Lakeport >> In a plan stretching potentially into 2022, Public Works Director Scott De Leon and Assistant Director Lars Ewing presented a Capital Improvement plan for the Lampson Field Airport in Lakeport at this week’s Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting.
“There’s not a lot of in-house funding (for the airport),” said De Leon in his presentation to the board. “We’ve been living off of FAA grants — they provide $150,000 a year. You can bank up to $600,000.”
According to Ewing, the objective for Public Works is to maximize every dollar spent by the department to make repairs and property improvements.
The first task planned once the FAA has signed off on the proposal is to fill cracks and “slurry seal” the airport’s runway, with that work beginning sometime next year and carrying over into 2017. The next job, beginning in 2017, is the addition of more fencing around the perimeter of the airport to prohibit unauthorized traffic onto the field. As it stands now, several areas lack gates and, though there have been no “incursions” reported to date, public safety and welfare are a concern.
The taxiway, which runs parallel to the runway on its southern side, is expected to be filled and sealed in 2019. In 2020-21, a section of the south apron (tarmac) will be reconstructed, and by 2022 the remainder of the south apron pavement will be rehabilitated.
The total cost for the project is $1,637,900, but after Federal and State contributions, the County is only responsible for $101,222 of the bill.
De Leon expressed his frustration at the slow pace of the project due to lack of funding and having to “do it a little bit at a time.” He did add, however, that due to some unexpected funds coming in — CalFire commandeered the airport during the Valley Fire, but reimbursed the county for its usage — he was planning to work with county staff to identify and resolve some of the larger issues identified by the airport’s users, such as patching some of the larger cracks, before the wetter winter weather sets in.
