Council approves relocation of airport fuel tanks, dispensers

Two grants will help fund the relocation of fuel tanks and fuel dispensers at the Newton Municipal Airport, and, in turn, allow future taxiway and apron projects to be considered for the almost 70-year-old airfield.

Acquired in 2016 and 2017, the federal grants awarded to the city by the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) will pay for a majority of the Newton Airport Fuel Tank Relocation Project, provided the estimated total local match of $141,000 is met and paid from 2018 bond funds.

Although awarded in two separate grants, the relocation of the fuel facilities is planned to be constructed as one project. Out-of-pocket local match dollars required for the relocation project derived from set percentages introduced in the two IDOT grants, combining both city costs from the grants — an estimated $74,000 and $67,000, respectively — into one payment.

The first grant associated with the project, which had been approved by the Newton City Council in November 2016, promised to fund 80 percent of the eligible costs for fuel tank improvements, allotting the remaining 20 percent for the city to cover; the second grant opted to pay 75 percent of the eligible project costs for installing new fuel dispensers as long as the city paid for the 25 percent local match.

The city council approved the contract during its meeting Monday night with Des Moines-based Unified Contracting Services, which had offered the low, base bid of $510,620 by Dec. 6, along with a competing $634,379 bid by Seneca Companies, Inc. The council also approved an alternate project in the contract allowing a tank monitor upgrade.

Project construction plans and specifications were prepared by the city’s aviation engineer Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, according to documents included in the city council agenda packet. Now that the contract is approved, Community Services Manager Brian Laube said Unified Contracting Services can now order materials for the project to be ready for a spring 2019 construction.

Laube clarified, although the tanks and dispensers are being relocated elsewhere at Newton Municipal Airport, the fuel system will also be replaced and upgraded. The fuel tanks for both aviation gas and jet fuel are a few decades old and are obstructing future projects at their current location.

The two new underground fuel tanks, new fuel cabinets and related equipment will be installed south of the existing terminal, according to council documents. To begin the Newton Municipal Airport’s apron and taxiway expansions, the relocation project must first be completed. In particular, the northernmost end of taxiway is too close to the runway, is in need of maintenance and does not meet federal standards.

“Where that (expanded taxiway) would be runs right through where the current fuel systems are at, so we have to move the fuel tanks,” Laube told the Newton Daily News Tuesday. “And because they’re approaching 30 years old, it makes sense to put new ones in.”

Ethan Nasalroad, president of Johnson Aviation, Inc., the fixed-base operator of the Newton Municipal Airport, describes the relocation project as a “housekeeping” item that will help pave the way for more airstrip improvements since both the location of the tanks and dispensers prohibit such actions from currently happening.

Improving the Newton Municipal Airport, originally founded by Fred Maytag II and Earl Johnson, is important to Nasalroad, citing the general aviation airport regularly caters large corporate aircraft and often serves as a “first impression” for Newton’s out-of-town businesses.

"They may be looking at expanding here or starting a business here or something like that, and a lot of times they fly. It's important to have that good impression," Nasalroad said Wednesday. "More importantly, that airport is what I like to call a 'third exit.'"

In close proximity to the 30,000 capacity Iowa Speedway, the Newton Municipal Airport is doubly important for competing drivers. Nasalroad said this is partly why the relocation project was planned early enough to be substantially completed before the first racing season kicks off at the 7/8-mile track.

Council documents state the removal of the old fuel tanks, which were bid as add alternates, are not included in the contract with Unified Contracting Services. The city has instead chosen to seek an additional grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to offset removal costs, “and then this removal work may be presented to the council as a change order under this contract.”

Removal of the tanks may also be bid as a standalone project in the next fiscal year depending on “the possible IDNR grant money timing and availability.”

While construction is underway, both Laube and Nasalroad said there would be no disruption in fuel sales.

“Fuel will always be available,” Laube said.

Council approval of the projects and the preceding grants arrives a month after City of Newton Community Services staff posted its decision to apply for a considerable grant.

In early November, staff revealed it had submitted a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant application for a $3.3 million project — following the authority's announcement to appropriate $1 billion to airport projects both big and small — to complete the aforementioned taxiway improvements listed in their most recent Airport Improvement Plan.

“If awarded early next year, this grant could save the city several hundred thousand dollars in local match requirements when compared to the typical project funding agreement normally seen on airport projects,” the release stated.

During its Monday night meeting, council approved staff’s submission of a pre-application for federal airport improvement program funding and certifying eligibility requirements. Council’s action does not commit the city to spend money on any proposed projects, but it “does make the city eligible for potential future grants.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com