Fort Rousseau Causeway Hist Park

The description of the Fort Rousseau Park boundary in the legislation forming the park inadvertently included uplands, tidelands, and water immediately adjacent to the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport. The parcel in question must remain part of the airport to allow the state to meet airport safety and security responsibilities.

This bill will correct the boundary by excluding all property within 1,100 feet of the runway centerline from the park. The uplands that will be retained within the airport are an area next to the runway, where a number of critical navigational aids and communications equipment are located, and a short adjacent section of the causeway.

If the property boundary is not corrected, the state could be precluded from management actions that are essential to airport operations such as restricting access to the property, precluding activities that are unsafe, or constructing additional facilities that become necessary. This would place the state in an untenable position as the airport owner and operator.

Finally, the Federal Aviation Administration requires that the state demonstrate adequate property interest in any airport for which it accepts Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funds. This program provides 95% of the funding for capital improvements that are made at our airports—Sitka has received over $32 million dollars in AIP grants since 1982. Failure to comply with the AIP grant assurances regarding control over airport property can result in the FAA's withholding additional grants.