Crosswind stalls, fuel tanks tank: Mora Municipal Airport (KJMR), Minnesota

Posted: Sunday, December 9, 2012 6:00 am

By Kirsten Blake

Progress toward the Mora Airport crosswind runway has been slow to take off, but the Mora City Council continues to work on the project.

The most significant leap in progress took place at the city’s meeting Nov. 20 when they unanimously voted to request a $25,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for pre-legal work for land acquisition.

The city would need to acquire 9 acres of Greg Yankowiak’s 75-acre property to construct the new runway, which he has been unwilling to yield.

At this point this grant request is not so much about acquiring property, but testing the waters of the FAA’s commitment to fund the project.

The council has begun to show doubt about whether the FAA would continue to support the project considering the legal action that would be needed to acquire Yankowiak’s land and since further analysis revealed the additional runway would not generate as many additional operations (takeoff and landings) as FAA guidelines recommend.

In addition to crosswind decisions, the council also needed to make a hasty resolution to discontinue selling Jet A fuel when the larger of the airport’s two fuel tanks failed triennial testing by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) on Oct. 5. The PCA gave the council 60 days after the inspection to fix the problem.

Crosswind Runway

Planning for the turf crosswind runway project began in 1992 to relocate Mora’s former crosswind runway which was closed in 2007 after the expansion of the Industrial Park in 2001.

In 2006 the city received a $276,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for land purchases to complete the crosswind runway project. Grant stipulations required the city to repay those funds if they did not proceed with the project.

In 2006 the city purchased the land which has since depreciated in value. Today, the land could be sold for between $72,000 and $106,000.

In June 2012 the Mora City Council voted 4-1 to proceed with the controversial turf crosswind runway project. In order to continue, the city would still need to purchase 9 acres of Yankowiak’s 75-acre property to construct the new runway.

Construction would require many trees to be cut down and wetlands filled in. Back in June Yankowiak said he was not willing to sell and plans to fight the seizure of his land under eminent domain.

After the city’s June vote, the FAA recommended the city re-examine the need for the runway by conducting a second wind analysis. A wind analysis requires 10 years of wind speed and direction. The first wind analysis to determine the need for the crosswind was done using wind data from Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport because the Mora airport had not been collecting that data for a long enough period of time.

Since then the Mora airport has collected enough data for a full wind analysis and the FAA recommended the city use those new numbers to confirm the findings of the previous study.

This second analysis confirmed the results of the first, that the wind directions and speed still justify the placement of the crosswind runway.

However, the FAA also added new funding guidelines  stating the addition of a crosswind runway should increase the use of an airport by 500 operations per year to be considered economically viable.

“It’s not necessarily a criteria, but guidance. There is a reason for having a crosswind runway. Planes like to land into the wind. It is just that simple. It is safer to land straight into the wind so having a couple of runways of different orientation is safer. But, economics come in at some point,” said Joel Dresel of Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) who has been working with the city council and the FAA on the project.

Although increased number of operations is a difficult number to forecast, SEH predicted that the addition of the crosswind would only increase the number of operations by 212 each year.

Dresel said because of the low increase in operations, the FAA would likely not view the Mora crosswind as a priority project or a priority use for their funds.

Dresel advised the council that if they request money from the FAA for a small part of the project, like legal work for land acquisition, the council can get a true feel for the amount of commitment the FAA has for the project. “I think that will tell the tale of whether or not they are willing to put any money behind it or not,” he said.

Furthermore, Dresel advised if the FAA was hesitant to move forward with legal action, that the council delay the project for several years until the number of operations increase or the project wins more favor with the FAA rather than abandon the project and be forced to pay back the FAA the money the council already spent.

Fuel tank woes

During a PCA test of the two underground fuel tanks at the airport, the larger 12,000 gallon fuel tank used to store 100 low lead aviation gas (100LL Avgas) failed. This is the more commonly used fuel at the Mora airport. The 5,000 gallon tank used to store Jet A fuel passed the test, but would need repair soon.

The council discusses multiple options to fix the problem including everything from stop selling fuel at the airport, to repair the tank ($18,000-$20,000), replace the failed tank ($50,000-$100,000), installing new above ground tanks, or switching the Avgas tank to hold Jet A fuel and discontinue selling the Jet A fuel ($4,500).

The council ultimately decided on the latter.

Wildlife management and deer fence

A 10-foot high, 2,500 foot long chain link fence erected along the west side of the airport along the bike bath has caught the attention of many passersby.

The fence has been a part of the airport’s capital improvement plan for a long time now and is intended to be a wildlife management and deer fence installed in pieces over several years. The section that has been installed thus far also serves to keep pedestrians from wandering from the path toward the airport.

Dresel explained that deer fencing is advised for airports across the country by the FAA and that the city will continue to install segments of fence as the money becomes available.

The FAA funds most of the project while the city is only expected to fund approximately 10 percent, which for this segment adds up to $34,221.

At this time there is no date for completion of the fence or a total cost; however, another segment is expected to be added in 2014.

Article:   http://www.presspubs.com

Mora Municipal Airport: http://ci.mora.mn.us

Mora Municipal Airport (KJMR):   http://www.airnav.com/airport/KJMR