Proposed Expansion at Waverly Municipal Airport Defended

[Colleen Turner <turner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

January 2, 2004

Proposed Expansion at Waverly Airport Defended
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA


WAVERLY --- Bill Ramsey is one flying lesson closer to earning his instrument 
rating.

Though he lives in Waterloo, Ramsey, a Realtor, chooses to use the Waverly 
Municipal Airport for personal and business travel.

"It's a very neat little thing," the 20-year pilot says of the single runway 
general aviation airport. "People need it in the area."

In the new year, Waverly's City Council will likely determine whether the 
airport needs more space. Airport officials think so. Some pilots think so. The 
Federal Aviation Administration thinks so.

But not all of Waverly's residents are convinced.

A prospective land acquisition project at the airport stirred emotions at 
recent City Council sessions. Pilots and residents talked for and against 
adding a buffer zone to bring the airport up to the latest federal design 
standards.

"The land that borders the runway is not sufficient to meet that area," says 
Norm Mutchler, a Waverly resident who volunteers on the city's airport board.

Last spring, the council rejected an airport commission's request to extend the 
2,800 foot by 50 foot runway --- small compared to nearby Iowa airports, pilots 
say.

Now airport officials are asking the city to secure about 300 feet to the north 
and 250 feet to the south of the runway corridor for safety reasons. If the 
city owned the land, now used for agriculture and as a residence, that would 
ensure the area was void of structures.

But the acquisition would relocate one home and impact about five other 
properties. Affected residents say they live in fear that any land acquisition 
would pave the way for future expansion projects.

"It's just not necessary," said Fred Krumwiede, who lives near the airport, at 
a council session.

Council member Gary Boorom also voiced skepticism at the meeting.

"I haven't heard anything that said the planes that landed today can't be 
landed tomorrow," Boorom said.

Waverly airport: economic value

Mutchler, a longtime pilot, scorns the sentiment that an airport, at least 
non-commercial ones, are a country club for flyers.

"(People) don't realize the economic impact," he says. "Actually, it's one of 
the vital arms of the transportation system."

Crop dusters work out of the Waverly airport to serve nearby farmers. Pilots 
come from Wisconsin, even Florida, just for the plane maintenance work in 
Waverly.

Steve Shields, manager of Cedar Valley Aviation, which handles the airport's 
operations, says inquiries for instruction classes are consistent.

For area businessmen like Ramsey, being able to ferry clients around on a whim 
and avoiding the cost of commercial flying and the congestion of larger 
airports is important for business.

Civil air patrolman Steve Palmquist says when flying to and from towns such as 
Storm Lake or Prairie du Chien, avoiding commercial airports can save thousands 
of miles and hundreds of dollars.

"It just makes sense to have a direct route," he says.

Council members approved last month, by a 4-3 vote, a request to apply for 
federal dollars. Taken from a trust fund raised within the aviation community, 
the money would cover 90 percent of the $430,000 expansion project. The city 
would fund the remaining $10,000.

Whether the council actually approves a land acquisition will likely be decided 
in the next few months, said City Engineer Mike Cherry.

   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

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