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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />2023 STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: November 13, 2023 <br />TOPIC: Bowers Field 2024 Discretionary Grant Constructing the Parallel Taxiway <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Direct staff continue working to build program credibility with the Federal Aviation <br />Administration (FAA). <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />Recently, airport staff were notified of an FAA decision removing discretionary <br />funding of ELN's parallel taxiway programmed for 2024. <br />• JUB (airport engineer) is on track to deliver plans and specifications for taxiway <br />construction in 2024, as programed for the past five years. <br />Engineering staff from the Seattle Area District Office (SADO) met last month <br />with the Airport Manager and Public Works Director discussing SADO's <br />frustration with the proliferation of 75-year leases at ELN. <br />• Responding to the concern, the Airport Manager briefed the advisory committee, <br />and the committee recommends declaring by resolution the county's land lease <br />policy of not exceeding thirty (30) years with a potential for two 10-year lease <br />extensions. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The adopted ELN Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan have been advancing the need to <br />build a parallel taxiway to runway 11/29 since master plan adoption in 2018. An FAA <br />design grant is nearing delivery by airport consultant JUB. The design is on schedule and <br />Public Works (PW) was anticipating taxiway construction in 2024 as planned. The <br />recent decision by the FAA canceling the 2024 construction grant was unexpected. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />While the FAA's decision canceling the 2024 parallel taxiway construction grant <br />maintains dangerous conditions on runway 11/29 owing to the amount of back taxing <br />taking place currently, it does not appear that the proposed 2026 reconstruction of runway <br />11/29 is in jeopardy. Failing to build the taxiway in 2024 does create an unknown impact <br />on Central Washington University's flight program. Keeping the program operating <br />during runway 11/29 2026 reconstruction, in the absence of a parallel taxiway, is an issue <br />demanding problem solving on the part of airport staff, CWU and the SADO. The <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2023 <br />