City eyes $5M grant for airport

    Holyoke’s Runway 1432 could be getting an approximately $5 million face-lift if the City is approved for a new Federal Aviation Administration grant, City Superintendent Mark Brown announced at Holyoke City Council’s Oct. 16 meeting.
    The grant, which is being offered through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Project, would be used to add an overlay to the runway and make it safer to land heavier aircraft.
    Brown said that he and Mayor Orville Tonsing had met with airport engineer and planner Armstrong Consultants Inc., on Oct. 10. The firm told Brown and Tonsing that the City had a good chance of receiving the grant.
    Holyoke will not be required to match any of the grant funds. The runway improvements have been planned for nearly a decade but were delayed multiple times by other pressing projects.
    “This rehab has been in our capital improvement for eight or nine years, but it’s gotten bumped further and further back,” Brown said.
    The City has since submitted its application for the grant. Brown also said that water and sewer crews were working on the sprinkler system for the airport expansion project.
    
Golf board asks for additional funds
    Despite turning about $9,000 in profit for 2017, Holyoke Golf Board members Shawn Dalton and Keith Pocock told the council last Tuesday that the golf course is on track to end 2018 in the red.
    Dalton said staff turnover and the costs associated with maintaining aging equipment had driven up costs compared to previous years. He reported that, including September bills, the course is about $11,000 in the hole.
    As a result, the board asked the council to double its annual $15,000 contribution to the course.
    “The golf course is a city facility, and I think it brings in a lot of outside revenue,” Dalton said. “We think it’s a great asset to the community.”
    Significant costs included the hiring of a replacement greenskeeper at a higher salary, repairs made to the course’s sprinkler system and purchasing a new lawnmower for $600.
    The contribution made by the City has been a make-or-break source of funding in the past, and was factored into the course’s 2017 statement of profit.
    The council ultimately voted to dispense the regular contribution of $15,000 immediately and discuss increasing funding for the course at a later time.
    
Officials report
    Brown told the council that electrical crews responded to multiple power outages Oct. 9 due to lines coming into contact with trees. The outages prompted extensive tree trimming by crews.
    In addition to the airport sprinklers, water and sewer crews worked on various sprinklers affected by the recent cold. Cold weather also led to delays for road crews working on Southwest Interocean Drive, where asphalt is being torn up and replaced with concrete.
    Brown also announced that he is replacing a broken pump that caused a boiler malfunction at the Holyoke Swimming Pool.
    City Attorney Al Wall said the recodification project is ongoing, and that he still needs to meet with Brown and collaborate further with Holyoke Police Chief Doug Bergstrom.
    Wall said the most pressing issue is updating codes regarding street construction, sidewalks and curbs.
    “We need to spend some time on it, so when we bring it up to date we’ll have something we can live with,” he said.
    After the council’s Oct. 4 meeting, Wall had expressed hopes to have a draft of the new codes prepared by the end of October.
    A work session concerning municipal code that was planned after the Oct. 16 meeting was postponed.
    Holyoke Police Sgt. Mark Werts reported that his department, including code enforcement, handled or generated 275 calls for service from Sept. 27-Oct. 10. They made no arrests, wrote five citations and three reports, and gave out 19 warnings. Code enforcement handled three animal complaints and four ordinance violations.
    
Other business
    In other business at the Oct. 16 meeting, the council:
    — Unanimously passed a resolution to designate Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska as the City’s transmission agent for Network Integration Transmission Service with Western Area Power Administration.
    — Approved a $1,080 purchase request from HPD for two pairs of Stop Sticks.
    — Heard an update from City Clerk Kathy Olofson on the 2019 budget. Olofson said she plans to hold a budget work session following the council’s Oct. 30 meeting.
    — Renewed a business lease in the amount of $4,800 for Ron’s, with Ron Koch as lessee. It will start Nov. 1 and continue until Dec. 1, 2020 at noon.