By Michael Howell
The Stevensville Town Council is planning on some last minute design changes to the runway reconstruction project at the Stevensville airport. The council went ahead and approved the approximately $2 million project as originally designed but plans on making a grant application amendment including the new design change at its next meeting. According to Mayor Jim Crews, the FAA has given a preliminary nod of agreement to the change in plans.
The proposed changes include the removal of the jug handle turnaround at the top end of the runway and instead the taxi way will be extended to that end of the runway with a simple straight connection instead of the jug handle. The current taxiway connection at the middle of the runway will be eliminated. According to Crews, the removal of the jug handle turnaround and the midway connection will realize a savings of about $50,000. The added cost of extending the taxiway will pretty much be offset by the savings, according to Crews.
Although the FAA is looking favorably on the changes, it will not pay for the design of the new plans since it had already paid the cost of the original plans which included a design for the reconstruction of the midway taxiway connection that is now being dropped from the proposal. The cost of engineering a new design was initially estimated at about $5,000, but on closer examination the expected cost ran up to about $6,500. The engineering company has offered to do the job for $5,000 “to make things easier on the town.”
Another cost saving measure included in the change in design is the elimination of the proposed lighting on the taxiway in favor of using reflectors instead.
If the project is approved as re-designed, work is expected to begin on August 1.
The Council unanimously passed a motion allowing the Mayor to act as the Zoning Administrator “when necessary.” Mayor Crews told the council that upon examination of the duties of the Zoning Administrator he realized that the town could not really get along without one since the municipal code places the authority to issue business licenses as well as code enforcement in the hands of the Zoning Administrator. The code also ascribes the powers of the Flood Plain Administrator to the position of the Zoning Administrator. Crews said that it will take some more investigation of the code before a good job description for the Zoning Administrator could be formulated. In the meantime, he said, the Mayor could serve as Zoning Administrator until a job description could be adopted and the position filled.
The Council approved a Special Event Permit for the Creamery Picnic celebration and plans on amending the permit to extend the road closure on 3rd Street into the evening to accommodate the Teen Dance planned for 8 to 11 pm. A Special Event Permit was also issued for the Bike and Brew celebration which included the closure of 2nd Street for music and food. The event was coordinated with other events around the valley and Missoula in celebration of the opening of the Bike Trail from Missoula to the Bitterroot.
Discussion of a land use agreement with the USDA for emergency facilities at the airport was tabled.