Commissioners fire back at airport users' group

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County Commissioners had choice words for the Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Airport/Pappy Boyington Field during a recent business meeting after receiving comments against a pending $6 million project. 

The snow removal and administration building have been a work in progress at the airport for over a decade, airport manager Steven Kjergaard said. However, it wasn't until recently that the Federal Aviation Administration provided funding for the facility's planning and design work, which began in July. 

Commission Chairman Chris Fillios opened the discussion on airport-related items with a rebuttal to hangar owner Steven Anderson's points.

In an email sent by Anderson to the commissioners, he questioned the building's purpose, the board's lack of thorough consideration, and public comment restrictions. Fillios refuted each point. 

"We take a lot of hits. We've been called virtually everything in the book," Fillios said. "I stand by the decisions we make. Many of the issues that we're confronting today predate me, and I've been here for years. They certainly precede Commissioners Duncan and Brooks, To indicate, assert, or allege that we don't consider your comments is wrong."

Anderson's letter contended a deferral by commissioners on the snow removal building was to gain input from the airport advisory board and Kjergaard — which he believes was a conflict of interest. 

"I don't know what planet this came from because an assumption was made that speaking to the airport director about an airport bid is a conflict of interest," Fillios said. "That's inaccurate. We frequently speak to our staff for information as necessary even when we conduct quasi-judicial hearings."

When justifying the building, Anderson said the airport plan states it would be "more efficient than bringing equipment in from off-site" and that he has never heard a complaint regarding snow removal at the airport. 

The airport has one bay capable of handling a piece of snow removal equipment with a width up to 18 feet, but newer models now have minimum dimensions of 60-by-24-feet, Kjergaard said. Since the FAA is the primary purchaser of new snow vehicles, Kjergaard said it must be stored in a facility Coeur d'Alene can't provide.

"No county-owned building can provide the coverage which is required for FAA purchased equipment," Kjergaard said. "Nor does the current shop area provide space for the returning or operating of future equipment."

The project would also include an airport administration facility due to impending safety projects to address taxiway and runway connections, Kjergaard said. 

Initial designs and financial estimates of the 14,700 square foot building were presented to the board last November, sporting a maximum cost of $6 million. Since then, Kjergaard said the airport had reduced the project's size and scope.

"The board has no intention to spend $6 million funding this building," Fillios said. "Each phase is still being considered, particularly phase two. The reference to that amount was an estimate of maximum possible cost on a project that is less than 10% into the design phase."

Most of the project, upward of 90%, would be covered by FAA funding, Alliance designer Ben Johnson said in November. The remaining balance would be the responsibility of county and state funding. 

At the end of the meeting, Anderson stood and spoke against the commissioners' statements.

"I believe that you folks have been put in very high positions of authority to listen to the members of the county, including me," Anderson said. "Even though it's only the first phases of the project, you have jumped into something that is not in the interest of the county and is certainly not in the interest of those that use the airport."

Action items on the snow removal building's notice of intent and work orders were passed by the board during the meeting, much to the chagrin of the hangar owners present. 

"Just because we don't do what a small group wants us to do doesn't mean we're not responding," Commissioner Bill Brooks said. "There is a difference."