A tentative 20-year facilities plan for the Houston Memorial Airport shows more hangars and additional runway will be required to meet aviation needs. The finding was released Monday during a meeting of the Houston City Council.
Kraig LaRosh, a representative of the Kansas City firm of Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corp., outlined preliminary findings Monday at a council meeting as the city works to upgrade its airport facilities plan.
Among the findings:
-Expanding the runway to 4,100 feet in length from the current 3,500 feet that could accommodate bigger aircraft sometimes required by industry. The options would be to add 600 feet to the south or split the difference on each end. LaRosh estimated that the airstrip expansion is 15-20 years in the future.
-Installing equipment that provides weather data to improve safety.
-Constructing a parallel taxiway to improve access to and from Runways 16-34.
-Building five additional T-hanger units and four additional box hangars for a total of 45,050 square feet of space to accommodate 31 aircraft by 2030. Currently, 22 airplanes are situated at the airport, which totals about 140 acres on the west part of the community. The construction would likely be in an area north of existing hangars, and soccer fields would be relocated to somewhere else on the airport campus.
One deal under consideration is working with a local contractor to remove dirt at the airport for fill needed at the city’s new sewer plant. In return, the firm would prepare the soccer fields. It’s estimated 500-600 truckloads are needed at the sewer plant site.
Communities with airports, such as Houston, receive about $150,000 annually in transportation funds administered by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Those monies can be carried forward for five years. Additionally, federal grants that cover as much as 90 percent of the cost of projects are available.
In other matters, members:
-Approved a $25,785 bid for energy-efficient transformers for inventory and the city’s continued upgrade of its electrical system.
-Learned that a lower diving board has been removed at the Houston Municipal Swimming Pool because defects could not be repaired. The park board will obtain prices for another board or a slide to include in the 2010 budget.
-Heard that the city had received a letter thanking it for its cooperation as CableAmerica completed an extensive upgrade of its system to include telephone, cable and Internet broadband service.