be helpful in seeing that that happens.”
Mayor Tammi Fisher and councilors Tim Kluesner, Phil Guiffrida III and Bob Hafferman maintained their firm opposition.
Guiffrida said the decision binds the city indefinitely to an airport that consistently operates at a net loss to taxpayers and to a site that could one day serve a better use.
“I think this is a fiscal disaster in my opinion,” he said. “It’s scary to me.”
The city still faces several hurdles in the coming months and years before changes can occur, including a possible citizens’ referendum that could veto the council’s decision, as well as an environmental assessment and the acquisition of 27 properties.
A group of residents is organizing an effort to add a referendum to the November 2013 ballot that would allow voters to decide whether to repeal the council’s decision. Members of Quiet Skies, a group opposed to development at the airport, held a recent meeting to discuss signature gathering in the upcoming year. In order to submit a referendum to city and election officials for approval, signatures are needed from 15 percent of Kalispell’s population, or roughly 1,850 residents, before it can appear on the ballot.
“We are prepared,” Scott Davis with Quiet Skies told councilors before the vote.
He added, “We are still going to have that election and we will win it.”
Meanwhile, the proposed upgrades outlined in the master plan by Stelling Engineers will have to pass an environmental assessment before moving forward. The assessment must find that new airport development will not significantly impact human or ecological health near the site.
If that were to occur, Kalispell could begin negotiating with 17 landowners over 27 separate parcels of land totaling roughly 114 acres. In order to be eligible for FAA reimbursements, the city must obtain that entire acreage. The FAA would negotiate those sales. City Attorney Charles Harball said the city would not enter into any binding agreements with landowners until all were on board.
The city would also need to take down the KGEZ radio towers near the airport to mitigate a safety hazard, which would require buying out the business’ lease.
In the early stages, opposing sides tangled over noise and safety concerns, but in recent months the feud has evolved into disagreements over financing. The estimated cost over time to follow Stelling’s recommendations would be roughly $16 million, of which almost $13.5 million could be covered by federal funds. The AIP could also reimburse Kalispell $2.9 million for past spending related to airport improvements. However, reimbursements are not guaranteed, and those opposed to developing have reiterated their fear of taxpayers being stuck with the bill. There has been no indication that the FAA would not follow through with reimbursements.
Opponents have also asked where local funding will come from to pay for property and lease acquisition before federal funding arrives. The airport is located in a tax increment finance district, but whether using those funds for upgrades would be appropriate has been a bone of contention.
Deciding a direction for the 83-year-old airport has been difficult for past councils, and this group has also struggled. After years of meetings, indeterminate studies and information and caustic public debate, the council vote 5-4 on May 21 to have residents choose what to do in a citywide vote. But the council voted 5-4 to take it off the ballot on July 2.
The latest master plan calls for upgrading safety features, realigning and increasing a runway and relocating buildings on site, among other development. The overall timeframe is predicted to be roughly 20 years.