Deadlines
Reminder: December 31 is the deadline for submitting grant requests for SFY23 state-funded-only grant offers.
Staffing
Several staff have joined MnDOT Aeronautics on temporary assignments: Kirby Becker as assistant director for planning, aero business, and airport development sections; Julie Carr as supervisor for the aero business section; and Mark Knapp as the state program coordinator. Luis Canelon-Lander and Nicholas Kremer have joined Aeronautics as radio technicians, Jason Radee has joined as North Region assistant engineer, and Crystal Nickles has been temporarily reassigned from the airport development section to the planning section.
New project prioritization policy
MnDOT’s new project selection policy went into effect November 1, 2022. The policy aims to 1) advance the Minnesota GO Vision and Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan objective of open decision making, 2) increase transparency and public understanding of MnDOT’s project selection processes, 3) implement recommendations from the 2016 Office of the Legislative Auditor’s evaluation report, MnDOT Highway Project Selection, and 4) comply with the requirements of MN Laws 2017, first special session ch. 3, article 3, sec. 124; and MN Laws 2021, first special session ch. 5, article 4, sec. 134.
Moving forward, MnDOT will use objective and transparent processes to evaluate, prioritize, and select all Aeronautics-funded capital projects, award grants for capital projects, and allocate funding or resources for capital projects, including general obligation bonds. This means the traditional “Green Line” project identification and selection process will change to align with legislative law and policy direction; this will be shared as part of the State Aviation System Plan outreach.
For more information, contact Kirby Becker at [email protected].
Credit applications
MnDOT Aeronautics has implemented an improved credit application process to better facilitate prompt payment on all federal and state credit applications (excluding M&O).
To ensure proper tracking of incoming credit applications, airport sponsors must submit their requests electronically to [email protected] and include their airport ID code in the subject line.
Clarification of 16 A/C as it relates to federal grants
The MnDOT Office of Chief Counsel has determined that the language “Grantee must not begin work under this agreement until this agreement is fully executed and Grantee has been notified by the State’s Authorized Representative to begin the work” is erroneous and should not be included in the state companion grant agreements. MnDOT will be working to remove it from the template for future agreements—and for already executed state companion agreements, the language is invalid. As a result, work can begin before execution of state companion grant agreements and will not result in a 16 A/C violation. Additionally, MnDOT cannot process any reimbursement requests for federal or state components of a project until the state companion grant agreement is fully executed; it will reimburse according to FAA’s rules for work already completed. For more information, contact Kirby Becker at [email protected].
Runway marking contract
The State Runway Markings Contract covers all paved public-owned airports in the state of Minnesota. This contract requires that marking application is up to FAA AC 150/5340-1M specifications. Part 139 airports are repainted yearly, and the rest are completed every four years. If an airport has a pavement project, then paint should be completed as a part of it. Otherwise, the state handles re-marking based on the reoccurring schedule. When an airport is due for paint, the state contractor will work directly with the airport manager to schedule and safely apply paint at a given site. If there are any concerns when it comes to markings at an airport, contact Nate Sievert at [email protected].
