FORKS — The City Council will make a last-ditch effort to keep West End Thunder at the Forks Municipal Airport.
The council will send a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration asking for one more chance to find a solution.
“We will reaffirm city support for West End Thunder,” Mayor Bryon Monohon said Tuesday.
The City Council discussed the topic for one hour and 15 minutes Monday night.
West End Thunder club has two more drag race and car show weekends this year at the airport — on Aug. 20-21 and Sept. 10-11.
The city has worked with the FAA since 2005 to negotiate ways to allow West End Thunder to use the airport five summer weekends.
FAA policy prohibits airports with grant obligations to close for non-aviation uses. The city airport has such obligations.
The city of Forks, which owns the airport, and the West End Thunder racing club were granted an exception in August 2006.
In 2010, the FAA denied the city’s request for an extension and was told the 2011 season would be the last.
“It doesn’t seem like we’re asking a lot,” Monohon said Tuesday.
The letter the council will send to the FAA asks the agency to allow the races to continue, 15 days a year, until a lasting solution is found, Monohon said.
“Even our one pilot is willing to work around the races,” he said.
The city is considering two options, Monohon said.
The first is to hold the races at the Quillayute Airport, which is farther from the city than the municipal airport and which would require a lot of work to make it ready for drag racing.
The second option is to build a dedicated drag strip, either on a new property or just north of the airstrip where cars currently race.
“The club will continue to look at places to build a track,” Monohon said.
Both options would cost about $3 million, he added, saying the price tag is a bit high for the community.
“If that’s what it takes, we’ll continue to look at that,” he said.
The biggest obstacle to getting a fast answer on temporary reprieve is ongoing FAA furloughs, Monohon said.
Most FAA administrative personnel are on furlough now because of federal budget issues, so there may be no one available to receive the letter, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsula
dailynews.com.
