Clarksville Council Approves Airport Grant

by Janice Penix

The Clarksville City Council gave its approval Monday, June 9, for the city to apply for approximately $1 million in federal funds for improvements at the municipal airport.

Steve Fisher, chairman of the airport commission, and Brendan Oman, representing Garver Engineers, reported the grant will fund the extension of the airport taxiway, a critical step in the runway extension to allow larger planes to land at the airport.

Oman told aldermen a bid of $812,667.60 from RedStone Construction Group was the low bid of two received for the construction phase of the taxiway extension.

In addition to that cost, the city will pay Garver $221,800 for engineering fees and project administration services.

The grant application to the Federal Aviation Administration will total $1,039,468, with 95 percent of the project funded through federal funds and the city responsible for the remaining five percent, or $51,974. However the five percent will be reimbursed through state funding available from the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics, according to Oman.

Oman assured the Council the city will only be required to fund the five percent portion up front, with invoices reimbursed by the state as submitted.

In addition, he said Garver will not proceed with the construction project until the FAA grant is “in hand.”

Fisher said the taxiway extension is a vital part of the airport’s ability to serve larger aircraft.

“We were lucky to get this money for the runway extension, because there are some planes that cannot land at the airport,” he said. “And without the taxiway extension, we can’t commission the runway.”

The Council approved both the construction contract and the engineering contract with Garver, as well as the FAA grant application.

Action was also taken on a townhouse construction project and CCU power cost adjustment…The full story appears in the June 11 edition of The Graphic, found online and in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.