Amador County - In an effort to gather funding to improve infrastructure at Westover Field, representatives of the Amador County General Services Department sought approval from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to pursue a grant application and matching funds. The grants sought fall under the lengthy title of Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program Application. GSA Director Jon Hopkins gave an overview of the history of the process, beginning with a suggestion by Airport Manager David Sheppard to submit a grant application for a number of improvement projects, including runway safety improvements like a slurry seal and parallel taxiway, and replacing the current visual approach indicator. These improvements were made all the more urgent when the project manager advised the GSA that the airport will not be eligible for future grants until the runway safety area meets current FAA guidelines. A grant application to cover all projects totaling $1,170,000 was submitted by a February 2 deadline, but Hopkins said that due to time constraints it was not cleared through the Supervisors first. The Board had the choice of whether to accept or reject the grant offer. The FAA returned an approval of only $288,099. The FAA will fund 90 percent of the grant, or $273,694, CALTRANS Aeronautics will fund 2.5 percent of that 95 percent, leaving a balance for the county of approximately $7,563. In regards to submitting a grant application without prior Supervisor approval, Supervisor Richard Forster said “I don’t like someone being too much of a maverick, but when you have a chance at over a million dollars…take it.” Supervisor John Plasse asked “what portion of the funds this grant comes close to accomplishing.” Hopkins said General fund monies would be needed as the Airport Enterprise Fund does not have the money for the required local match. Hopkins said that much of the County’s share of the costs could be reduced by using County staff to accomplish some of the projects. He said this was not always easy considering FAA guidelines and layers of paperwork, but that “local construction would be used whenever possible.” The Supervisors approved the motion unanimously. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - In an effort to gather funding to improve infrastructure at Westover Field, representatives of the Amador County General Services Department sought approval from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to pursue a grant application and matching funds. The grants sought fall under the lengthy title of Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program Application. GSA Director Jon Hopkins gave an overview of the history of the process, beginning with a suggestion by Airport Manager David Sheppard to submit a grant application for a number of improvement projects, including runway safety improvements like a slurry seal and parallel taxiway, and replacing the current visual approach indicator. These improvements were made all the more urgent when the project manager advised the GSA that the airport will not be eligible for future grants until the runway safety area meets current FAA guidelines. A grant application to cover all projects totaling $1,170,000 was submitted by a February 2 deadline, but Hopkins said that due to time constraints it was not cleared through the Supervisors first. The Board had the choice of whether to accept or reject the grant offer. The FAA returned an approval of only $288,099. The FAA will fund 90 percent of the grant, or $273,694, CALTRANS Aeronautics will fund 2.5 percent of that 95 percent, leaving a balance for the county of approximately $7,563. In regards to submitting a grant application without prior Supervisor approval, Supervisor Richard Forster said “I don’t like someone being too much of a maverick, but when you have a chance at over a million dollars…take it.” Supervisor John Plasse asked “what portion of the funds this grant comes close to accomplishing.” Hopkins said General fund monies would be needed as the Airport Enterprise Fund does not have the money for the required local match. Hopkins said that much of the County’s share of the costs could be reduced by using County staff to accomplish some of the projects. He said this was not always easy considering FAA guidelines and layers of paperwork, but that “local construction would be used whenever possible.” The Supervisors approved the motion unanimously. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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