Buckeye could move a $3.3 million package of water, power and communications work at Buckeye Municipal Airport forward by one fiscal year under a proposal going to the City Council on Tuesday.
The Oct. 20 council item would accelerate Capital Improvement Project 104350 from fiscal 2028 to fiscal 2027 and authorize the city manager to approve project-related spending up to $3.3 million. The item is on the consent agenda, and the council had not acted on it as of Monday night.
City staff says the work is needed to serve existing airport operations, activate the first Vermillion hangars and prepare the property for additional development. The proposal would not increase the project’s total cost. It would use $2.7 million in savings from other capital projects alongside $600,000 already budgeted for fiscal 2027, then cancel the corresponding fiscal 2028 request.
Water, electric and fiber work lead the first phase
The initial construction phase would replace the domestic waterline from Well Site No. 1, connect water service to existing and new hangars, replace a hydropneumatic tank, install customer-side electrical infrastructure and city fiber conduit, and create utility crossings beneath or around the airfield.
A proposed job-order contract with DCS Contracting would be capped at $1,752,629.72. The city’s cost schedule assigns $537,426 to a new 4-inch domestic water main, $229,530 to fiber conduit, $78,970 to electrical infrastructure, $74,074 to the initial Vermillion hangar water connection and $4,000 to the tank replacement.
The plan also includes $828,629.72 in allowances and leaves $947,370.28 for remaining project work. The staff report says that later work may include a septic tank south of the runway if funding permits, along with Arizona Public Service costs, engineering, contingency and other expenses.
The request would give the city manager authority to approve construction actions, professional services, contract amendments and work orders within the $3.3 million ceiling. Staff says construction would begin after contract execution under the approved project schedule.
The utilities are separate from runway expansion
The proposal addresses the airport’s near-term utility backbone. It does not authorize a runway extension, a second runway, airline service or a new aviation tenant.
Buckeye’s adopted airport master plan separately recommends extending the current 5,500-foot Runway 17/35 in phases to 7,300 feet and widening it to 100 feet. The city’s economic-development strategy places that runway work in a later 2029-32 phase, following a 2026-28 period focused on utilities, broadband and road access.
A recent long-range airport study also tested possible alignments for a second runway and larger ultimate runway lengths, but those remain planning concepts. West Valley Post’s airport planning overview explains how those longer-term ideas differ from projects that are funded or ready for construction.
If the council approves Tuesday’s item, the immediate change would be budget timing and spending authority for the utility project. The city would still need to execute the contract before work begins.
West Valley Post is tracking the airport plan and related infrastructure in the Buckeye Development Tracker.
Image: Entrance to Buckeye Municipal Airport, photographed in 2017 by Marine 69-71. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Image resized for web use. Source.
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