Stopping just short of scrapping the site entirely, the South Central Regional Airport Agency board agreed to indefinitely pause the development of a shared regional airport between Pella and Oskaloosa.

Board Chair Jim Hansen clarified the board intends to hold on to the real estate that has already been purchased, but will now hold until the Cities of Pella and Oskaloosa come up with a new path forward.

The resolution stated, “The intent of this resolution is to notify the City of Oskaloosa and the City of Pella that the South Central Regional Airport Agency (SCRAA) is unable to complete the necessary land acquisitions for the proposed regional airport. If this resolution is approved by the Board, the SCRAA will not pursue the regional airport until instructed by the City of Oskaloosa and the City of Pella.”

Additionally, the SCRAA board accepted an Informal Resolution provided by the Iowa Public Information Board
(IPIB) in response to complaints received from John Bandstra, Bert Bandstra, Jack Rempe, and Drew Mcgee.

The Informal Resolution, which is included as a memo attachment, includes the following terms:
1. SCRAA acknowledges that the executive committee as stated in the 28E agreement in operation on January 18, 2024, is a governmental body under 21.2(1)(j).
2. SCRAA acknowledges that, as a governmental body, any time a majority of the members of the executive committee met to deliberate or act within the scope of its duty to develop and make recommendations on public policy issues, that meeting is subject to the requirements of chapter 21.
3. SCRAA acknowledges that the executive committee meetings of September 13 and November 21, 2023, were subject to the requirements of chapter 21.
4. SCRAA will ensure that any committees or governing bodies created within the 28E agreement or any revised 28E agreement will comply with chapter 21 requirements going forward.
5. SCRAA will hold a training session with the Iowa League of Cities that covers Iowa Code chapters 21 and 22 on July 3, 2024.
6. The current SCRAA Board members, attorney, and others involved in SCRAA’s compliance with chapters 21 or 22 will attend and complete the entire training session.
7. SCRAA will provide the minutes from the training session to confirm attendance of the relevant individuals to IPIB.
8. This agreement will be approved at SCRAA’s July 3, 2024 meeting and will provide a copy of this Informal Resolution in full with its meeting minutes.

No discussion was held by any of the board members during both resolutions.

The SCRAA board also approved an audit report and reviewed ongoing finances. Find the full agenda here.