by Richard Uhlhorn
The City of Chelan held two meetings (December 5 and 6) to update the progress J.U.B. Engineers has made on the proposed Chelan Airport expansion project slated to commence construction in 2027 upon approvals by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
J.U.B is in the process of conducting an Environmental Assessment (EA). Currently the existing airport has a number of safety issues that need correction. A draft EA is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024 with a final delivered in the Fall. The Draft EA will be sent out to the general public with a 30-day comment period.
The FAA has already approved expanding the airport runway to 4,400 feet and when 116 acres of land is acquired an FAA grant totaling $24 million dollars would be available. The State would add $500,000 and both the Chelan and Port of Chelan County would added another $500,000 split between them.
“We will hold an Open House to hopefully select an airport (expansion) design of 3,500 feet or 4,400 feet,” Mark Napier – J.U.B. Engineers, told a large audience of property owners and hanger owners surrounding the airport. “There is enough traffic to justify a 4,400 foot long runway,” he added.
The acquisition of property will take place after a determination of value has been accomplished by a certified appraiser. His/her work will be checked by another appraiser after which offers and negotiations with property owners will commence.
The expansion, when concluded, will allow larger aircraft like 10 person Cessna Citations to land at the Chelan Airport. This could lead to more business, recreational and medical flights using the airport.
One person remarked that adding 115 flights to Chelan for the $24 million expansion “was not a whole lot of bang for our buck.”
The economic impacts are also in question at this early stage. At the Tuesday, December 5, City Workshop, Councilman Tim Hollingsworth asked if there was or will be a cost-benefit analysis conducted? Wade Farris – city administrator replied that the expansion would impact tourism and it was time to look into the future. Councilman John Olson added that if the Colville Confederated Tribes go forward with their plans to build a 400 to 500 unit Hotel/Casino in Manson, it would definitely increase air traffic.
Teresa Ferrell-Pascoe remarked that it was a lot of money. “It is not going to benefit everyone in the Valley,” she said. Another property owner added that people have concerns on how these decisions are made. “I would like to be informed. That’s not too much to ask.”
One of the orchardists stated that farmers don’t look at land, “We look 20 years down the road.” He then suggested that they rezone the property to commercial so they can recover some of their losses from the expansion.
Trent Moyers, director of airports from Pangborn stated that the FAA has its own environmental team to help the project move forward.
Hollingsworth asked the big question for the community. “How valuable is our airport to our community.”
It’s a question that will be answered down the road when the draft EA is finished this coming summer and J.U.B Engineers holds an Open House on the subject of expansion for the entire community to weigh in.
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