The new Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at the Choteau Airport should be up and running by the end of October, it was announced at the Oct. 13 Teton County Airport Board meeting.
Board members Eric Gunderson, chairman; Scott Gasvoda, Ray Anderson and Bill Woodhouse, (Mike Campbell was absent) received a written report from consulting engineer Mike Beckhoff of DOWL stating that site preparation was completed in September, all the equipment and sensors were stored in the county hangar and representatives from All Weather Inc., the AWOS manufacturer, were expected to be on site sometime on Oct. 14, to begin the sensor installation.
The AWOS would be commissioned either Oct. 16 or Oct. 19, Beckhoff stated.
The cost of the AWOS project will be: Stillwater Electric, $111,276; engineering, $38,900; and administrative, $1,000; for a total cost of $151,176.
The project moved forward earlier this year when the Federal Aviation Administration approved the board’s request to use $130,500 of its federal allocation of non-primary entitlement funds to pay for 90 percent of the cost.
The board agreed that the Choteau Airport would see more traffic if pilots had accurate weather information at the site rather than using data generated from the Great Falls or Cut Bank airports. The new system will have a dedicated radio frequency, but it is not known if the data will be available on a National Weather Service website.
Beckhoff also reported that a representative from DOWL would attend the Nov. 10 board meeting to present a scope of work for the master plan update slated for 2016. The update will cost $166,500 with all but 10 percent paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration. The state also has provided grants and loans for the 10 percent match in past projects.
On a related topic, Anderson said the Farm Service Agency has raised a concern that the Airport Board is not legally eligible to receive Conservation Reserve Program payments. About 300 acres of the Choteau Airport’s land area is in CRP, and the yearly “rental” payments “keeps us going to help pay loan payments,” Gasvoda said.
The board receives roughly $40 to $45 per acre annually and last fiscal year received $10,812. The CRP contract expires in 2017. FSA Teton County Director Lacey Orcutt on Oct. 14 told the Acantha she was unable to answer questions about the issue without Gunderson’s permission.
At the meeting, Gunderson said board members would meet with Orcutt to get a update on the status of the payments. “We will get the 2015 payment and we’ve got year to work on it,” Anderson said.
The airport board also relies on self-service low-lead fuel sales and delivered-with-assistance Jet-A fuel sales at Choteau Airport to augment the revenue it receives from property taxes and rental payments from private pilots who base their single-engine aircraft at the three airports in Choteau, Fairfield and Dutton and who have built private hangars there.
On Oct. 23, the board agreed to purchase a replacement for its older-model Jet-A fuel truck from a Havre airport fixed-base operator. The board has $10,000 in its capital improvement fund for such a purchase. The seller agreed to accept $5,000 for the used truck upfront and to wait until next year to receive an additional $1,500.
Gunderson said the tires on the unit are an “oddball” size and he was concerned about a possible blowout unless they are replaced, but the seller indicated the tires were fine, Gasvoda said. The board will have to spend up to $500 to replace the fuel-delivery hoses on the truck, among other things before the other truck is retired.
Lastly, Anderson said he would spray the Choteau Airport fence line to eliminate any plant and weed growth and that he planned to kill off the gopher population there next spring.
- Original article can be found here: http://www.choteauacantha.com
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