Woodburn Independent Online

Aurora seeking annexation grant

• By: Ray Hughey  
• Published: 1/29/2010 3:58:42 PM

AURORA — The city of Aurora is seeking a $19,270 grant from Marion County to study the feasibility of annexing the Aurora State Airport.
 
In the application submitted last month, the city said it wants to encourage new economic activity and investment that will provide more jobs and stabilize the local economy. And that seems most likely to take place at the Aurora State Airport.
 
The city said annexation would provide the airport and its businesses the water and sewer systems they need to grow and expand.
 
And, helping the airport reach its economic potential would greatly benefit all of northern Marion County, the city said.
 
It would mean more jobs in and around the airport, improved air service to area businesses, and more business for nearby suppliers and service providers.
Hemmed on three sides by highways and land that can only be used for farming, the airport’s most likely path to expansion lies in the area separating it from the city of Aurora, a quarter-mile south.
 
Annexing the airport and providing the water and sewer systems it needs to grow would be a major undertaking for the small city of Aurora.
 
In the grant request, it proposes proceeding in three steps. The first would be to determine what utility services the airport needs and how much it will cost the city to supply them. The second step would be participating in the Airport Master Plan Update now underway.
The third step would be doing the economic opportunities analysis and land-use planning to justify expanding Aurora’s urban growth boundary and opening the way for annexation and providing services.
 
The city submitted its request for the grant last month, said Aurora Mayor James Meirow. The grant money would come from lottery dollars distributed to counties for economic development.

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