Tuolumne County authorities directors are looking for evaluations of county-owned airports they oversee in Groveland and Columbia.
The county introduced Thursday afternoon it’s looking for bids from aviation consulting corporations to do a feasibility and viability examine of each airports.
The examine ought to embody at the least two public workshops, in an open home format, to assemble native enter and to establish native points and considerations, in line with the county’s request for bids.
Though the county desires the examine to think about transferring possession of Pine Mountain Lake Airport to a public or non-public get together, that’s not the only goal of the examine, county Airports Supervisor Benedict Stuth mentioned in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.
The first focus of the examine is an financial impression evaluation of each airports, particularly Pine Mountain Lake, to offer county authorities directors and the county’s elected Board of Supervisors a detailed have a look at the place the county’s airports are proper now, and what they may very well be sooner or later, Stuth mentioned.
Requested whether or not the examine seeks to find out whether or not the county desires to retain or promote Pine Mountain Lake Airport, Stuth mentioned it’s “manner too quickly to touch upon that.”
“Total, the county is making an attempt to have a look at each airports, with a have a look at the choices for what’s in retailer for Pine Mountain Lake,” he mentioned. “The goal is to assist the county and the board make knowledgeable selections in respect to each airports.”
The goal of the examine is to get some solutions about each airports and their advantages, and it’s not solely centered on gauging profitability, Stuth emphasised. A number of public security features come into play, he mentioned, together with the presence of firefighting aviation assets at each airports.
In response to the county’s request for bids, Pine Mountain Lake Airport, which the county additionally calls South County/Pine Mountain Lake Airport, has been owned and operated by the county since 1973 when the airport was deeded to the county by Boise Cascade, LLC., the airport developer.
Pine Mountain Lake Airport is a small normal aviation airport and serves primarily as an airpark. In response to the Federal Aviation Administration, it’s dwelling to 14,965 plane operations yearly.
The county has owned and operated Columbia Airport since 1932, when it was constructed. It was formally acknowledged as a county airport in 1944.
Columbia Airport is a normal aviation airport that primarily serves native, tourism, and wildfire response air site visitors and companies. In response to accredited forecasts within the Columbia Airport Grasp Plan, there are an estimated 45,000 airport operations yearly with an anticipated improve of two% every year.
In response to Thursday’s announcement, the county seeks details about Pine Mountain Lake Airport’s present standing, together with all its airport properties, property rights, deeds, and easements; a list of airport infrastructure and services; and price estimates for rehabilitating or reinvesting in these properties, infrastructure, and services.
Furthermore, the county desires an in-depth have a look at whether or not or not the FAA can be prepared to approve Pine Mountain Lake Airport returning to the FAA’s Nationwide Plan of Built-in Airport Techniques.
Probably the most present FAA plan lists greater than 3,300 current public-use airports nationwide. The county desires to know precisely what it will take to get the federal company’s approval for Pine Mountain Lake Airport, in addition to the chance of approval.
Moreover, the county desires in-depth evaluation and solutions for the next questions on Pine Mountain Lake Airport:
• What can be the most effective standing for the foreseeable way forward for the airport given the airport’s historical past with the FAA and its significance to the south county space and the Freeway 120 hall? If the airport now not needed to meet FAA requirements — for instance, no prevailing wage necessities, no airfield pavement necessities — ought to the airport be transitioned to a privately owned public use airport to be best-positioned for future progress of the south county space?
• Can the airport realistically generate extra income to attain a purpose of being self-sustaining? In that case, what are the alternatives/roadblocks?
• How can the county make the airport economically self-sustainable, for instance, with out normal fund contributions?
• Are there a number of current or future advantages to the county of getting an airport within the south county, that might validate an annual normal fund contribution to the airport working price range?
• Ought to the county contemplate a private-public partnership, or ought to the airport be privatized — privately-owned with a non-public get together operator?
• Ought to the established order stay? What are the professionals and cons?
• If airport possession have been to be transitioned to another get together, public or non-public, what course of can be required to convey payment title of possession adjustments? This evaluation should embody how such a change in possession will have an effect on the present State of California airport working allow.
