The city of Poplar Bluff will take immediate possession of a $350,000 building at the municipal airport after a vote Monday by council members.
The parent company of Air Evac no longer needs the 4,000-square-foot facility, which previously housed its local helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, explained Gary Pride, Poplar Bluff Regional Business Airport manager.
A 2010 cooperative agreement with the company gives the parent company nine more years to retain possession of the hangar before it reverted to the city’s possession, Pride said.
Because it is vacant, the company has agreed to turn it over to the city early with one stipulation. The city cannot lease the hangar to any competing emergency medical providers.
“That’s space is desperately needed out there,” Pride said. “We have a waiting list of aircraft that would love to be based here but we have no room for them.”
Pride estimates the space would easily be valued at $350,000, saying it is in good condition and is insulated.
Since construction, Air Evac has moved its helicopter to a permanent base at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center and the fixed wing aircraft was relocated to Alaska, Pride said.
Winters said negotiations have been ongoing for a long time.
“It was really kind of out of blue,” Winters said. “For us to have this drop in our laps with just this one small contingency is a great deal.”
In other business, the council also discussed a proposed territorial agreement between the city and Ozark Border Electric Cooperative. A previous agreement expired in 2017 and was extended for five years. The extension would expire in August 2022, said Bill Bach, Municipal Utilities general manager.
The new proposal would be for a 30-year agreement, he said. The council is expected to vote on it at their next meeting.
It makes minor modifications to zones, Bach said. Some areas would be changed from zone 2, a blended service area where any new development is served by OBEC, to zone 1, which would allow any new development to be served by the city.
There is also a zone 3, areas which are served exclusively by OBEC.
The new agreement would not require any current customer of either service to change their supplier, but does set forth a procedure for the city to purchase existing customers if it annexes in land from zones 1 and 2.
The agreement helps with the reduction of the duplication of services, according to council documents, and reduces future potential disputes between the two organizations.
Zone 1 areas extend to some portions of Highway W and just north of Highway 60 on the northern part of the map. Highway 67 makes up much of the western boundary.
Sections of the Green Forest area west of Highway 67 are considered Zone 2, as are areas of Highway 53 near County Road 309.