CAA: GA News, "Louisiana officials fighting to land airport grants"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Saturday, October 26, 2002

Slidell fighting to land airport grants 
Plan includes new terminal, runways 
By Paul Bartels 
St. Tammany bureau
The New Orleans (LA) Times-Picayune


Slidell is continuing its aggressive efforts to win federal and state
grants to improve the 35-year-old airport it has operated for the past
dozen years.

The City Council this week asked the state Office of Aviation to put up
money from the transportation trust fund to help finance a five-year
capital improvements plan for Slidell Municipal Airport.

The resolution was introduced at the request of Mayor Ben Morris, who
made airport improvements a priority during his election campaign. A
specific amount isn't requested in the resolution, but the cost of
paying for all the projects listed would run into the millions of
dollars.

The program, prepared by Professional Engineering Consultants of Baton
Rouge, is largely based on the 20-year master development plan for the
airport prepared by Alliance Inc. of Shreveport and released in 1999.

The five-year program breaks down the projects by financing source. A
few of the projects already are under way, but most are on the drawing
board or early planning stages.

Listed as projects for which federal financing is sought or anticipated
are:

   -- Airfield lighting and navigational aids upgrades, including
rehabilitation of the runway and taxiway lighting systems.

   -- Rebuilding a stretch of Taxiway A.

   -- Airfield wetlands identification and mitigation plan and
environmental assessment for the planned extension of Runway 18-36.

   -- Extending that runway, and the taxiway, install runway and taxiway
lighting, relocate navigation aids, acquire additional land and relocate
a power line.

   -- Concrete overlay of Runway 18-36.

   -- Move part of the airport perimeter fence, install some new fencing
and upgrade the T-hangar access road.

Construction of a new terminal building is listed as a state-funded
project. Extension of water and sewer service to the airport, and
building more T-hangars and parking areas for them are listed under
city-financed projects.

The council last month accepted a $335,350 bid from McDonald
Construction of Slidell to build two east-west taxi lanes for the
T-hangar complex. Engineering and other expenses are expected to push
the total cost to $500,000.

The project should be finished by March. The Federal Aviation
Administration is paying 90 percent of the cost; the state is paying the
rest.

The city hopes soon to receive another FAA grant for new runway and
taxiway lighting and the new navigation system. The state is being asked
to pick up the 10 percent local match.

The council in August approved a $124,366 contract with Coast Waterworks
Inc. to extend water and sewerage service to the airport. The airport
now gets its water from a dilapidated well. Sewage is handled by
individual "packet plants" that serve on-site businesses and offices.

Morris, new airport Manager Bob Dunbar and City Engineer Stan Polivick
flew to Dallas in late July to meet with regional officials with the
Federal Aviation Administration to push for more than $5 million for the
upgrades.

The move toward airport improvements began last fall, under then-Mayor
Sam Caruso's administration, when the city put in a bid to federal and
state aviation authorities for grants to finance 11 projects outlined in
the earlier master plan.

More than 100 aircraft are based at the airport, which has 18 buildings.
Three are used by the city, one by the Civil Air Patrol and one by the
National Weather Service. The others are leased to the St. Tammany
Parish Mosquito Abatement District, private individuals and businesses,
the largest of which is Slidell Aviation Services.

The airport is the state's third-busiest general aviation facility, as
opposed to major commercial air carriers such as Louis Armstrong
International in Kenner and Metro in Baton Rouge.


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