HURRICANE – A meeting will be held tonight to discuss the possibility of using grants to fix or rebuild the city’s current airport. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the council chambers.
 
Toni Foran with planning and zoning said the meeting will focus on what should be done with the current airport.
 
Hurricane resident September Smith said she has attended the city council meeting and planning commission meeting and is not happy with the current options being discussed. She said the City’s airport board has been investigating the repair or rebuild of the current “small” airport, she said.
 
The city has been able to work with the FAA to receive grant money to reconstruct a new airport that would “better suit FAA regulations.” She said the original board researched the option of resurfacing the existing runway due to unstable soils that have made the runway nearly unusable.
 
Smith said one option is to extend the runway but that may require the full closure of 2060 South, in addition to purchasing several resident’s homes. She said that option might disrupt farming area in the neighborhood.
 
Another option is to completely realign the runway so it lies north and south for better take off and landing. That would also require purchasing farmland but may affect current homes.
 
Smith said she realizes the City’s master plan is to connect 700 W with 1100 W and create a main thoroughfare, but said most residents were not expecting that to happen in their lifetime.
 
She said she hopes the city will not jump into a decision just to take advantage of the grants and will make a decision that best suits the residents affected by the changes to the airport.

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