ROGERS -- The city plans to acquire more land near the Rogers Executive Airport.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of 4.36 acres near Etris Drive, just west of the airport, from the Weiser Family Revocable Trust.
The land is the first of two tracts the airport is looking to add amidst recent projects on the northeast side of town, airport manager David Krutsch said.
The airport plans to use funds allocated under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, from which the facility receives about $762,000 each year and had saved about $1.5 million as of November, according to Krutsch.
A total of $250,000 is appropriated for the acquisition. The property was appraised at $225,000, according to the city resolution. The airport requested an additional $25,000 for expenses related to the purchase.
Two contracts with North Little Rock-based firm Garver were approved by the council in recent months -- one related to the reconstruction of the airport's taxiway lighting and airfield electrical vault and another for land acquisition support services.
A large expansion project at the airport was completed in early 2022, and hangar development projects are also in the works in order to keep up with demand, Krutsch said.
The city's 2023 budget for the airport estimates just over $1 million in revenue, $922,763 in expenses and capital projects and a $103,237 surplus.
In other business, the council unanimously gave the green light to funding several street projects, including the addition of roundabouts at the intersections of West Pleasant Grove Road and Arkansas 94 with Arkansas 265.
The city will soon begin the design process for the intersections in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, according to Lance Jobe, deputy director of engineering services for the city. The city will pay for 20% of the project costs; the state department will reimburse the city for the remaining 80%, according to the resolution.
Another road construction project will extend Will Rogers Drive along the south side of Northwest Park to North 13th Street. The council had previously appropriated $1 million in addition to the project's 2018 bond amount. On Tuesday, an additional $870,000 was approved for the project by the council.
The council on Tuesday also affirmed the reappointment of Aaron Jackson to the city's Civil Service Commission. His term will expire April 11, 2029.