Illinois Valley News

Members of the Illinois Valley Airport Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) agreed during a Monday, Jan. 25 meeting at Cave Junction City Hall that a combination of two layout plans for the airport would be best for the facility’s long-term future.

PAC member and airport tenant Ed Russell began the meeting with a “bit of a protest.” He stated that the airport’s advisory board, of which he is a member, was scheduled to meet and create a vision statement for the airport.

Instead, Russell said, a “scheduling conflict” lead to the “exclusion” of the advisory board from the evening’s meeting.
Sarah Lucas, an aviation planner with Portland-based WHPacific Inc., presented the PAC with a list of facility requirements for the airport.

Those include the construction of a full-length parallel taxiway, the need to identify locations for paved and grass parking and a self-service fueling station and the addition of hangers.

Also needed is an upgrade to the airport’s weather system, which will enable pilots to transmit data to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Lucas said. She said the facility’s lighting systems are “very outdated” and should be upgraded.

Of the three alternatives presented to PAC members, one would maintain the status quo. The main difference between the other two alternatives is the location of the taxiway. Alternative 1 would put it east of the airport’s existing runway, and Alternative 2 would put it on the west side.

Alternative 1 would include a designated helicopter operations area, new access from Redwood Hwy., more vehicle parking, pedestrian paths and a reserve area for hangars, aviation-related businesses and aviation compatible industrial or commercial development.

According to Lucas and WHPacific’s Rainse Anderson, Alternative 2 would have the highest capital costs but the most potential for revenue generation. It also would have the highest potential for runway crossing hazards.

A “very cursory” environmental screening showed that there is the potential for harm to unique plant species in Alternative 2, Lucas said. She said that biological surveys would have to be conducted prior to any development at the airport, and that the FAA requires environmental processes to be followed.

“If there’s an impact on a resource, there will always be mitigation,” Lucas said.

Many of the 25 audience members present for the meeting expressed support for Alternative 2 and for establishing a smokejumper museum at the airport.

PAC members said they supported the taxiway designation under Alternative 2, but wanted to see parts of Alternative 1 incorporated into the layout plan.

Anderson said he will incorporate elements of both alternatives into the plan and bring it back to the PAC during its next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for the third week of April. He also will complete and present the capital improvement plan at that meeting.