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The Federal Aviation Administration issued a multimillion-dollar warning this week that it won’t fund repairs to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport runway at its existing location after this year.
The FAA manager of the Denver office notified county officials via email Monday that an anticipated $6.5 million grant to help repair the deteriorating runway is the last funding the agency will provide.
“Starting in 2021 the FAA has helped maintain the existing runway and taxiway pavement with 4 grants totaling over $12 million with an additional grant anticipated this year estimated at $6.5 million,” said the letter written by John Bauer. “With the expenditure of $18.5 million on runway maintenance, we will not invest additional funding to maintain the existing runway and taxiway pavement. The next FAA investment will be to reconstruct the runway in the location shown on the approved (Airport Layout Plan).”
That layout plan has been one of the major battlefields between a faction that wants an extensive overhaul of the airport facilities and a citizen-led group favoring a toned-down plan. The current plan, approved in 2016, calls for the runway to be located 80 feet to the west to provide full separation between the runway and taxiway. But the county and its consultants are working on an update of the plan that proposes keeping the runway in its current location and moving the taxiway to the east. Bauer said a project must be shown in an approved Airport Layout Plan to be eligible for FAA funds.
County Manager Jon Peacock presented the email to county commissioners on Tuesday and Airport Director Dan Batholomew discussed it Thursday with the Airport Advisory Board, which makes recommendations to the commissioners.
Bartholomew told the advisory board that the FAA wants runway maintenance projects to provide solutions for more than 10 years. The recent repairs to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport runway have only lasted six months to two years, he said. A consultant’s analysis last fall indicated the runway is experiencing failure below the surface and has reached its useful life.
“They’re not willing to invest millions of dollars into a runway that will (deteriorate) in six months,” Bartholomew said. “This is $18.5 million that they feel like they’re flushing down the toilet.”
He said Pitkin County needs to take Bauer’s warning seriously that the financial pipeline will be shut off for runway repairs.
“That’s a big, bold statement from the FAA,” Bartholomew said. “They don’t usually put things like that in writing. When they do, it’s significant.”
The FAA wouldn’t close the airport if they stop funding runway repairs, but they would require the county to cover the expense themselves, according to Bartholomew.
Peacock told commissioners on Tuesday that the FAA position is not a surprise to county officials who have worked with them on funding issues.
“It’s really just the FAA reminding us that we have an existing Airport Layout Plan,” Peacock said. “We have flagged changes for them and they are really starting to pull in their discretionary funding until it is applied towards an approved Airport Layout Plan.”
Bauer’s letter noted the agency has provided $116.5 million in federal funding for various projects since 1982.
Opponents of the full-blown airport overhaul have contended the FAA is trying to intervene in a local community debate even before this latest letter. The FAA has pushed for a new runway at a width that would accommodate aircraft with wider wingspans. Supporters say such a runway makes sense to make sure the airport can accommodate commercial aircraft well into the future. Foes say it’s a recipe for industrial tourism.
Amory Lovins, founder and leader of the nonprofit group Aspen Fly Right, which is opposed to a runway widening that would allow larger planes to utilize the airport, wasn’t present at Thursday’s advisory board meeting.
Pitkin County airport consultant Brad Jacobson told the advisory board Thursday that expanding the taxiway and leaving the runway where it is — as envisioned in the current draft of the new Airport Layout Plan — has a very expensive financial drawback. That plan would require a relocation of the airport control tower.
FAA officials informed him in a recent meeting that their preferred location would be east of Highway 82 from the airport and north of the existing alignment. In addition, FAA officials informed Pitkin County that it would have to pay for the relocation itself.
“The last tower they built was over $100 million,” Jacobson said.
In addition, it would likely be required to be significantly taller than the existing tower, Jacobson said. Jacque Francis, advisory board chair, said the relocated tower would be “monstrous” on the scale of a Las Vegas hotel.
Aspen City Manager Sara Ott, who also sits on the advisory board, said a tower of that size adjacent to Highway 82 likely wouldn’t be well-received by the public because of its visual impact on the landscape.
Barry Vaughn, an alternate member of the advisory board, said the presumed advantages of moving the taxiway east rather than the runway to the west have disappeared. It’s time to reevaluate that strategy, he said.
“It might be better for the community and for us to move back to the original plan,” Vaughn said.
But board member Valerie Braun offered a different take. She said she has always felt the FAA would place so many restrictions on Pitkin County’s plans that it would force the county to keep the existing Airport Layout Plan.
“I really feel like our arms are being twisted and this is a long-term hope of the FAA,” she said.
Braun continued by saying the federal agency is playing “hardball” and that the county shouldn’t necessarily give up on the preferences for the new Airport Layout Plan.
“I’m just saying we have to play a little hardball, too,” Braun said.
A contingent from Pitkin County, including commissioners Patti Clapper and Francie Jacober, are traveling to Washington, D.C., for meetings with FAA officials and members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation on Feb. 29. Braun expressed hope that they can make progress on autonomy issues at those meetings.
Commissioner Greg Poschman said at Tuesday’s meeting that the FAA letter is helpful in interpreting how dependent the county is on the agency’s grants for airport upkeep.
“This is a really clear letter and I’m glad you shared this with us today and I’m hoping the public has a chance to understand the significance of this,” Poschman said. “I’m also grateful to see that they articulated the actual amount of the federal grant funding since 1982 (which is) $116.5 million, to show how deeply married we are to the FAA on this.”