November 22, 2017 at 11:01 a.m.
Lakeland Airport's 10-foot fence close to design phase
Construction - or start of it - could still happen in 2018
The cost estimate for the fence is anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million.
Ninety-five percent of the cost would be picked up by the Federal Aviation Administration and the state of Wisconsin's Bureau of Aeronautics.
The commission has approximately $300,000 in savings that would be used to pay its share.
For the past several months, an airport layout plan has been developed, something required by the FAA before any work on the fence can be done.
Last week, Matt Yentz, a project manager with Strand Associates, the firm that will be doing much of the design work for the fence, told the commission the plan had been submitted to the FAA and it could be anywhere from three months to nearly a year before there would be any word from the government entity.
"That's when we would address any issues they would have and then Ginger, you would need to sign," he said, referring to commission chairperson Ginger Schwanebeck.
"The next thing for me is to begin to work on your fence design," Yentz said.
He said he'd like to be on an agenda soon - he'll return for the commission's December meeting - to determine the type, size and location of the fence.
"The types are chain link or woven wire, which are very common right-of-way fence you see along a highway," Yentz said. "You're very likely to have multiple types. Along roadway frontages, where there's a visibility issue, it's very common to have chain link. In more of the wooded areas, it's not uncommon to have the woven wire. There's a cost difference that's not terribly dramatic but it's there."
There was several minutes of discussion and Schwanebeck eventually asked Yentz if he would need decisions on everything discussed.
"I wouldn't need decisions on all that then," he said. "But I would like to come to you at some point ... to have a conversation about these things."
Yentz said the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics will have some say in the design.
"But you, as the airport and as a sponsor, should say, 'This is what we would like,'" he said. "If you ask for something that's reasonable, they may allow it."
Yentz said it's conceivable construction of the fence could still happen in 2018 - depending again on when the ALP and fence plans are ultimately approved.
The commission meets next at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].
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