Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years, with comments due Sept. 11

Ekwok's airport would host federally owned navigation, communication and weather equipment for the next two decades under a lease the state has proposed, covering rights-of-way for three installations, among them a weather observation station at the field.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities posted the notice Sept. 3; the applicant is the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, and the notice lists annual rent as free. It cites a state law, AS 02.15.090(c), that lets the department grant the lease without competition.

The department describes the authorized use as the "Establishment, construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of FAA owned navigation, communication, and weather aids for the support of air traffic control."

The notice contains no community or aviation-operator comment. Written comments or objections must reach Harrison Bivins, Aviation Leasing, PO Box 196900, Anchorage 99519, or (907) 269-0740, by 4:30 p.m. Sept. 11, after which the department decides whether to execute the agreement.