Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-06-21
OUTLINE STEPS TO SECURE
FEDERAL FUNDS FOR PORTS

By WALTER A. SHEAD
WNU Washington Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. C. - Air-mind-
ed folk throughout the country,
and particularly those in the small
towns, are hailing passage of the
federal airport aid bill which is ex-
pected to speed-up construction of
some 5000 new airports in the next
seven years.
The new act carries with it a fed
eral appropriation of 500 million
dollars which is so per cent feder-
al participation in the cost of build
ing these airports, which means a
billion dollars of airport conStruc-
ton during this next seven-year pc
Rod.
And the bill is so worded that en-
phasis is placed upon construction
of small airports, that is landing
strips 1900 to 4,700 feet in length.
States and communities are to
match the federal appropriation
on an equal basis, rs per cent of
the federal money to be distributed
on basis of area and population
and Is per cent to be used by Civil
Aeronautics administration as
discretionary fund" in carrying
out the national program.
The act restricts the use of the
money to public projects and funds
become available July l, 1916, but
CAA says it will not be able to ap-
prove expenditures for about six
months after passage of the act. 1t
will take that long for them to de-
velop specifications and procedures
and draw up the new program. CAA
officials have emphasized that they
will not even be able to consider
applications for airports until their
national study is complete. For this
preliminary planning congress has
provided them with three million
dollars. In the law the government
agrees to pay a fiat so per cent of
the construction costs for airparks.
For major airports, class or
larger, it will pay up to SO per cent
of construction costs. The govern
ment will pay more than so per cent
of the airpark project costs in states
containing large areas of public
non-taXable lands. Allowable costs,
besides field surveys and prepara-
ton of plans and specifications, in
clude those for administration build
ings. Hangers cannot be built with
federal funds.
The first step for any of the small
communities among the 16, 900 incor-
porated towns in the country wish
ing to benefit under the terms of the
new law, would be to go to the state
aeronauticS agency for help in de-
veloping community airpark.
Whatever department in your state
handles these projects will play
large part in negotiations for the
federal airport program and they
can also help the smaller communi-
ties with planning and engineering
service. In some cases they can
provide financial aid for construc-
ton. The CAA will consider master
plans prepared by these state agen-
cies for their states, SO these agen-
cies should be able to give advice
on your local chances of receiving
federal grants.
Civic planners should next study
tnelr community S neeQS 10 deter
mine the size and scope of the orig
inal project. An airpark can be built
on as little as 81 acres, but a sug-
gested minimum is one landing
strip 300 feet wide by 1900 feet
long. Remembering that CAA must
approve the site, careful attention
should be paid to location with re-
gard to convenience, reasonable
ness of cost, soil, drainage, freedom
from surrounding distractions,
possibility of expansion, etc.
And here's an important item.
Any community can borrow from
the Federal Works agency to finance
planning costs, whether or not it in
tends being included in the federal
program. FWA will make interest
free advances through its bureau of
community facilities, such loans to
be repaid if and when construction
is started.