PINEDALE – Affairs at the Pinedale Airport – Ralph Wenz Field – took up a considerable chunk of the Pinedale Town Council meeting at the new town hall on Oct. 23.

Council members unanimously approved an appointment by Mayor Matt Murdock of Chad Kuhn to the   Airport Board. This will be Kuhn’s first term on the board and the appointment was effective immediately as Kuhn will serve the remainder of an unexpired term vacated by Bob Jones.

“Chad is going to be a great addition to the Airport Board,” said Mayor Murdock. “He has lots of experience with small airports across the region and is super committed to seeing the Pinedale Airport grow.”

The truck dispensing Jet-A fuel while the town pursues funding for a permanent fuel farm experienced a malfunction in October, suspending fuel availability for several weeks.

A company called AvFuel Corporation was able to rush an ECM-injection control module and a functioning truck to the Pinedale Airport to get the fuel system up and running again.

Because the breakdown occurred in the interim between town meetings, Mayor Murdock used his emergency spending authority to procure the necessary repair parts for $5,066.38. The council passed a motion by a 4-0 vote to authorize the mayor’s emergency expenditures on Oct. 23.

A second motion passed unanimously to approve a contract between the town and AvFuel to rent a 5,000-gallon Jet-A fuel truck for $4,000 per month, with the first 60 days at no cost to the town. A third motion sanctioned the delivery fee expenses for the fuel truck in the amount of $3,500.

Town staff plan to use the new parts to convert an existing fuel truck into a vehicle capable of delivering Jet-A fuel as a backup in case the other Jet-A fuel truck runs into mechanical issues in the future, said Abram Pearce, director of public works. Pearce hoped the conversion of the backup fuel truck could take place before the $4,000-per-month rental fee kicked in for the leased truck.

Mayor Murdock confirmed that the Jet-A fuel system was operational on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

“The fuel is flowing again,” he said.

Councilmembers passed a motion to “dedicate local match funds” not to exceed $153,800 to

retain a firm called the Ardurra Group to carry out the engineering work on the general-aviation apron project at the Pinedale Airport.

During the consent agenda portion of the meeting, the council authorized the purchase of airplane de-icing fluid from AvFuel Corporation in preparation for winter.

In other town news

The town approved expenses not to exceed $10,000 to pay Harber Construction to repair a portion of waterline beneath Pine Street in front of Obo’s Deli. Town staff identified leaks in August and Harber Construction completed the project on Tuesday, Oct. 19, requiring a temporary closure and detour on Pine Street that day.

With the new communications tower at Dudley Key Sports Complex nearing completion, Union Wireless removed its temporary cell-on-wheels installation from within town limits, announced Mayor Murdock.

Town staff are busy preparing snow-removal equipment for winter, said Pearce, with crews ready to tackle the first snow storm of the season.