The county additionally desires estimates of present — and future, if doable — direct and oblique financial impacts of each Pine Mountain Lake Airport and Columbia Airport on the native financial system; a market price examine for present makes use of at each airports, to incorporate revenue-generating choices and growth alternatives; and a abstract of future progress potential.
Income-generating and growth alternatives ought to embody tough value estimates, the county’s request for proposals from consultants said.
For each airports, the county desires solutions for the next questions: Beneath present native, state and federal statutes, is it doable to mix each Tuolumne County airport’s enterprise funds right into a single enterprise fund whereas protecting the working budgets separate? Are there any advantages in doing so?
There is no such thing as a greenback estimate for aviation consulting corporations that reply to the county’s request for bids.
The chosen agency can be required to do interviews with a number of county departments, native airport stakeholders, and native enterprise house owners to get solutions to the examine questions.
Additionally, the chosen agency will work together with county workplaces, the state Division of Aeronautics, and the FAA to get details about the Pine Mountain Lake Airport normal working allow given potential possession adjustments and course of and chance of the airport being relisted within the Nationwide Plan of Built-in Airports for FAA funding eligibility.
The chosen marketing consultant may even be required to current the examine and its findings to the Board of Supervisors.
The county’s request for bids contains extra background on each airports.
Pine Mountain Lake Airport has a fleet mixture of primarily single and twin engine plane, with a single turbine-powered jet plane, in line with the request for bids. The airport has a single fastened based mostly operator, Yosemite Flights, which conducts pilot coaching and air excursions. There are a complete of 16 hangars and 36 tie down areas. Eleven of the hangars are privately-owned and pay hire to the county.
Pine Mountain Lake airport is operated by its personal enterprise fund. Since county acceptance of the airport from Boise Cascade, the airport has required constant contributions from the overall fund. There are dozens of personal properties related on to the airport by a loop taxiway system, and 39 of them have deed entry rights by the Boise Cascade Grant Deed.
As a normal aviation airpark airport, and on account of its variety of based mostly plane, the airport is at present ineligible for federal funding for grant-funded growth initiatives, along with being declassified by the FAA. Pine Mountain Lake will not be listed within the FAA’s Nationwide Plan of Built-in Airport Techniques.
Columbia Airport has a fleet mixture of single, twin, turbine, and jet plane with the majority of operations by single engine plane. The airport has a number of fastened base operators, together with PHI Air Medical; Bald Eagle Aviation fueling and pilot providers; Springfield Aviation flight instruction; Courtney Aviation wildland hearth response and plane upkeep; InterMountain Air helicopter wildland hearth response; Cloud Splitter Avionics; the federal Division of Agriculture; county Highway and Fleet Companies; the county Sheriff’s Workplace Boat Patrol; and Cal Hearth Air Assault wildland hearth response.
Columbia Airport additionally operates a fly-in campground which hosts a number of normal aviation teams yearly. The airport has one important asphalt runway and one grass runway. The airport has 73 hangars which are county-owned and 19 privately owned hangars. All hangars are full, and there may be an lively paid ready listing on the airport. There are 96 month-to-month tie-down spots, most of them vacant, and 26 transient tie-down spots that may grow to be full seasonally.
Columbia Airport operates by its personal enterprise fund and has not required normal fund help outdoors of FAA grant matching. Columbia Airport is listed within the FAA’s Nationwide Plan of Built-in Airport Techniques and is eligible to obtain grant funding for eligible initiatives by the Airport Enchancment Program.
Prior to now eight years, Columbia Airport has acquired greater than $7 million {dollars} in grant funding for initiatives that embody pavement rehabilitation, design providers, and a grasp plan. Columbia Airport has greater than 40 acres of undeveloped land appropriate for aviation and non-aviation makes use of. A few of the land has excessive growth prices on account of terrain and environmental issues whereas different areas designated for aviation use would not have excessive growth prices.
There’s a pre-bid on-line assembly scheduled for Oct. 12. The county will settle for questions from potential bidders till Oct. 17. Sealed bids for the airports examine job have to be acquired on-line no later than 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. The county tentatively hopes to execute the contract for the job by Nov. 22.
