By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
City council approved submitting a grant application for funding to improve the Del Rio International Airport during Tuesday’s council meeting.
During the meeting, council members discussed a resolution to authorize the city manager to submit a grant application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The grant is for federal funding towards improvements at Del Rio’s airport.
Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. made the motion to approve the resolution, and Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus gave the second.
As mentioned in the agenda packet provided to the council by Assistant City Manager Manuel Chavez, the 2021 Airport Master Plan identified various short-term projects needed for the airport to comply with federal aviation regulations.
If approved, the funding from the grant will go towards adding new taxiways, which will enhance safety at the runway, as well as adding a helipad at the north end of the airport.
Mayor Al Arreola asked if council members had any questions or concerns. Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez asked if the application was for additional grant funding.
City Manager Shawna Burkhart answered Gutierrez’s question by confirming the grant is for additional funding. She said the resolution is for submitting a grant for 90 percent funding from the FAA and 10 percent funding from the city.
“This (grant application) is for the total of 90 percent (funding) of the project,” Burkhart said.
Gutierrez wanted to confirm if the council had already approved the funding. DeReus added to the conversation by saying the bidding for the grant application was approved, and Tuesday’s resolution was for approving the actual application.
Juan Carlos Onofre, Del Rio International Airport’s superintendent, was in attendance at the meeting, and he confirmed there are two phases to the application process. The first phase is for design and bidding, and the second phase is for construction.
Arreola asked if there were any more questions, and the council unanimously approved the resolution before moving to the next topic.
