Fort Collins approves $1 million contribution to Northern Colorado Regional Airport
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Fort Collins City Council voted in favor of making a $1 million contribution to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport — which it co-owns with the City of Loveland — on Tuesday night so the airport has enough funding to complete its planned terminal renovation.
The motion for the contribution passed 5-1, with council member Kelly Ohlson voting against it and Mayor pro-tem Emily Francis absent.
The initial ask before council was a conditional contribution, meaning the city would make the $1 million contribution, but some money would be paid back if the airport failed to meet the following five benchmarks:
The airport must get a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver building certification by first quarter 2025 ($150,000 repayment if not achieved)
It must have a public art commitment at 1% of nonfederal contributions by first quarter 2025 (no penalty repayment if not achieved)
The building must have a carbon footprint of 198 MTCO2e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) by first quarter 2025 ($150,000 repayment if not achieved)
The number of annual outbound passengers served by bus and air who directly utilize the new terminal facility must grow from 18,000 to 33,000 by the end of 2028 ($200,000 repayment if not achieved)
There must be enhanced accessibility through electric vehicle charging stations, bike parking and creation of a transit service point at the facility by the end of the first quarter 2025 (no penalty repayment if not achieved).
However, Mayor Jeni Arndt, who also sits on the airport commission, pushed back on the idea that the contribution should be conditional. Arndt said she took issue with the conditionality because the ordinance was written in a way that if the airport failed to meet the required metrics, Loveland would be responsible for reimbursing Fort Collins.
“I'll just be really forthright, I have a fundamental question of how you can share half of ownership of something and try to force the other 50% to pay you back if certain metrics aren’t met,” Arndt said. “... I just have never seen a proposition like this.”
She said she liked the metrics and recognized they’re important to have, but asked other council members to think if they would want to enter an agreement like this from Loveland’s end.
Ohlson, the lone vote against the contribution, said he understood where Arndt was coming from, but also saw the need to ask for metrics.
“The mayor makes a good case that perhaps we should just do it clean, but I think the intentions were really good, very smart (behind asking for metrics),” Ohlson said. He added that he thought the money was a reasonable ask but would vote no because he disagreed with the governance style of the airport and co-ownership between the cities.
Council members ultimately made the decision to remove the repayments from the benchmarks and instead make them performance metrics that aren’t tied to financing. The funding will become final after council approves the ordinance on a second reading, which will likely happen on March 7.
Jason Licon, director of the airport, told the Coloradoan after the vote that he thought the decision to remove conditionality was “a good move.”
“I think having conditions is important, but the 50/50 ownership model of the airport makes it challenging to be able to put conditions on the co-owner,” Licon said. “So, I think that that was a great foresight for the council and (we) certainly understand that metrics are important and we're gonna certainly strive to achieve those no matter what.”
He said he feels good about the metrics laid out by council, noting that the only one he’s questioning is growing the number of outbound passengers by bus and air from 18,000 to 33,000 by the end of 2028.
“We'll do everything that we can to hit that target … there's a lot of factors that are certainly outside of our control, but having a new facility will certainly help us achieve it,” he said of that goal.
Need some background?:Fort Collins City Council shows hesitancy to fund city-owned airport. What's behind it?
What is the money for?
The money committed by Fort Collins is the last source of funding needed for the airport to go forward in replacing its existing terminal — one that was meant to be temporary when it was built more than two decades ago.
The new terminal, along with other renovations to airport technology, had been in the works for years but plans were sped up when FNL received $17 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which has a spending deadline of July 2024.
The project was scaled back from its original $31 million price tag, but is still set to include two airline gates and will be built out to 19,000 square feet, though the design will allow for expandability if the need for more room appears in the future.
The project started in January 2021 with design and outreach and has undergone some design changes, but Licon said they’re hoping the final design will be complete in April of this year. They’re hoping to break ground in June or July with construction ending in October 2024.
“We're obviously excited about it, for its ability to serve the airport's needs for a long period of time,” Licon said of the new airport. “The last terminal building was built in 1989 and Northern Colorado was less than half of its current population. So, this facility will serve the community well.”
More city news:Fort Collins URA preparing to buy long-vacant Albertsons grocery on North College
Molly Bohannon covers Fort Collins government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins will give $1M to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport
