Saline-Gunnison Airport awarded
$90,000 for runway repairs
Robert Stevens
Managing editor
11-24-2016
GUNNISON — Gunnison City has lined up a grant from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to help pay for maintenance costs at the Salina-Gunnison Airport.
The grant was discussed during the Nov. 16 Gunnison City Council meeting. Councilman Robert Anderson oulined the grant’s details to the other council members and to Gunnison Mayor Bruce Blackham.
“UDOT has this money available periodically, and they’ve really worked really well with a number of the rural airports,” Anderson said.
He told the council that UDOT had adopted airport runways into some of the areas available for state assistance grants to help cover repair costs.
The grant would consist of $90,000 in funding from UDOT on the condition that both Gunnison City and Salina City agree to put $5,000 each toward the repair project as well.
Anderson said that Salina had already committed to their end of the deal. With $3,500 currently already in the budget for repairs, the city would need to pay only another $1,500 to get a total of $100,000 to use for airport repairs, specifically improving the condition of the runway.
“They need to know soon that both parties are going to put in their share,” Anderson said.
He suggested the city use the money they had budgeted to pay for membership in the Economic Development Corporation program, because they had decided in a previous meeting not to renew the city’s membership.
The council also discussed the possibility of part of the $5,000 coming from some in-kind work donations from a resident.
The proposal passed and the council voted to move forward with the grant and committed to contribute $5,000 along with Salina’s $5,000 to qualify for the UDOT repair funding grant.
