Keokuk budgets airport runway lighting, trail maintenance equipment and pool operations

Keokuk staff highlighted several capital items in the coming fiscal year: an airport secondary-runway lighting upgrade, a parks trail-maintenance equipment request and operational questions about the city pool.

Airport: staff said a runway-lighting project for the secondary runway is estimated at about $864,000. The city would budget an estimated $820K of federal grants and transfer approximately $50,000 from local ops/sales tax to cover the 10% local match. Staff flagged that the grant match percentage recently changed from 5% to 10% and that the capital work will be budgeted in fund 305.

Parks/trails: Parks staff requested $75,000 for a toolkat-style articulating vehicle that would integrate with existing Bobcat attachments to improve trail maintenance; the equipment would replace older side-by-side units and reduce the need to purchase separate motors for attachments.

Swimming pool: the city’s pool contract with the YMCA runs in a five-year term. The city budgets roughly $125,000 toward pool operations; staff suggested incremental increases to daily admission and party rental fees as a way to reduce the subsidy while preserving access. The pool contract includes a base management fee and a city guarantee for operating losses up to a threshold, with shared savings if losses are below that amount.

Next steps: staff will include the airport lighting project in the capital fund budget and pursue grant paperwork; parks equipment requests will be prioritized in the capital schedule; pool staff will report attendance and revenue data to refine fee proposals.