PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The decision by the state Aeronautics Commission that eight of South Dakota’s public airports will share $10 million of aid from the Legislature for the first time didn’t come easily.
Before they could get to how the $10 million should be spread, the commissioners dealt with two other arguments during their meeting on Thursday.
First, Sioux Falls Regional Airport manager Dan Letellier wanted the terminal expansion underway there to also receive $200,000, as others previously had under the commission’s existing policy. That was to be in addition to an application for $15 million, which happened to be $5 million more than the total amount earmarked by the Legislature.
But when Letellier understood from some of the commissioners and Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt that getting the $200,000 would mean having to forego the $15 million application, Letellier backed off from the $200,000 argument.
“Then I pull my request,” Letellier said.
Next, Watertown officials made another appeal for up to $900,000 of the Legislature’s $10 million, after their equipment-removal project had been declared ineligible at the commission’s June 20 meeting. On Thursday, the commission decided to give a second listen on the $900,000 application, and this time they added Watertown into the running.
Chamberlain, meanwhile, had already withdrawn its $31,896.67 request for state assistance on a runway renovation project.
The commission then looked at six options from the state Department of Transportation for spreading the $10 million. As the discussion began, it was suggested that commissioner Gerald Reiber of Watertown recuse himself. He did.
DOT finance director Kellie Beck left and returned with an updated options list that now included Watertown’s $900,000 request.
Commission chair Eric Odenbach, of Eureka, said the second option looked fairest to him. After further discussion, commissioner Bob Huggins of Sioux Falls called for a vote on that second option and commissioner Kassidy Nelson of Elkton seconded the motion.
It would give Aberdeen $1,2000,000; Hot Springs $27,000; Rapid City $3,047,126; Sioux Falls $2,561,801; Spearfish $1,319,073; Sturgis $210,000; Tea $735,000; and Watertown $900,000.
There followed a long discussion about how the word “and” might affect one of the qualifying conditions in the motion. After commissioner John Taylor, of Sioux Falls, talked about how his deceased grandmother, a former English teacher at the high school and university levels, and his father would have diagrammed the sentence, the Sioux Falls Regional Airport member recused himself, too.
That left five commissioners eligible to vote on that second option.
When each of their turns came, some 70 minutes after the talks had begun, all five said yes.
