The Storm Lake Airport is one step closer to resolving a critical issue that threatened its ability to sell fuel.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, the council unanimously approved funding for emergency repairs to the airport’s underground fuel system.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources previously flagged the site for noncompliance due to a lack of electricity running to the fuel tanks—jeopardizing the airport’s license to sell fuel, its primary revenue source.
The council accepted a revised bid of $16,120 from Tahnee Mara, Inc., of Moville. The bid is significantly lower than the original $28,000 proposal and was approved by the Storm Lake Airport Commission last month, says City Finance Director Tyler Gibbons.
Gibbons told the council that the new plan involves saw-cutting and hand-digging a trench approximately 3 feet wide and 80 feet long to install new conduit and wiring. The work will reconnect the fuel tank probes to the building’s electrical system using a spare conduit. A used probe will also be installed to replace the malfunctioning Jet A probe.
He clarified that the cable being used is rated for direct burial and not designed to be run through conduit—an important distinction noted by inspectors and engineers, who still deemed the solution acceptable for temporary compliance.
The trench will be refilled with 4,000 pounds of concrete once the wiring is complete. The city’s Local Option Sales Tax will fund the project.
