BENTONVILLE -- A land exchange at the municipal airport allowing development on the airport's west side may be the "deal of the century," as one Airport Advisory Board member put it.
The city wants to sell 0.9 acres at the northwest end of the airport between Lake Bentonville and the taxiway turn. Lonesome Tree made an offer, according to City Council documents from the June 28 meeting.
In addition to buying the land, Lonesome Tree also would donate just under seven acres west of the runway at its south end, officials discussed at the most recent Airport Board Advisory meeting June 23.
Lonesome Tree uses P.O. Box 1860 as its address, which is connected to Walton Enterprises.
That land donation would allow for a parallel taxiway on the airport's west side, creating room for hanger development, officials said. There's been an ongoing discussion about the need for more room as the airport is essentially built to its capacity.
Lonesome Tree also would donate a runway protection zone aviation easement of about 12.5 acres on the north end.
The easement means "the property is subject to be flown over and nothing can be built there that would interfere with planes using the runway," said Ben Peters, city engineer and airport manager.
It would give the city some control over what the land could be used for, he said.
The 0.9 acres to be sold appraised for $130,000. That money would be used to help construction costs of a circular apron planned for the airport's northwest corner, just off the runway, Peters said.
The seven acres has an appraised value of $335,000, and the navigation easement was appraised for around $65,000, according to Peters.
"It's the deal of the century," Brian Baldwin, board chairman, said in the meeting. "You're (being) paid for the property, it's not really a land swap, and you get extra property. I don't see any downside."
It's a positive exchange as it helps solve issues at the airport's north and south ends, board member Beth Keck added.
Peters explained this year's $150,000 FAA Airport Improvement Grant would be used to design the parallel taxiway. The design is expected to cost closer to $180,000, but there's money from previous years still available, he said. The taxiway is expected to be around a $3 million project.
The first step in the land exchange process is for the FAA to release the 0.9 acres from federal obligations, Peters said.
"Until it's released, we can't really even offer it for sale," he said.
The City Council approved submitting a request for its release at its June 28 meeting.
NW News on 07/02/2016