By Ann McCreary
A project to build a new taxiway at the Twisp Municipal Airport will be delayed until 2020 to take advantage of new state grant opportunities, the Twisp council decided recently.
Town officials had been planning to apply for a $250,000 grant from Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) this spring to partially fund the taxiway construction, estimated to cost about $650,000.
However, a recently enacted state law will allow the town to apply for the full amount of the project after this year.
Mayor Soo Ing-Moody said WSDOT officials told her there would be more funding available in 2019 and the town would stand a better chance of receiving the full amount needed for the taxiway project.
That would also give the town more time to allocate money for the required 5 percent match, she said.
Mike Port, airport manager, encouraged town officials to plan for the required match. “It’s time for the city to get some money budgeted for this,” he said.
Twisp Council members agreed it made sense to go to bid for the project in the fall of 2018, and apply for a grant in spring of 2019, with construction in 2020.
“We’re all on the same page,” said council member John Fleming. “We all want to see it happen as expeditiously as possible.”
The project will construct a new taxiway on the south side of the airport runway to repair deteriorating asphalt and improve safety.
A fuel tank located on the south side of the airport will be moved at the expense of pilots, who maintain the fuel station through a cooperative agreement.
