Airport Master Plan

Latest Updates  (06/29/20)

Master Plan Project Update:  Mead & Hunt has completed a revised draft of the Aviation Demand Forecast chapter in response to the feedback they received from the FAA in August 2019. (See chapter and appendices below.) The consultant’s project manager is currently working with the FAA to address a few lingering comments the agency has in order to secure FAA approval of the revised forecast (this is a requirement of the master planning process). Once the FAA has accepted the revised forecasts, city staff will schedule the next AMPAC meeting. This likely will not occur until August. 

Following FAA approval, Mead & Hunt will update the Facility Requirements chapter before proceeding with the Alternatives Analysis phase of the master plan. The project scope includes an emphasis on analyzing the merits and deficiencies of potentially lengthening the existing, 4,000 ft. east-west runway, upgrading the cross-wind runway, and developing additional space for hangars. Mead & Hunt has indicated that the existing (no-build) condition will also be included as an alternative for each of these three facilities, along with a listing of merits and deficiencies to be used in the evaluation and comparison. The consultant’s work will include reviewing land use plans and undertaking a noise analysis. A financial plan (including development of cost estimates) will be developed after the alternatives analysis phase. 

Bureau of Aeronautics requests City to revise 2020 airport petition resolution: In a May 20 email, the Bureau of Aeronautics requested that the Common Council adopt a revised resolution that contains boilerplate language that the BOA requires be included in petitions for airport improvement aid. City staff had removed land acquisition and related language from the resolution adopted on April 21 because the project list recommended by the Airport Commission in February didn’t include any land acquisition-related items. The additional language is highlighted in the revised resolution and is identical to what was included in the City’s 2014 petition. The list of projects for which the City is seeking Federal/State aid remains unchanged from what was adopted on April 21. The City would have to list land acquisition as a project in order to obtain aid for such activity. On May 26, the Plan Commission unanimously recommended adoption of the revised resolution.

The BOA requests that airport sponsors update at least once every six years the list of projects that they wish to make eligible for potential Federal and/or State funding assistance. The petition does not include any of the potential projects being studied by the airport master planning process. Adoption of the petition does not obligate the City to proceed with any of the listed projects nor commit the State or FAA to fund those items. As with the 2014 petition, the resolution is not a decision to proceed with any of the listed projects. 

Cost Estimates:   City officials and master plan project staff learned in October 2019 that the FAA has assigned a $12.4 million cost estimate for potential projects at the Middleton airport.  This number, which is listed in the FAA’s 2019-2023 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems Report (Appendix A, page 110), appears to be a planning-level budget and is not a commitment of federal, state, or local funding for any potential development. To date, no cost estimates have been developed as part of the airport master planning process.

Community Survey and Public Input:  Once a draft plan is available, the City of Middleton will collaborate with the Towns of Middleton and Springfield to prepare a community survey regarding the airport and its future. The City remains fully committed to providing public input opportunities before the Common Council is asked to adopt the master plan.

To comment on or ask a question about the master plan project, use this link  OR   send an email to the City’s project contact.

To receive future meeting notices and project updates, subscribe to Airport Master Plan using the City’s "Notify Me" service.  To see past and current meeting materials, scroll down this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Master Plan documents

Resources related to airport master plans

Previous City actions related to airport planning

  • Resolution 1998-20: Intent for Morey Airport Property. This resolution expressed the City’s position when it deliberated purchasing the airport from the Morey family.
  • Referendum Regarding Airport Expansion. On April 6, 1999, City of Middleton residents defeated a charter ordinance that would have prohibited expansion of the airport. The phrasing of the question was provided by the organizers of the referendum--not by the City. The vote was 1,281 in favor of prohibition, with 2,326 in opposition. This outcome enabled the City to proceed with making improvements to the airport it had just purchased.
  • Resolution 2014-65: Petitioning the Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation for Airport Improvement Aid. The Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics requires the City to adopt such a petition from time to time to maintain a list of eligible projects. Adoption of the petition does not obligate the City to proceed with any of the listed projects nor commit the State or FAA to fund those items. This resolution also is not a decision to proceed with any of the listed projects.
  • Resolution 2019-31: Airport Master Planning Process:  Adopted 8/6/19, this resolution establishes parameters for drafting the airport master plan.
  • Resolution 2020-21: Petitioning the Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation for Airport Improvement Aid. This is the most recent "petition" adopted by the City so that it is eligible for potential Federal and/or State funding assistance. The Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics requires the City to adopt such a petition from time to time to maintain a list of eligible projects. Adoption of the petition does not obligate the City to proceed with any of the listed projects nor commit the State or FAA to fund those items. This resolution also is not a decision to proceed with any of the listed projects. The petition does not include any of the potential projects being studied by the airport master planning process.

Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee (AMPAC)

The Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee is an advisory body to the Airport Commission and Middleton Common Council that was formed in early 2019 to oversee development of an updated master plan for the airport. 

AMPAC (and related airport) Meetings:  

Other City meeting agendas and minutes are available here. To access past meetings, select "Meetings" in the red band at the top (directly under the city logo), under Meeting Type select desired committee, and then select a Date Range.

AMPAC Membership and Project Staff: 

The advisory committee is staffed by City Planner Mark Opitz and Greg Stern, Mead & Hunt, a Middleton-based engineering consulting firm that was hired to prepare the plan. Appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Common Council, the committee consists of the following 12 members (along with pertinent affiliations):  

  • Robert Bartholomew, City of Middleton resident who lives beneath a runway approach
  • Dan Dresen, Town of Springfield resident and Town Board member
  • Ray Fey, Airport Commission representative, pilot based at C29, City of Middleton resident
  • Mike Frank, Middleton Chamber of Commerce representative, City of Middleton resident
  • Jade Hofeldt, Capital Flight (business based at C29), Town of Vienna resident
  • Julie Loeffler, Town of Springfield resident
  • Richard Morey, Airport manager and owner of Morey Airplane Company (business based at C29), Waunakee resident
  • Kevin Munson, Pilot (not based at C29), City of Middleton resident
  • Deana Porter, representative of Middleton Area Development Corporation (owner of the terminal building), Town of Middleton resident
  • Cynthia Richson, Town of Middleton resident and Town Board Chairperson
  • John Schaffer, Plan Commission member, City of Middleton resident
  • Mark Warshauer, representative of Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy, pilot based at C29, City of Middleton resident

Questions or comments can be addressed to Assistant Planning Director Mark Opitz 608.821.8394    mopitz@ci.middleton.wi.us    7426 Hubbard Ave., Middleton, WI  53562 

or posted online via this link.