Purse Ho
HARTFORD – The City Council approved the adoption of the Hartford Municipal Airport Six-Year Improvement Plan and the Westphal Mansion Inn Rezoning Ordinance during their Tuesday evening meeting at Hartford City Hall. .
The six-year improvement plan, however, is not set in stone, according to airport manager Darryl Kranz.
“Basically, it’s my duty every couple of years to make a to-do list at the airport. That doesn’t mean they’re all going to happen,” Kranz said. “But, as long as we have them on the agenda, if something comes up and we want to do it at the airport, I don’t need to come to the council straight away and wait two weeks for all of this to be approved.”
List items for this year include updating the fuel system card reader and designing and building a Jet A fuel system, according to the project’s statement of intent.
According to Kranz, these projects take place in 2022. The Jet A Fuel system will cost half a million dollars, but the city is only responsible for 5% of the cost, $25,000, with the rest coming from the state (five percent) and federal funds (90%).
According to Kranz, Hartford will earn that money in a few years at most.
Flight for Life wants to come to Hartford Municipal Airport and would use 30,000 gallons of gasoline per year. The city earns 50 cents a gallon selling gasoline at the airport, so with Flight for Life alone, the city would earn $15,000 a year, according to Kranz.
“So we’ll get our money back in a few years, and that’s without another Jet A Fuel be sold,” Kranz said.
According to Kranz, the city receives a $150,000 fee each year to use on the airport, and it doubles over the next two to three years.
“They haven’t decided [between two and three years] Again. So they will keep giving us more money to keep making improvements at the airport,” said Kranz.
The city can also pool up to three years of unused funds to keep in control account at the airport, according to Kranz.
Despite the funding, it may take some time for some of the other improvement plan projects to start.
“One of the biggest is designing the terminal and building a terminal,” Kranz said. “But I think…you’ll know how long it takes to go through the state and get it done. So it could take three, four, five years before it’s even built.
Proposed ideas for the terminal would include desks, a shower for the pilots and a seating area.
Hartford Municipal Airport Six-Year Improvement plan was unanimously approved by the board.
Rezoning of the Westphal Mansion Inn
Council also held a public hearing for the rezoning of the Westphal Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast.
The property’s new owners requested that it be rezoned from a B-3 business headquarters to an R-2 two-family residential neighborhood, according to City Administrator Steve Volkert.
No one appeared for or against the proposed order at the public hearing.
After the hearing, council passed the ordinance unanimously.
Fireworks
The board also discussed the upcoming fireworks display at Independence Park, E Monroe Ave. Festival Foods is sponsoring the July 4, 2022 fireworks display. To facilitate a larger show and due to concerns about softball field conditions at Lincoln Athletic Fields, the show has been moved, according to Volkert.
The show will start at dusk, around 9:30 p.m., and people can sit on the open park green lawns and sports fields. Signage will be posted to designate restricted and safety areas during the show.
There will be a limited number of parking spaces in the Independence Park car park, and no parking will be permitted on the park lawns or park service pavement.
“The City of Hartford appreciates the generosity of Festival Foods, the sponsor of the July 4, 2022 fireworks,” said Hartford Mayor Tim Michalak. “Thank you very much Festival Food… Be there, or be square.”