The Crookston Airport Commission met on Thursday morning and received an update from City Administrator Amy Finch informing the board the Crookston Municipal Airport is eligible for a $32,000 grant. Melissa Underwood of SEH Consultants also provided the board an update on the airport’s Capital Improvement Plan.
Finch discussed the grant the airport is eligible for and what the money can be used for. “The grant is from the FAA and can be used to help with mitigation and the spread of COVID-19,” said Finch. “$32,000 is what we’re eligible for, and it will include no local match, which is unheard of for grant and no brainer, I think to approve. It can be used for operations, cleaning services, janitorial services, just as long as it’s combatting the spread of COVID-19.”
The board approved the grant unanimously, and a resolution will be before City Council at their next meeting. If approved by City Council, the airport commission will have until November 30 to respond to the FAA with their application.
The board has also been looking to change the name of the Crookston Municipal Airport to the Crookston Regional Airport. The airport’s full name is Crookston Municipal Airport Kirkwood Field, and the only change would be to replace Municipal with Regional. For a change to occur, it is an FAA requirement to have the sign at the airport updated to reflect the change before submitting a request to the FAA.
A brand-new sign would cost around $20,000 while fixing just the panels and changing the name on the current sign would range around $5,000. The airport is a levied fund for the city’s 2022 budget, and Finch gave her thoughts on a new sign and other alternative options with budget cuts looming. “To just change the panels and the name would be around $5,000, and we believe we could support that in this year’s budget so it wouldn’t affect the 2022 budget,” said Finch. “If we’re looking at one of the higher-priced options that likely cannot be supported in our upcoming budget.”
Finch did provide one more alternative option for the airport commission and their decision. “Travis Oliver has reached out with his community projects class at the High School, and they’re looking for potential projects,” said Finch. “We’re going to reach out and see if this is something they could take on and see if that could reduce the cost on some of the higher-cost options.”
Commission Chairman Fred Parnow also noted that having Oliver and his class help with the sign will help with all the signs in the city looking the same and creating a sense of community. Finch will be reaching out to Oliver soon to see how much of the project his class could do and see if it’s a project that would be eligible for his class to participate in. The board tabled the decision, for now, will discuss a possible decision at its next meeting.
Lastly, the board received an update from Melissa Underwood of SEH on their capital improvement plan and if anything needs to be addressed or changed. Underwood explained how the airport zoning ordinances will need to be updated now that the master plan has been updated. “Zoning ordinances are a state requirement,” said Underwood. “They need to make sure the zoning ordinances for your airport match the 20-year plan. So, since the city just updated the master plan, it’s important they also recognize the need to update the zoning ordinances.”
The zoning ordinance can be updated during the next budget year and is not an immediate need to focus on. The airport will work with the county to update the ordinances in the future. Underwood’s updates were informational, and no action was needed from the board.
