Airport parking fees
The Manhattan City Commission Tuesday recommended implementing an initial $2.50-per-day parking fee at Manhattan Regional Airport instead of the originally suggested $1 fee.
The initial fee would begin in January 2021 and eventually increase to $5 per day in January 2022.
Mark Hatesohl, city commissioner, originally suggested increasing the fee, saying its a nominal difference that will generate extra revenue.
“It might actually generate just a little bit more money and if you’re having people go through the process, I don’t think $2 is much more than $1 since a lot of the people are corporate travelers or traveling on somebody else’s dime,” Hatesohl said. “A lot of them are probably going to get paid back for it anyway.”
Airport officials recommended the $1-per-day rate as a way of bringing back customers post-pandemic and testing the payment system.
Wynn Butler, city commissioner, sided with Hatesohl, saying higher fees will cover the cost of customer credit-card fees more effectively.
“$1 seems to be not going to make it if you’re still getting charged for credit-card fees,” Butler said. “The other point is, I get you want to test the system, but if we’re going to pay that much money for a system, I would think it would work and the company would have to stand behind it. I would just start charging the $5 from day one.”
The airport parking fees will be used to help pay for improvements to the airport parking lot that are scheduled to be completed in November.
Airport Master Plan
Capital Improvement Projects that are part of the Manhattan Regional Airport Master Plan could end up costing the city up to over $24 million.
Some of these projects include reconstructing and expanding the runway, acquiring snow-removal equipment and building airplane hangars.
While Master Plan projects are recommended and not necessarily required, city commissioner Wynn Butler expressed concern over where funding will come from.
“How are we going to pay for it?” Butler asked. “Is it going to come out of property tax, sales tax or are we going to generate enough money on renting cars down there and landing airplanes and having passenger fees to cover it? That’s what the average person out there is going to ask.”
According to a city official, the airport was taken into account when deciding what the proposed half-cent sales tax would help pay for.
Usha Reddi, city commissioner, showed support for the airport, saying it benefits several organizations in the area.
“One of the reasons our airport does well is because people are using it,” Reddi said. “So it’s not just showing up on deplanements and enplanements, but what money are they spending in out community. And that’s why it’s become a good resource for Kansas State University, Fort Riley and our businesses.”
Most of the Capital Improvement Projects are at least partially funded by the city, but many are eligible to be mostly funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.
More information about the Manhattan Regional Airport Master Plan can be found at mhk.airportstudy.com.
Importance of mental-health professionals and facilities
The Manhattan City Commission Tuesday discussed the importance of mental health professionals and facilities, such as the Pawnee Mental Health Services Crisis Stabilization Center, in the midst of a pandemic.
Reddi says that while Manhattan has resources other communities don’t yet have, it needs to continue funding mental-health initiatives.
“It’s great to have co-responders and it’s great to have a stabilization center, but if they’re not continuously funded, we will see repercussions that are more devastating,” Reddi said.
Dennis Butler, Riley County Police Department director, agreed and provided praise for those who handle mental-health situations.
“I can’t imagine how much more difficult things would be right now without our crisis co-responders and having a stabilization unit here in our community that can immediately accept people in crisis,” Butler said. “I don’t know what it would look like, but I think it would be a lot different and a lot more challenging.”
The Crisis Stabilization Center opened just over a year ago and provides service to multiple counties.
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