A6 THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
Airport
Continued from A1
THE NEED
Since twice as many peo-
ple are flying through the city-
owned airport than did a de-
cade ago, Bass said there’s not
enough space for baggage claim,
queue lines are cramped and
there’s often not enough seating
at gates, in food areas and out-
side security.
And much of the space they
have is poorly designed. Not
many travelers take advantage
of the views and food options
on the second floor of the air-
port, because travelers can’t see
or hear updates from their gate.
“We have limited hold room,”
Bass said.
“Not a great option of retail
and concessions and food. Bath-
rooms are getting too small and
so we know we need more space
to accommodate this growth.”
Though the COVID-19 pan-
demic decreased air travel tem-
porarily, the number of travelers
using the Redmond Airport has
already bounded back, with no
signs of waning.
“The overall story is we’ve
done better than we expected
with COVID and we came back
quicker than most of the coun-
try,” Bass said.
He expects to the number of
travelers to continue ticking up
and believes now is the time to
plan that continued growth.
THE PLAN
The first phase of the airport
expansion will add more retail
options, as well as additional
places to get food and drink on
both sides of security.
Bass said they have designed
an expanded “hold area” past
security that will have more
space for passengers for queu-
ing in ticket lines or waiting to
board. They also plan a com-
plete redesign of the second
floor, which would reduce the
number of flights that passen-
gers would board outdoors on
the tarmac.
Plans call for six or seven jet
bridges that would make for
more efficient loadings and un-
Council
Continued from A1
“Although it has been ex-
tremely rewarding, I have de-
cided not to seek re-election at
this time.”
Clark-Endicott’s position is
one of three council seats up for
election in November. The can-
didate filing period is currently
open until August 30.
Map
Continued from A1
The Detroit Lake area —
which burned to the ground
in 2020 and is now a flamma-
ble collection of toothpick-like
trees — is in the green zone,
which designates an area least
at risk. Green Ridge — which
has seen several fires in recent
years — is listed as “yellow.”
In comparison, one attendee
said, areas that haven’t seen
fires in years are designated as
“high” or “extreme” risk zones.
Other attendees complained
about higher insurance rates
as a result of a high or extreme
risk designation, as well as the
costs of additional building
code upgrades if their proper-
ties were to burn down.
One citizen, who did not give
their name, pointed to a larger
economic impact.
“There’s a huge need in Ore-
gon for affordable housing,” he
said, “And we’re adding another
layer of costs to those that de-
velopers build.”
Even if updated building
codes ultimately make residents
safer, meeting attendees said
they wished they had more of
a heads-up before the map was
released, so they could better
prepare.
Another attendee said they’re
less concerned with fire risk
on their specific property than
they are with a lack of federal
and state forest management,
where large wildfires can start
and spread onto private land.
In light of pushback, ODF is
taking a step back to reevaluate
Architectural rendering
Concept art of a possible design for the expanded Redmond Airport.
loadings, especially in winter.
The cost of the first phase of
the expansion will be in $90-
100 million range, which Bass
said the airport can pay for with
saved funds and federal grants.
Additional phases of the ex-
pansion are subject to change,
and dependent on how much
money the airport is able to ac-
quire.
According to the November
2021 concept plan, the second
phase of expansion would en-
large and redesign the ticket
area and air control tower.
Phase three would expand and
reconfigure the baggage claim
area and the next phase would
revamp and expand the east side
departure lounge. A final phase
would focus on an interior re-
configuration and relocate air-
port administration offices.
If the airport is able to get all
five phases finished, Bass said
there could be roughly 12 addi-
tional gates at the airport, which
he said would likely be attractive
for airlines to add additional
connections to RDM.
Bass emphasized that, de-
spite hundreds of millions in
upgrades, airport administra-
tors want it to keep the same feel
that it has now.
“We’re still going to be a
smaller airport,” he said. “We
still want to have that feel of this
lodge feel … this Central Ore-
gon feel.”
IMPACT ON ECONOMY
An expanded airport would
be an asset for increased busi-
To run for Redmond City
Council, a candidate must be 18
years old, a registered voter and
must be a resident of Redmond
for at least one year prior to
election date.
As of August 10, Fitch
joins fellow Charles Baer, Ben
Schimmoller and fellow city
councilor Jay Patrick in the
mayoral race.
Three city council candidates
its methodology, address com-
plaints and appeals, and im-
prove dialogue with the com-
munities its mapping.
The Redmond meeting
marks the fourth ODF commu-
nity information session since
the map’s release, with an ad-
ditional session scheduled for
Grants Pass but later canceled
due to threats.
Following the meetings,
ODF will consider commu-
nity feedback and corrections
to create a second draft of the
map, said Tim Holschbach,
ODF chief of policy and plan-
ning for the fire protection di-
vision.
