Dubois County Airport Authority meeting: Seeking easements on 6 acres for FAA approval

Huntingburg — The airport authority decided to move forward with determining how much to pay for the easements to bring Runway 09 back into Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) compliance.

The authority learned in June that the runway was no longer approved for instrument approaches from the west at night due to trees and three towers considered to be obstructions. The towers and trees will have to be removed to bring the runway back into compliance for the FAA.

The authority is seeking an easement to remove the trees and towers from the land owned by Mable and Leroy Bartelt since they do not want to sell the approximately 6 acres of woodland to the airport.

Chris Snyder with Woolpert Engineering recommended the authority move forward with two appraisals of the six acres. He also recommended Multi Resources, a company versed in appraising the value of the timber, to conduct an inspection to determine the value of the timber on the land.

Snyder told the authority the companies he found were able to do the appraisals for about $3,740 total.

Snyder will complete a boundary description to determine the historic property lines of the piece of land and the airport authority will have to hire a local surveying company to stake out those lines. Woolpert’s investigative work will cost the airport authority an additional $14,170

Snyder recommended the appraisals and survey be conducted as quickly as possible. The authority approved moving forward with those appraisals and assessments. The airport manager Travis McQueen was also directed to request three quotes for the survey work for approval at the September meeting.

Once the easements are in place the authority will clear-cut the timber and remove the towers with the goal of turning the land into tillable farmland with an air navigation easement for the runway.

Snyder told the board the costs associated with this are reimbursable by the FAA.

The board also approved paying Woolpert Engineering $16,000 towards the continued process of extending the existing runway east.

Snyder recommended the authority take the next step of conducting meetings with the landowners that will be affected by the runway extension plans or property purchases.

The authority also heard from airport manager Travis McQueen who informed the board the airport has sold 37,393 gallons of Jet A since taking over in March. They have also sold 8,411 gallons of self-serve in that same time.

McQueen reported that John A. Layne, 53, of Danville, IN, the pilot injured in the plane crash on July 19, had to have major reconstructive surgery to his legs. He is reported to have recently stood up for the first time since the accident.

From the accident, McQueen asked the board to explore avenues for better training for him and his staff in regards to responding to emergencies. He told the board he was the first person at the scene of the plane crash and he felt ill-prepared to assist Layne.

McQueen was given the go-ahead to find some options for training. He was also told to begin searching for an automatic external defibrillator for the airport. He will also be installing fire extinguishers in his airport vehicle.