OROVILLE – The Oroville City Council heard from Tim Ike of J-U-B Engineers on March 4 about the schedule for the construction of a Jet A fueling system and the future Runway Relocation Project at the airport.

Ike, a Project Manager and Aviation Consultant, said, “I just wanted to give the council an update. I’ve come up several times in the last several years and we have been working on a project at the airport with the Bipartisan Infrastructure funding that became available to the city through a federal grant administered through the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).”

Ike said the funding will help pay for a Jet A fueling system. This will allow gas-turbine aircraft to refuel at Oroville’s Dorothy Scott International Airport. The airport currently only offers Aviation Gasoline (AVGAS) for fueling traditional propellor aircraft and small piston-engine airplanes.

“One of the eligible projects is an aviation fuel system, so we’ve developed a scope of work for the design of that fuel system which can be funded by that federal funding,” said Ike.

He said he believed the council had an agreement in their packet for design services for the fuel system through J-U-B Engineers.

“Schedule for that project would be design and bidding this year and then construction next year in 2026,” said Ike.

“With the current federal uncertainty… I’ll put it that way… this funding as far as we’re told by the FAA is secure and obligated and authorized. So, the city has a grant application for this that has been submitted to the FAA once, it’s a draft. We’ve made a few edits and that will be submitted as its final and the funding will be available to the city for design effort. We will go through the same process next year with construction.”

Iker said once they open the bids they will have construction numbers for the project and will apply for a grant for construction funding.

“Construction will happen in 2026. Really, the uncertainty will just be the impact to schedules, but then again, we have been told by the FAA this particular project level is ready to go,” Ike said.

“That’s for the 12,000-gallon tank and the grant amount is $158,690 and we have roughly a $10,000 match on that?” asked Mayor Ed Naillon.

“This year, in 2025 and 2026, the match amount went from 10 percent to five percent. So, it’s a 95/5 percent grant. And honestly, I would recommend in the spring, when the state comes out with their grant, we apply for that too to further offset the match. There are no guarantees there, but it’s an easy application and we’ve applied for it in years past to offset match. It’s just an additional opportunity to reduce the out-of-pocket expense on the city,” replied Ike.

Ike said the process he had been discussing was a “preview of coming attractions” to the Runway Relocation Project that has been in the works for seven or eight years in terms of getting the city lined up. He said he wanted to give the city a few quick highlights on that project.

“That’s a significantly larger project. That will be designed this year and constructed next year. The FAA has set aside what they call state apportionment discretionary dollars for that project. That is a bit time-sensitive in that you have it for the federal fiscal year 2026. That is fairly rigid so if we miss that window there is no automatic rollover to 2027 or 2028. You go back in line and we’re waiting and we’re asking and we’re waiting for our turn again,” said Ike.

He went on to say that he would come back and keep the council update the council on that project.

“We are scoping currently for that as well. The runway is significantly larger but your still in that 95/5. You’re in a two-year window where the local match five percent is not unheard of because years ago that’s how the program worked through the FFA but in the last 10 years there’s been a 10 percent match,” said Ike.

“We’re still on track though?” asked Steve Thompson, Oroville Superintendent of Public Works.

Ike said there was still some uncertainty at the federal level regarding the Runway Relocation Project.

“That one is more susceptible to uncertainty at the federal level because it is funded through AIP, Airport Improvement Program, which is budgeted through ticket sales. So, if you fly on an airline, you pay a small fee and it goes to fund projects like this. The impact, the best that I could guess, would be with schedules. We’ll work with the FFA to make sure we are on track,” said Ike.

As envisioned, the Runway Relocation Project will rotate the runway 1.2 degrees east, shifting it east and south, as well as widening it. The runway will be shifted 103.5 feet east and 97 feet south and widened from 50 feet to 60 feet. The runway length will remain 4,020 feet, but Runway 15 end will be elevated 1.5 feet and Runway 33 end will be elevated by 7.9 feet.

Hearing no more questions for Ike, Mayor Naillon asked for a motion to authorize him to sign an agreement for professional services from J-U-B Engineers.

A motion and second was received and passed unanimously.

The Oroville City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers at city hall. The next meeting is scheduled for March 18.

See more on the March 4 council meeting in the March 13 print edition of the Gazette-Tribune.