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City to spend $1 million on airport tower
By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com
The city of Mesquite first began working on getting a control tower at its airport in 2006. The city received a grant through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to cover a portion of the cost.
When the city first obtained the grant, the FAA indicated it would give the city $1.5 million towards the construction of the tower. Based on preliminary estimates the tower would cost $2 million, making the city responsible for $500,000.
The estimates for construction were based on a seven story tower being built at the McKinney Airport. The city was planning the design to be similar to the McKinney concept.
During the design phase of the Mesquite Metro Airport tower, the FAA determined the tower needed to be eight stories to provide adequate visibility over the airport’s operations. The city is also installing a backup IT/communications room on the second floor of the tower per its continuity of operations plan. These two items, along with other site-specific improvements and FAA technical requirements, have increased the estimated total project cost to $2,915,711, requiring the resolution be amended to increase the authorized total project cost to $3 million.
“When this was first estimated the cost was based on a McKinney tower that was under construction. We had some challenges at our airport and the cost increased,” said Jerry Dittman, assistant city manager. “Our tower will now be bigger than the one in McKinney.”
The FAA contribution to the cost of constructing the tower is capped at $2 million, making the city responsible for almost $1 million of the cost.
The council had previously allocated $231,286 towards the project from the 2010 Certificates of Obligation bond sale. The city council approved the allocation of the additional funding during its consent agenda on Tuesday, March 20.
The additional funding includes $29,977 from emergency management grants, $619,432 from the Snoeyenbos land reimbursement and $119,305 from capital reserve funds.
“The grants will contribute almost $30,000 to the cost,” Dittman said.
Once construction is completed the city will be responsible for maintaining the equipment and appearance inside the tower. The FAA will provide the staff to operate the tower at no cost to the city. The estimated annual operating cost to the city is $12,000.
The Texas Transportation Commission will take action on authorizing construction of the tower at its April meeting.
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