Clintonville City Council members voted 8-0 in favor of petitioning the state Bureau of Aeronautics to allow a 500-foot extension to runway 4-22 at the Clintonville Municipal Airport.
The decision was made at the council’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Alderpersons Mark Doornink and Lois Bressette were absent-excused from the meeting.
The recommendation was made to council by the Airport Commission, and details were explained to the council by Airport Manager/Public Works Manager Mike McCord.
“Originally, we had petitioned the state to completely rebuild runway 4-22,” explained McCord. “When they told us that runway width requirements had changed from a 100-foot minimum to a 75-foot minimum, we then submitted another petition to find out if we could use the excess pulverized pavement to add length to the runway. Since we’re narrowing the runway from 100 feet to 75 feet, there will be a good amount of leftover pavement – enough to add about 500 feet to the length of the runway – and it just made sense to see if the state will allow us to do that.”
If the state approves the city’s petition, runway 4-22 will be about 3,800 feet when completed.
The majority of the money for the project will come from Department of Transportation (DOT) entitlement funds.
“The DOT allows us to rollover entitlement allotments for a few years if we are saving up for a large project such as this one,” explained McCord. “We haven’t used our entitlement funds for about three years now, and we will be reaching into 2015-16 entitlement funds in order to get this project done right.
“Some of the entitlement money we had accrued costs the city 2.5 cents on the dollar. Some of it will cost 5 cents on the dollar. So, the whole project will average out to a cost of about 3.5 cents on the dollar for the city,” said McCord. “The state will pay about 96.5 cents on the dollar.”
McCord said the total project cost is between $1.3-$1.5 million. This puts the city’s share at around $55,000-$60,000 for the construction phase. The city is responsible for about $5,000 in engineering costs as well.
“I still think paying 3.5 cents on the dollar for a 30-year improvement project worth $1.5 million is a pretty good deal,” concluded McCord.
Engineering is already underway, and the project will be bid by late fall of this year. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2014.
The council also approved a land lease for the construction of a new hangar. Marlyn Sprenger intends to build a private hangar this spring.
Employee recognition
The city honored Don Miller for his 10 years of service to the Clintonville Transit Commission. Though Miller was not in attendance, comments of appreciation for his efforts were shared with the council, and a special plaque will be delivered to Miller.
“Don did all the behind-the-scenes work for the taxi service and got no credit,” said Dick Koeppen. “He compiled all the facts, figures, monthly reports, and yearly reports. There was a ton of paperwork that needed to be done, and he did it. He deserves a lot of credit for all of his hard work. Without Don, there would be no taxi service. He did the real grunt work, and we can’t thank him enough.”
Public Finance Manager Mandy Kreisel will assume Miller’s duties going forward.
ArtyFest
The council discussed the possibility of ArtyFest, a new event scheduled to debut this summer, to become a city-sponsored event. A state grant to support the new event has also been applied for.
Arty’s was started in Clintonville in 2010 by Timothy Pappin and Ryan Mijal. ArtyFest would center around Arty’s Old Fashioned drinks.
The council was informed that the event will be designed to bring in visitors, with hopes that as many as possible stay overnight at hotels in Clintonville – as well as hotels in New London and the surrounding area, if needed.
The event will feature four bands, Mad Dog and Merrill, and several other fun events throughout the day and into the evening. Attendees will pay an entry fee to get into the event.
The council voted 7-0-1 in favor of investing $6,000 from the Tourism fund to make the event a city-sponsored attraction. Alderperson Bill Zeinert abstained.
The council went on to approve the following:
• Resolution 2013-02 in support of LRB 0615/1 Municipal Court Fees: This resolution supports a bill that would increase municipal court fees by $10 per fee. The City of Clintonville has asked Marion and Manawa to consider adopting a similar resolution;
• Resolution 2013-03 in support of LRB 0701/1 Fees Charged for Redactions in Open Records: This resolution supports a bill being introduced by a state legislator that would allow municipalities the ability to charge the cost of redacting when an open record request is made. City Administrator Lisa Kuss explained that there have been occasions when it has taken City Clerk/Treasurer Peggy Johnson and her staff many hours to go through and redact the necessary items when large open record requests are made. In order for a city to charge a fee to cover these expenses, a change in state law is necessary, thus the introduction of this bill;
• Ordinance 1080- Residency Requirements: This would change residency requirements for certain city employees to increase from a 12-mile radius of City Hall to a 15-mile radius of City Hall. In addition, the only person required to live in the city limits is the City Administrator. The ordinance adds the Police Chief and Fire Chief to the city resident requirement.
• A funds request for support of the Pigeon River Classic on May 4: The total amount is $583; and
• The appointment of Alderperson Al Miller to the Street Committee and Facilities Committee.
The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, at City Hall.