Would Add $3.44 Million To The Project

The City of Santa Monica is considering using a process called hydro-seeding to grow grass where 1,500 feet of runway is slated to be removed from Santa Monica Airport (KSMO).

The Santa Monica Mirror reports that the installing the grass overruns at each end of the runway where the concrete will be removed would add $3.44 million to the project, bringing the cost to some $7 million. The city had apparently not considered what to do with the areas at each end of the runway when it initially approved funding for the runway shortening.

The City council was presented with a report "Options for the Removal of Excess Runway Pavement at Santa Monica Airport" at its September 26 meeting. The options ranged from $3.44 million to $5.7 million, with the grass option being the least expensive. That price does not include an irrigation system that would likely be required to maintain the grass.

The city told the paper that the airport does not currently have Runway Safety Areas at each end of the runway, and so it does not meet FAA safety standards. Airport advocates dispute that claim.

But it's also not clear how the project would be funded. In its report to the Council, the city staff said there "are no funds set aside or available in the City’s Fiscal Year 17-18 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for this project. Additionally, the Airport Fund does not have sufficient reserves and could require a loan from the General Fund to remove the excess pavement.”

The council also accepted the resignation of Airport Commissioner Suzanne Paulson at the meeting, according to the report.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original Report