“The airport, in some ways, is as important as the
Deschutes River or the Cascade Mountains when
it comes to determining the success of Central
Oregon. It’s essential that we make sure that
this airport is as successful as it can be and can
accommodate the demand that we’re seeing.”
— Keith Witcosky, Redmond city manager
ness investment and opportu-
nities for the region, according
to Jon Stark, CEO of Economic
Development for Central Ore-
gon. He said the more Central
Oregon is integrated into the
wider transportation network,
the more it makes sense to build
and expand in the area.
“The airport is a major com-
ponent to the success of the
economic development in the
region,” Stark said. “Without it,
we’re an island.”
With Central Oregon one of
the fastest growing regions in
the country, he said, the airport
expansion is timely and will
help attract more flights. Des-
tinations such as Chicago and
Dallas/Ft. Worth are on the ra-
dar, he said.
Additionally, an expanded
airport can bring in more tour-
ists, and offer Central Oregon
residents a wider variety of di-
rect destinations.
“As the marketing arm for the
region, Visit Central Oregon is
really excited for the expansion
and the flights it will support,”
have officially finished the pro-
cess of filing to run: Branegan
Dixon, John Nielsen and Cat
Zwicker.
Two others who declared
their candidacy — Kathryn Os-
borne and Bill Trumble — still
need to submit signatures in
order to qualify for the Novem-
ber ballot.
█
THE MONEY
Construction is expected to
begin on the $100-million first
phase in late summer or fall of
awarded $463 million to 221
projects since its inception.
“We’re trying our hardest to
get every dollar possible to put
into this terminal, including our
own money,” he said.
Additionally, the airport may
take out a revenue bond. Sep-
arate from a general obligation
bond with taxpayers footing the
bill, the revenue bond would
instead be issued against the air-
port’s revenue and ability to re-
pay the debt service.
“This project most likely will
end up with 25 to 30 separate
grants supporting it on top of
our cash and the revenue bond,”
said Bass.
MOVING FORWARD
Bass said he hears a lot from
travelers who want to see ad-
ditional flights and amenities
at the airport. He said this plan
will provide a clear next step
while keeping their options flex-
ible for the long-term future.
“People are excited to keep
growing, adding new destina-
tions and frequencies,” he said.
Still, Bass said they plan to
check in constantly throughout
the process, keeping an eye on
costs and the economy, as well
as the demand from travelers.
“As we go through the de-
sign process we’ll start to get
more and more understanding
of what this really will cost,”
he said. “And we can also start
looking at … do we really need
phase four?”
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@
redmondspokesman.com
Plan your 2023 Getaway!
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
Once the second map is
done, ODF will hold additional
meetings to solicit feedback
and use that to develop a final
document.
Holschbach said ODF will do
better at public engagement in
all steps of the process.
Residents who have submit-
ted an appeal regarding their
fire risk designation will not
be required to do so a second
time. Holschbach said the time-
line for this process is not yet
set.
“We want the map to be
right, too,” he said.
█
said Katie Johnson, the com-
munications manager for the
Central Oregon Visitors Asso-
ciation. “We’ve got a lot to offer
here year round.”
The impact from the expan-
sion will be felt across Central
Oregon. According to the State
of Oregon’s economic impact
report, the full expansion is
expected to add 207 jobs and
bring in $39 million a year to
the area. Those numbers will be
even higher during the five-year
construction window.
“The airport, in some ways,
is as important as the Deschutes
River or the Cascade Mountains
when it comes to determining
the success of Central Oregon,”
said Redmond City Manager
Keith Witcosky. “It’s essential
that we make sure that this air-
port is as successful as it can be
and can accommodate the de-
mand that we’re seeing.”
2023. It is expected to take two
years to finish. Most of that cash
is already in hand, including
$25 million in savings from fees
paid by travelers and 75 percent
likely to come from state and
federal grants.
Bass noted that the expansion
will not be funded by a local
general obligation bond or city
taxes.
Bass explained that the air-
port, while owned by the city of
Redmond, has a unique setup
and acts virtually like its own
municipality.
It has its own fire depart-
ment, employs its own security
service, and has its own admin-
istration, and oversees dozens
of lease agreements with busi-
nesses and organizations who
operate on its land.
Money from the city doesn’t
flow into airport coffers, nor
does money collected at the air-
port go back into the city.
There is plenty of federal
money heading to the nation’s
transportation system.
The 2022 Bipartisan Infra-
structure Law set aside $15 bil-
lion for airport infrastructure
and its smaller terminals pro-
gram sets aside $1 billion over
five years.
“We plan on competing hard
over the next four to five years,”
Bass said.
A Connect Oregon grant
could also be another funding
opportunity, Bass said. The pro-
gram was created in 2005 to
finance “non-highway modes
of transportation” and has
Reporter: lbaudhuin@
redmondspokesman.com
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