The nagging question of how and when sponsorship and governance of a replacement airport will become the exclusive responsibility of Blaine County weighed heavy on the Hailey City Council on Monday, even as it voted to approve spending a $2.5 million Federal Aviation Administration grant to pay for costs involved in planning for the new airfield.
Mayor Rick Davis said the city needs to "have a conversation" with Blaine County officials to formulate a timetable and method for the change of powers. Currently, Hailey is a co-sponsor of Friedman Memorial Airport with Blaine County, and equally responsible for Friedman, with daily operations in the hands of the Friedman Memorial Airport authority.
Hailey and the county must apply for and approve funds sought from the FAA. With the new airport sited outside Hailey city limits, Blaine County will become the sole sponsor.
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As for the new FAA funds, Friedman Manager Rick Baird reported to the airport authority in April that the FAA had approved $2.5 million for key work programs.
Baird said the funds, as needed, would be spread among various projects. Costs, according to Baird, are estimated and preliminary:
- Engineering services for the environmental impact statement: $600,000.
- Topographic mapping and study: $200,000.
- Financial feasibility study: $500,000 to $1 million.
- Master planning for redevelopment of the existing Friedman Memorial Airport: $80,000 to $200,000.
- Draft EIS prior to the FAA's record of decision on where to site a replacement facility: $1 million.
The target date for opening Friedman's replacement is 2014.
