The Pella City Council will discuss amendments to the South Central Regional Airport Agency in official business at their meeting today. A resolution on the agenda was restate the 28E Agreement between the Cities of Pella and Oskaloosa. City Administrator Mike Nardini stated in a memo to council, “the overall intent of the revised agreement is to reflect the Iowa Supreme Court ruling regarding the original 28E Agreement and the subsequent withdrawal of Mahaska County from the agreement.”

The revised agreement requires the SCRAA Board to receive written approval from both city councils before proceeding with additional land acquisition or construction of the regional airport. Here is a summary of the proposed changes:

• Article III Section 2b: changes allow both cities to have three representatives on the SCRAA Board.
• Article III Section 5a: changes include switching from quarterly to semi-annual meetings.
• Article IV Section 2f: the current agreement requires an annual audit of the SCRAA’s financial records. The proposed change would require an audit upon request by either city or if required by the state or federal government.
• Previous Article V Committees: this section in the current agreement is proposed to be deleted.
• Article VI Section 2: this section requires approval by the respective City Councils if the proposed location for the regional airport changes.
• Article VI Section 3: this section was added which requires the SCRAA Board to receive written
approval from the respective City Councils before proceeding with construction of the airport.
• Article VI Section 5: this section was revised to require the approval of the respective City Councils before proceeding with additional land acquisition for the airport.
• Article VII Section 4: this section was modified to require each city to be responsible for 50% of the net expenditure of the airport.
• Article IX Section 1: this section was revised to require approval of the respective City Councils before proceeding with eminent domain.
• Article X Section 2: this section was modified to be reflective of the recent Iowa Supreme Court decision regarding the 28E Agreement.

During the November 19th policy and planning work session, Nardini emphasized the need to the SCRAA to continue, especially if the Federal Aviation Administration requires the sale of land and considers ultimate cancellation of the proposal. Several residents in Mahaska County have called for the group to end its pursuit of the project.

Find the full Pella City Council agenda here. The meeting begins at 6:00 this evening in the Pella Public Safety Complex.