Move To Extend Runway At Lake Chelan Airport

There's a push to move forward with a waterline extension at the Lake Chelan Airport.

The $8.5 million project is required to extend the airport's runway so that larger airplanes could take-off and land there.

Former Chelan City Councilman Ray Dobbs says the airport already has a large volume of traffic that'll only increase with the extension.

"Our large regional airport, Pangborn, had a total of 2,211 take-offs and landings," said Dobbs. "Chelan had about a third of that, a huge number in my mind, 857, just for the month of August."

The waterline extension has support from the Chelan Douglas Port Authority, although some Port Commissioners want to see it used for additional purposes such as housing development.

Port CEO Jim Kuntz told commissioners at a Tuesday meeting that he would find out more about how the water would be allocated for other forms of economic development. The extension is needed for fire flow compliance at the airport in order to extend the runway.

Meetings between the Port, the City of Chelan and Chelan County led to the following proposal fund the waterway extension.

(The state has already kicked in about 65 percent of the financing and would be asked to contribute an additional $1 million.)

Total Cost Estimate $8,500,000

Funding Sources

State Capital Appropriation $6,500,000
(Current State Funding $5,660,000)
Chelan County .09 Sales Tax Fund $ 666,666
City of Chelan $ 666,666
Regional Port $ 666,666