Our runway is being bulldozed!

BULLETIN: RWY 18/36 in Iowa City is being torn up by bulldozers and
front-end loaders!

As I am typing this, heavy equipment is RIPPING OUT huge chunks of the
runway! In an act reminiscent of Mayor Daley's midnight raid on Meigs
Field, after suddenly ordering the runway closed last week, our Airport
Commission has now ordered the destruction of this runway, without
warning or explanation.

Incredibly, an airport commision that has claimed to have no money for
maintenance or upkeep (at least in the 8 years we've been tenants) has
magically obtained money to pay for the destruction and removal of tons
of 60-year old reinforced concrete.

Upon witnessing the equipment rolling onto the field, cell phones
across the airport burst to life, and I immediately called Randy
Hartwig, Airport Commission President, to find out what was happening.


The story from Mr. Hartwig was that the runway is being torn up in
order to install a new Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) and
to gain access to the power cables underneath the concrete.

This explanation is, well, incredible. Is it possible that there is
really no room on our airport property for an AWOS -- which we ALREADY
HAVE IN OPERATION -- other than where Rwy 18/36 currently sets?

Worse, is spending tens of thousands of dollars to rip up the runway
the best use of our limited funds, while our other runways, taxiways,
lights, aprons, and instrument approaches languish in disrepair?

It is clear from the actions of the last 10 days that this runway
closure and demolition were planned out well in advance, yet a closing
date was never announced. Strangely, despite the existence of FOICA
(Friends of Iowa City Airport) -- an airport users group that would
have made advance notification as simple as a mouse click -- (all of
our airport commissioners are members of FOICA) no effort was made to
give advance notice to airport users.

Worse, as former Commission President Rick Mascari has made clear, it
was well within the the power of the Airport Commission to keep this
runway open -- and it was solely their decision to close it.

And, now, it was solely their decision to rip it up.

Since its inception on March 3, 1944, the mission of the Airport
Commission has been to "preserve and protect airport infrastructure for
future generations". With the destruction of this irreplaceable
runway, it appears that this commission has abandoned its charter.

Sadly, the closing of this runway was approved years ago, before the
inception of our airport support group, FOICA. Since then, that
decision has sat "on the books" and -- because no one protested when
the decision was made -- apparently the current commissioners felt the
closure was a "done deal" and could be implemented at any time.

This has apparently led to their "Daley-esque" handling of the
situation. Pilots were given no notification (other than a note taped
to the door of the FBO -- a door very few airport tenants ever use) of
the runway closure -- and the destruction of the runway has come as a
complete surprise to every airport user.

If you feel that the runway closure -- and subsequent demolition -- was
handled improperly, I urge you to contact our airport commissioners.

Randy Hartwig
Howard Horan
John Staley
Greg Farris
Janelle Rettig
Dan Clay (Advisory Member)
Airport Specialist Michael Tharp:
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Friends of Iowa City Airport
AOPA Iowa City Airport Support Network Volunteer
www.AlexisParkInn.com
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