Grants to Fund County Airport Improvements

The following article was provided by the Westchester County Board of Legislators. To see your new on Patch, log in and click here.

In an effort to enhance important safety and environmental measures at Westchester County Airport, the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) approved last night two pieces of legislation to accept grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while also amending the 2012 Capital Budget to pay the County’s share of projects involving stormwater management and runway rehabilitation.

The legislation for the grant agreements, which received unanimous, bipartisan support from the BOL, were also recommended for passage by Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino and then worked through the County’s Planning and Budget departments.

“It is essential that Westchester County Airport maintains its sterling safety record while continuing to be a good neighbor dedicated to environmental stewardship,” said Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), chair of the BOL’s Government Operations Committee, where the legislation received close consideration by its members. “Both the Administration and Legislators understood the improvements at the airport were necessary, and everyone worked together to get the projects moving forward.”

One of the grant agreements with the FAA deals with a stormwater management project in which the FAA is providing 90 percent of the costs. (The rest comes from the Airport Special Revenue Funds, which is not dependent on the County tax levy.) The project will control the flow of stormwater downstream from the airport to prevent flooding to adjacent properties and runoff into the nearby Kensico Reservoir, collecting the water and detaining in some places around the airport.

The other agreement will be used to fund design of the rehabilitation of Taxiway “A,” including upgrades of markings, lighting, signage and drainage of the northern sections of the taxiway. The two grants total $1.1 million, with zero cost to the County’s taxpayers and the remaining $110,000 in costs coming from the Airport Special Revenue Fund.

Last month, the BOL approved a grant agreement with the FAA to fund 90% of the cost of the Airport Master Plan.

“The FAA grants will allow important improvements to be made at Westchester Airport at no cost to our taxpayers,” said BOL Majority Leader Pete Harckham (D-Katonah). “As a transportation resource, the airport is an economic engine that provides jobs to residents and tax revenues to our coffers. It’s entirely prudent to support projects that will lessen the environmental impact and keep safety measures at the highest possible level during its operations.”