While the land acquisition phase continues for the South Central Regional Airport Agency (SCRAA) and the proposed Regional Airport project, upgrades will come this year to the current Pella Municipal Airport. On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the Pella Municipal Airport will receive a $1,197,540 grant for runway repair and rehabilitation. The City of Pella will be required to provide a 10 percent match for what will amount to nearly $1.5 million in patching. Additionally, the Pella City Council approved a contract for Midwest Fence & Gate Company to construct an eight-foot tall fence, which will be installed by July to help prevent deer from accessing the runway at the Pella Municipal Airport. That project will cost $378,000 and will be completely funded by the City of Pella.

Those updates are intended to add seven to ten years of effective life to the current airport as the city coordinates with the SCRAA, the City of Oskaloosa, and Mahaska County for construction of a Regional Airport. The land acquisition phase started with a purchase of nearly 78 acres of real estate in December by the SCRAA for parcels of land that would house the airport. The FAA awarded just over $1 million in a grant to fund the purchase of land, with the SCRAA providing a 10 percent match, or approximately $118,000, which is split between the Cities of Pella and Oskaloosa. According to a five year plan that was discussed at this week’s Pella City Council budget meetings, the City of Pella is allocating nearly $650,000 over the next five fiscal years for resources needed for land acquisition and construction of a new Regional Airport between Pella and Oskaloosa in Mahaska County, eventually consolidating the two municipal airports. Construction remains several years away, and Pella City Administration anticipates additional short-term projects to keep the current Pella Municipal Airport in working order.