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Marion City Council tries again to find buyer of airport runway
Council intended to close runway, but a late offer came in
Mar. 21, 2025 11:52 am, Updated: Mar. 21, 2025 3:37 pm
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MARION — After announcing their intent to shutter the Marion Airport runway, city officials have reversed course and again will seek potential buyers.
Marion City Council members voted Thursday to revise and reissue a request for proposals after an initial attempt failed to produce a viable buyer for the runway, which the city bought a decade ago.
The city requested offers to buy the runway in February for a minimum sales price of $857,500. No bids were received by the March 3 deadline, however, so council members voted to close the runway by June 30.
The move effectively would have halted flights to and from the airport. Currently, the airport supports daily traffic, including air ambulance services, flight training, charters, private business travel, aerial photography and agricultural spraying.
In revising and reopening the request for proposals, City Attorney Kara Bullerman said the goal would be to avoid that outcome by finding a suitable buyer willing to continue runway operations.
“Staff is recommending that we revise and reissue the (request) with new criteria in order to meet our goals of fulfilling the city’s legal obligations, as well as selling the property to a buyer who intends to continue using the property as a runway,” Bullerman said.
City staff now are working to revise the request for proposals, and Deputy City Manager Kim Downs said there are ongoing conversations about potentially revising the minimum sale price.
A finalized request should be prepared and published in early April, Downs said, after which potential buyers will have 30 days to submit bids for consideration at a future City Council meeting.
The city bought the runway and a fixed base operations building in 2015 for $1.67 million. In 2020, the city invested an additional $1.8 million in a runway extension project. The rest of the airport property is owned by LuxAir, a company formed in 2015.
Late offer prompts search, hope
The decision to reissue a request was prompted in part by a response from a potential buyer sent in after the March 3 deadline, city records show.
That response was submitted March 6 via email. Council members were not allowed to consider it during their initial conversation about closing the runway since it did not come in by the deadline. The name of the potential buyer has not been disclosed.
Downs said a new request for proposals has to be posted to consider the offer. The process is open to any potential buyer, however, so it is possible the city would receive additional offers.
“Ultimately, we felt that it was in the best interest of the city to reissue that RFP to assess all available options,” Downs said.
Jeff Witter, an owner of LuxAir, said he was “excited” by the council’s decision to reopen the request for proposals and hopes to see an outcome that keeps the runway in operation.
He highlighted the Marion Airport’s role in the local aviation community and its importance to private pilots of small- to medium-sized aircraft who currently use the facility.
“We welcome any opportunity to reissue the RFP and see what happens … and we’re very happy that they’re looking for buyers again,” Witter said. “We want to see the Marion Airport saved for the next generation.”
Once revisions are finalized, the new request for proposals will be posted on the Marion city website.
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