Kayenta airstrip fuels grazing-lease family's woes

(Courtesy photo - Kayenta Township Commission)

A Beech KingAir on the runway at the Kayenta Airport, known to pilots as 0V7.

Construction crews are scheduled to begin work Monday on improvements to the Kayenta airstrip that will make it safer.

But to do that, Kayenta Township officials will need to reach an agreement with the family that owns grazing rights to the land, the Sullivans.

And the family says the township still hasn't fulfilled promises it made to them when they agreed to cede grazing land for the original airstrip.

As it stands now, the airstrip is slated to close permanently on Monday, June 23. The new-and-improved airstrip will open Oct. 15.

About 91 percent of the $6.9 million project is coming from a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. Most of the remaining funds will come from a local sales tax levied by the township.

The community also received $30,000 from Navajo County to improve the entrance to the airstrip and this is being done at the same time, said Anthony Peterman, project manager for the township.

The runway, which is no longer safe to use, will be replaced with a new asphalt strip, Peterman said.

"We're also planning to shift the runway about 1,200 feet to the east for safety reasons," he said.

This will move aircraft activity away from houses in the area. While there have been no crashes, there was one close call about a year ago that convinced township officials something had to be done.

The incident involved a small single engine plane that overran the runway and landed about 200 yards in front of a local family - the Sullivans - who have a corral nearby.

There were no injuries to any people or livestock but "it was a close call," Peterman recalled.

Community officials have complained the current airstrip for years.

One of the biggest problems with the airstrip was the lack of drainage for rain and snow.

"The airport itself sits in a drainage plain and when it snows or rains, water accumulates around the airstrip with no place to drain. The water then settles beneath the airstrip resulting in dips and ripples. Then it becomes a safety issue," Peterman said.

For pilots, the runway became a challenge and they had to learn to avoid the irregularities when landing.

"There are skid marks on the runway to give pilots an idea to where to put the plane down so they can avoid the dips as much as possible," he said.

The main user is Eagle Air Med, which transports the seriously ill and injured from the Kayenta health clinic to hospitals in the region.

Peterman said the community is negotiating with Peabody Western Coal Co. to use its airstrip, some 29 miles away on Black Mesa, while the Kayenta airport is closed.

"The officials for Eagle Air are excited about the improvements," said Peterman, ""because it will make the airstrip safer."

As for medical emergencies that may occur while the airport is closed, Peterman said if there's no time to transport the patient to a nearby airstrip, the community could briefly close a portion of U.S. Highway 160 to enable its use by an air ambulance.

There is still one obstacle that may jeopardize Monday's start date, and that's the Sullivan family, which holds the grazing rights to 1,200 acres on which the new airstrip will be built.

The Sullivans still have a corral in the area, and called the Navajo Times this week to say the township was poised to tear it down without their permission.

"We're planning on building a turnaround and the corral will be located in the middle, so it can't stay there," Peterman said.

He said the township has offered to build the family a bigger and better corral in another location, but the dispute goes beyond that.

Lorraine Sullivan said Wednesday that family members are not happy because the township has yet to make good on its commitments from more than 20 years ago, when it sought the land used for the existing airstrip.

"They were promised at that time that, in exchange for the right to use the land, they would receive water and electricity for their home," Sullivan said. "Their home still doesn't have water or electricity."

Peterman said the township commissioners are willing to work with the Sullivans to get water and electricity to their homes but it's going to take time.

"The Sullivans want the water and electricity before the work begins but that's not possible," Peterman said.

IHS officials have joined with the township to see that funds are raised to help the family, said Peterman, adding that the hospital got involved because the family also authorized use of its grazing area as a site for the Kayenta health clinic.

He declined to guess how long it would take to find the needed funding, but said plans are in the works to bring water as well as electricity to the area.

"Verbal agreements were made in the past and nothing was written down but the township commission realized that they need to help the family," Peterman said, adding that the airstrip safety improvements outweigh the needs of just one family.

Lorraine Sullivan said the family might seek a restraining order to stop construction until the township comes up with an agreement that is acceptable to all members of the family.

Construction crews from Show Low Construction and Armstrong Engineers plan to start tearing down the existing airstrip Monday, Peterman said.