Looking to the sky
By JESSICA KELLER - ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, June 10, 2007 12:46 AM PDT
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| A 66-acre, private, gated airpark community adjacent to the Payette Municipal Airport (pictured here) has been proposed to Payette city officials.The airpark would be built at the southwest corner of the airport property, some of which is pictured above. Although the proposal is moving forward, much work remains before the airpark will take flight. |
PAYETTE - The idea of an airpark adjacent to the Payette Municipal Airport took flight about a month ago and is gaining ground.
The Payette City Council suggested at Monday’s meeting Cartell, Inc., Huston, Idaho, the consultant company responsible for proposing the idea to Payette officials, get an appraisal of 66 acres of city-owned property behind the airport.
Dick Miller, Cartell, Inc., presented the council with a preliminary plan to turn the vacant property into a private airpark community with more than 70 lots for houses and airplane hangars. The proposed community would have access to the Payette airport.
Payette Mayor Doug Henderson said he has been working with Cartell, Inc., about the idea of the airpark for about a month, when representatives approached him about the idea in a predevelopment meeting.
Henderson said he later referred them to the airport committee to receive members’ blessings before it headed to the council.
“They’ve been really easy to work with,” Henderson said of Cartell, Inc. representatives, stating they have been very organized with their plans and ideas and willing to work with city officials to find out if the airpark is feasible in Payette.
That willingness includes footing the bill for the appraisal of the acreage in question.
The plan is still very much in its preliminary stage, however. Henderson said the airpark is just an idea at this point and a number of steps must be taken before any development, if it is approved, takes place.
First the land must be declared surplus by the City Council, which will require a vote, and a minimum price placed on the land so it can go up for bid in a public auction. A public hearing will be held before the land sale.
Henderson said if the land is sold and Cartell, Inc., is the highest bidder, which he said he assumed it would be, then Cartell, Inc., would have to complete the planning and zoning process any developer has to undergo before building in Payette.
“It’s the same process that every subdivision in town goes through,” he said.
Any stipulations placed on the developer by the city would be made during this process, Henderson said.
Henderson said, should an airpark go forward, city officials and the developers will negotiate what party is responsible for any improvements or infrastructure.
“The majority of any costs that happen out there will be their costs,” Henderson said, adding the city works to make development costs fair. “We work with the developer to make it equitable for both parties.”
Henderson said an airpark would be a good investment for the city because not only would the city receive fair-market value for the cost of the land, the development proposes to bring in more than 60 higher-end houses with airport hangars, in the $250,000 to $300,000 range. Since the houses would most likely be second houses for the residents, the city would collect a significant amount in property tax dollars.
According to a report provided to the city from Cartell, Inc., on the airpark, the project is estimated to bring a minimum of $26 million in property taxes to the city. The city would also collect yearly “through-the-fence” fees from each aircraft and fuel flowage fees.
Henderson said the airpark and usage of the airport will most likely draw outside airplane maintenance-related business to the airport as well.
“It makes our airport a more viable airport,” Henderson said, adding that could lead to more federal and state dollars and grants.
Henderson said, while improvements to the airport have been mentioned, including putting up a chain-link fence around the airport and extending the runway, nothing has been agreed upon.
He did say it was possible some money from the sale of the land could be used to extend the runway 500 feet, something already listed as a goal in the city’s airport master plan.
While she is not necessarily opposed to the airpark, Payette City Councilwoman Vallery Klitch was surprised when the proposal was made at the City Council meeting and has concerns about the process the city is following.
“That’s the first I knew of it, and you know it’s like anything that’s new, I want to be educated on the pros and the cons, and I’m definitely seeking public input,” Klitch said.
Klitch said she thinks before anything more should take place, she wants the city officials to explore the proposal further and hear from the public, perhaps with a public input session.
She said her only concern is the public be provided a venue to voice their concerns and their support before the city moves ahead with any proposal.
“I’m very optimistic,” Klitch said. “I think this is a wonderful idea. I do believe that if everything proves to be a go, that this will be a wonderful thing for Payette County, I’m just not sure about the process.”
Henderson said while the airpark idea seems to have taken flight in a short time frame, a lot of work remains to be done and nothing is settled yet.
“This is still a proposal,” he said.
