More runways coming?

COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County is considering purchasing land adjacent to its Coeur d'Alene Airport property.

A private party has offered the land for sale to the county, County Commissioner Dan Green said Thursday.

The property, if purchased, would be used for facilitating airport operations, mitigating potential conflicts with operations, or supporting potential expansion of operations, Green said.

The commissioners are to be briefed today by airport manager Greg Delavan, and the board is also scheduled to enter an executive session to discuss the possible purchase.

Delavan declined to comment Thursday on specifics of the property other than to say the land has been slated for acquisition for years.

Neither Green nor Delavan could say how large the land parcel is or where specifically it's located relative to the existing county airport property.

Green said such property purchases are reimbursable from the Federal Aviation Administration. But there are still budget implications because the county would have to buy the property first with county dollars.

The county could not, by law, pay more than an appraised value. Green didn't know if an appraisal has already been conducted.

"Any decision to spend county dollars will be done in a public meeting," Green said. "And any land acquisition has to be consistent with the airport master plan."

He said the commissioners are gathering information at this stage, including the specific size of the property, where it is in relation to the airport, and what the buyer is seeking in payment.