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1. Will my taxes go up because of the new airport?

No, the airport project is funded by federal grants including over $1,000,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

2. Is the 28E agreement between the City of Pella and the City of Oskaloosa a legal agreement?

Yes, the agreement is still valid. The courts found that there was a section of the agreement discussing termination which contained invalid language; and allowed the county to exit the agreement. The remainders of the agreement, minus this section is still valid.

3. Why is the city annexing land owned by SCRAA?

The city is annexing this land to plan for airport zoning and to extend infrastructure to the area. The city considers this area a prime growth opportunity especially around the proposed northwest connector.

4. Is the city utilizing eminent domain?

No, the city is working with property owners to negotiate property sales that benefit all parties involved.

5. Will the airport stop the use of the surrounding farm land?

No, the land surrounding the airport will still be farmable. Only land used directly for active airport use will no longer be used. The current Oskaloosa Airport is also surrounded by farm land and is still farmable, this is the goal for the new regional airport as well. The SCRAA wants to preserve as much usable crop land as possible.

6. What is the benefit of this project?

Construction of a regional airport is expected to create jobs and bring more business activity to the surrounding communities. The airport itself will require jobs, as well as the industries that typically grow around airports. The investment will help the community in the long run through an added tax base and sales tax revenue.

7. What is the benefit for Mahaska County?

By constructing a new regional airport, the tax base will increase total revenue for the county government. A larger tax base revenue means the county can provide better services, such as maintaining roads. Costs are constantly rising for these services, and the local governments need to find additional funding sources to pay for these services.

8. Oskaloosa already has an airport, why build a new one?

According to the DOT, the existing airport is inadequate and cannot be modified to handle commercial aircraft. Additionally, adding a new airport will act as an anchor, in which new businesses will attract to and grow our community.

9. How do we know that we will benefit from a new aiport?

The DOT has studied the economic impacts of airports similar to that of this project. These studies show an increase in economic activity due to the addition of these airports.

10. Other cities have built airports and have not seen significant growth; how are we different?

Each community is different. There are many factors at play, such as location and policies. Based on DOT and FAA assessments, Oskaloosa has been recognized as an idea location for a regional airport. Additionally, there are multiple global business headquarters located in the Oskaloosa area, who would benefit from a regional airport.

11. How will the airport be utilized and who will use it?

The plan for this facility, is to serve the following:

• Airline Services
• Air Cargo
• Emergency, military or National Guard response
• Air Medic such as life flight
• Aerial application for agriculture
• Public Safety
• Grassroot aviation

Additionally, anyone can benefit and use this airport. Anyone with a private license or commercial aircraft may use the facility. Businesses can use it and the community can benefit from the services provided by businesses. Most importantly, it provides infrastructure to attract large scale corporations to locate in Mahaska County.  Businesses looking for sites to locate in will find the community attractive because the airport provides access to markets and easy form of transportation. 

12. How long has the regional airport concept been apart of the City's long-term plan for economic growth.

The regional airport has been in the plan for roughly 20 years. However the long term plan is just that, a long term plan.  It takes years of planning to correctly navigate a project of this size.