Rush City Council discusses adding taxiway at airport

Posted 4/11/01

Rush City Council discusses adding taxiway at airport

By Danielle Strenke

The Rush City Municipal Airport Board met last week, discussing the possibility of adding a taxiway, additional hangar space, and replacing the airportís beacon.

Rush City Administrator Daniel Hoffman asked the Rush City Council if they could discuss the taxiway and hangar space additions, at the councilís meeting Monday, April 9.

ìWhere do they taxi now, right on the runway?î Mayor Mike Skalsky asked.

Hoffman told the council that the taxiway has been discussed as a safety issue; it would not be necessary for planes to use the runway for taxiing, leaving it vacant for planes that may be landing.
ìAny idea of the cost,î Councilmember Bill Schneider asked.

Hoffman said estimates for a full taxiway, the length of the 4,400 foot runway, would run about $500,000. ìA taxiway one-third of that is what we should be looking at, meaning a cost of around $160,000,î he said.

He told the council that up to 90 percent of the total cost of the taxiway addition could be federally funded through the Federal Aviation Administration. If it is not deemed eligible for federal funding, he said, the state would be willing to foot 60 percent of the bill.

The council was not sure that spending more money at the airport was a good move at this time. ìWe just spent a lot of money out there on the airport, I donít know, Iím not keen on this,î Councilmember David Bengtson said.

ìIím not interested in getting involved in a $160,000 project either, but if we are talking a 90-10 situation, we should pursue getting Chisago County and Pine City involved,î Schneider said.

Hoffman said the other two potential projectsñ replacing the beacon, and adding more hangar spaceñ would most likely not be eligible for federal funding.

Purchase of RR property

The council also discussed purchasing property around the railroad line through the center of town, which includes the now vacant property used by the First National Bank for drive-thru service, and south to Dana Ave.

The land is owned by ANT, LLC, and up until now has been leased by the city. It is being offered for a purchase price of around $15,400. If the city wishes to maintain a lease of the property, the annual lease price will increase to $1,800.

ìIf youíre interested, I think itís something we should pursue,î Hoffman said.

ìI think we should pursue buying the property,î Schneider said.

Hoffman said both an environmental review, and a survey of the property should be completed before the city agrees to purchase it.

In other business, the council:

ï Heard complaints from audience members regarding the condition of several roads through Rush City, including Hwy. 361, and Co. Rds. 54 and 7.