County, city continue airport talks

Plans to reclaim New Rockford’s municipal airport are progressing. New Rockford City Commission President Stu Richter and Airport Authority member Troy Georgeson reported to the Eddy County Commission Tuesday.

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission has indicated that they are willing to formally consider funding for the project in April, which could bring an estimated $1.4 million in state dollars to the project.

The full reclamation would include a ”full-depth reclamation” of the runway and taxiway, reshaping and grading of the runway safety area, apron reconstruction, taxiway extensions and access road repair.

Richter and Georgeson said a key factor in receiving the state funding is local support. A letter of intent and support from the Eddy County Commission is needed, and letters from community members who use and/or rely on the airport for services would also strengthen the application.

Georgeson is a seasoned aerial applicator who needs a place to land in order to spray crops for farmers in the area.

“We gotta have local support, and the state has to see that in order to keep our airport going,” Georgeson said.

Based on estimates from Interstate Engineering shared previously, the city needs to come up with approximately $700,000 in local funds to make it happen.

The city proposes to borrow the $700,000, and based on current rates, Richter said the payment would be $70,000 per year for 15 years. The city will also need to build a pilot’s lounge in order to receive the state funding, and they will use the insurance money from the 2018 wind storm to do so.

Richter requested that the county levy 3 mills for a defined period of 15 years. As the value of one mill is $17,000 currently, the levy would generate $51,000 per year. The funds would be used specifically to pay the debt service on the $700,000 loan.

The city would cover the remainder of the loan payments and build the pilot’s lounge. The city has also paid all the engineering costs for the cost estimate and the designs and specifications needed to bid the project. The total cost of those services, for which they’ve engaged Interstate Engineering, is $81,000.

Per N.D. Century Code, the county can authorize up to 4 mills without a public vote, Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies confirmed.

Commissioner Dave Gehrtz said he has heard from two farmers in the past month, and both are now in support of the project.

“At least we’d have an airport in our county that we can utilize,” one farmer told Gehrtz.

There are also private individuals interested in building hangars at the airport, and local ag businesses have indicated that their chemical suppliers would like the opportunity to fly into the airport.

Richter said anyone who would benefit from aerial services in the community is encouraged to write a letter of support, so they can quantify the impact this project would have on the county. Any and all information they can put together about how residents, businesses and visitors use the airport will help their application to the state.

Commissioners indicated that they would consider the request, and Lies was directed to draw up a joint powers agreement for review.

Allmaras said that although he would like to see the city provide half of the local funding, not including the insurance money, he sees value in the project.

“I believe this helps the whole county,” Allmaras said.

Gehrtz added that he understands the city can’t fund this particular project alone.

“This is going to end, and they are going to continue with liability,” Gehrtz said. referring to the 15-year sunset on the proposed mill levy. “If we don’t do it now, we’re not going to have it.”

Auditor Patty Williams and Commissioner Glenda Collier were mindful of the county’s current obligations. They stressed that moving forward with the request would impact the overall budget for 15 years.

“We have a lot of things to think about,” Collier said.

No action was taken on the airport project at Tuesday's meeting.

In other business, the commission approved a resolution to sell a piece of land adjacent to the courthouse to the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District. The district will pay a total of $3,589 for the lots, which includes special assessments and a survey.

Road Superintendent Todd Weber reported that his crew is struggling to keep roads safe through harvest after the recent snowstorm and subsequent wet conditions.

Weber asks that residents keep him informed of roads with issues so they can be addressed. “I can’t be on every road. Every day it changes,” he said. “We’re not out here to point fingers, we’re here to help get them fixed.”

The county held a special meeting about the county shop recently, and they did have a contractor express interest in building the new structure proposed in Sheyenne. They made a few changes to the plans, which will be finalized by Interstate Engineering. The request for bids will be published soon, as the bid opening is set for January 3, 2024.

On-site boring is in progress on Brantford Highway. Results from the testing should be ready in time for the December meeting, so the commission will have a better understanding of what needs to be done and how much it will cost to shore it up.

NR-S students wrote letters about issues of concern and sent them to the Eddy County Commission as part of a class project.

“There were some very well-written letters,” Gehrtz said. “You can tell they are learning.”

All the commissioners expressed gratitude to the students for taking the time to write. All the students will receive a reply letter signed by Gehrtz. In addition, the commission shared the letters with the Transcript. All the letters will be published on our editorial page, four each week until all have been printed. See page A4 for the first installment of letters.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 8:30 a.m. Residents should take note that the courthouse will be closed Nov. 23 and 24 for Thanksgiving.