Federal mandate trims airport’s runway length
The published length of a runway at Connellsville Airport will decrease by 300 feet due to a government mandate, a move that airport operations manager Sam Cortis said only involves moving lights and numbers. The Fayette County Airport Authority board of directors Tuesday night approved entering into a contract with Benatec Associates Inc. to perform the “threshold” change, which Cortis said pares the published length of Runway 32 from 2,979 feet to 2,679 feet.
The move in essence provides a 300-foot cushion for pilots, who will plan to land their aircraft using the smaller published length. Cortis said the change won’t affect the existing runway surface.
In a meeting that featured a lot of short updates on a multitude of airport activities and projects, board Chairman Fred K. Davis explained that an executive session at meeting’s end would deal with a “billing dispute” with Benatec concerning its work on pre-applications.
Airport authority solicitor Mark Morrison said the matter fell under the realm of potential litigation, which is one of the allowable exemptions under the state’s Open Meetings Law.
In another matter, Marie Swallop of airport consultant McCormick-Taylor Associates said updated information on the airport would be available on its Web site – www.connellsvilleairport.com
– sometime next week. Swallop added that information would be refreshed on a regular basis as projects evolve.
McCormick-Taylor is doing the airport’s environmental assessment, a precursor to its ambitious construction plan that includes an improved and longer main runway. Don Stepanik of MTA told the board his firm plans to begin its archeological testing survey within the next week or so.
Another consultant representative, Joe Grubbs of Michael Baker, told the board his firm has completed its terminal building survey and that the vacant Taylorcraft Building, where required historical research is underway, is next of the list.
Consultant Gene Lakin of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority told the board that the state has selected several airports for a detailed runway safety analysis. Lakin said the board should make sure that its own consultant in that area doesn’t duplicate the effort.
Scott Fredrickson of consultant Benatec told the board that his firm has had informal consultations with the state Bureau of Aviation regarding completion of Phase II of the airport’s master plan.
Cortis also commended responders to an airplane accident that took place Aug. 30, specifically area fire departments, the Fayette County HAZMAT team and the Pennsylvania state police. He said their quick and expert actions stabilized a situation that could have become a disaster.
Lakin also informed the board that its first advertisement for the position of airport manager had appeared in a trade journal, with another solicitation scheduled.