Ames city leaders accepted nearly $8 million in federal money for a major runway rebuild at the James Herman Banning Ames Municipal Airport.
The Ames City Council held a special meeting Monday to approve accepting a $7.8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), just two days before the Wednesday deadline.
The FAA finalized the grant agreement and sent it to the city on last Friday. Federal rules required the city to sign and return it by Wednesday. If the city missed that deadline, it would forfeit the grant.
Big project, two grants
In July, the council approved a construction contract worth $19.1 million with Flynn Company Inc., a Dubuque-based contractor. That approval came with a catch, though: The city could only move forward once it lined up federal grant money to help pay for it.
City staff always expected it would take two separate federal grants to fund the whole project. The grant approved Monday is the first of those two.
As a result, the project is being done in stages. The city will issue a notice to proceed each time a new grant comes through, telling the contractor it is safe to keep spending money that will be repaid.
The first stage of work is designed to keep the airport’s runways open for planes to use. The second stage, expected to start if the city receives a second grant next spring, would require shutting down the runways for several months.
Council’s options
Council members had two choices this week: They could approve a resolution accepting the $7.8 million grant and let the mayor sign the agreement, or they could reject the offer and send staff back to look for a different way to pay for the work.
Accepting the grant now allows work to begin on the first phase without shutting down the airport. The second phase, and the runway closure it requires, will wait until the city lands a second FAA grant expected in April.
Next: The council will meet in regular session 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at Ames City Hall.
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