A 20 year plan

The Airport Board Meeting on February 25, 2020 was scheduled to discuss the apron expansion project and complete the WACIP, which is a request for federal funding.

An apron is the area of the airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded, loaded, refueled or boarded. There was much discussion between the three proposals for the apron project but the Airport Board came to a decision, picking the design that would make it easier to move airplanes and remove snow in the winter. The proposed design would be the most consistent ground level wise as it would essentially be one large connected paved area. It would also provide additional room for larger airplanes.

The design would require the most fill material, reconstruction and cost the most. However, the consensus at the meeting seemed to be that it would be the most beneficial.

A de-icing pad will be included in the design as Shivlely Field currently does not have that capability. The de-icing pad can also be used to park larger aircraft in the summer providing more flexibility and options for Shively Field.

A gravity fed evaporation pond will be constructed to capture the run off of the de-icing solutions which cannot be dumped on the ground. Research will be done to determine what the regulations are for disposal of the waste substance. Estimates for the actual cost still need to be completed.

Equipment for de-icing will be added to the request for funding.

Other items being added to the WACIP include updating connectors to FAA standards, repairs to the fence around the airport to keep out wildlife, paint for taxiway markings, a new gate, signs, a firetruck, a tractor with a snow blower and brush hog and a building to house equipment. The members of the Airport Board made the list as comprehensive as possible to include any items that may require maintenance within the next 20 years.

Another concern was brought up at the meeting. Last fall, President Trump’s airplane was unable to land at Shively Field. There have been many rumors as to the reason. The airplane’s personnel called ahead to confirm the runway was substantial enough to handle the weight of the plane.

Shively Field’s pavement classification number (PCN), a number that provides the load-carrying capacity of a runway, is in question. Currently the load capacity is not exactly known, therefore, the engineer did not feel it was safe to give approval. A point was made during the meeting that the PCN needs to be updated and made known so issues like this do not happen in the future. Additional research will be done.