Airport Capital Improvement Plan underway

The Mt. Pleasant City Council authorized McClure Engineering to mock up designs and oversee the reconstruction of the Mt. Pleasant Municipal Airport runway.

The council approved a five-year Airport Capital Improvement Plan, which is a requirement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) and Iowa Department of Transportation before the city can apply for grants to make improvements to the airport.

The city is receiving a 90 percent cost share grant from the FFA to help cover the $1.5 to $2.5 million project.

The runway is in desperate need of reconstruction, City Administrator Brent Schleisman said during a city council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The runway was overlaid with asphalt 16 years ago, a project the city was hopeful to get 15 years of use out of.

The council also authorized Mayor Steve Brimhall to sign a contract with Construction Materials Testing to do a geotechnical investigation on the existing runway and soil around the runway. This will help determine the scope of work needed when reconstructing the existing runway.

The next project is increasing the runway by 800 feet, Schleisman said. 'We might get there someday,” he said.

In other news, the city council reminded residents that it is illegal to drive snowmobiles through town.

The council renewed an agreement for the use of a city right of way on the east side of town by the Southeast Iowa Bridge Blast Snowmobile Club that allows snowmobilers to legally get from one city to the next and use a gas station in town if needed. This is the third year the council has approved this agreement.

Schleisman said this route has created no real problems over the last two years.

'They've got a great trail in and out of town and so far, I think there's a lot of snowmobilers that don't know it's illegal to run a snowmobile in Mt. Pleasant,” Brimhall said. 'We have provided a route through town. It's a long route. They'd have fun on this route. (You) have to put snowmobile on a trailer and haul it to the trail, and some people don't like to do that.”

Brimhall said that snowmobilers should talk to club members about where it's legal to run a snowmobile.

Schleisman said that last year, the club helped the city 'case down” a couple of violators.