The Kenai City Council voted to accept and appropriate funds in the Airport Fund and accept grants from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Kenai Municipal Airport. On February 12, 2021, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation announced that the Kenai Municipal Airport is eligible for funds under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The funds are intended to assist airport sponsors in addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency.
City Manager Paul Ostrander, “It’s broken into two buckets. There’s almost $1.3 million dollars that can be used for operational expenses at the airport. So, really anything. Any expenses that the city has to operate to the airport. There’s also a smaller bucket of just over $20,000 that provides relief from rent and minimum annual guarantees for our lessees, our concessionaires at the airport. So the car rental, the restaurant café, that sort of thing. It’s to help provide relief to those folks for their minimum rental guarantees.”
The Kenai Airport is eligible for $1,282,840 for costs related to operational expenses directly to the airport incurred on or after January 20, 2020. The Kenai Municipal Airport is also eligible for $20,398 to provide relief from rent and minimum annual guarantees to airport concessions. Councilman Henry Knackstedt commented, “I just want to say it’s great to get $1.3 million dollars into the airport.”
Ordinance No. 3195-2021 was enacted unanimously.