RBC | The Rio Blanco County Commissioners held a special meeting Monday, May 19 to review three agenda items.
Discussed at length was the funding for the replacement of the general aviation ramp at the Meeker Airport. A “GA Ramp” is the area where smaller, private aircraft are parked, tied down, and accessed for maintenance or services. The project, which will resolve issues with asphalt condition and drainage problems, has been in planning for several years, and was budgeted for 2025 in the amount of $3 million, with $1.9 million expected to be reimbursed through Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding with a $50,000 local (county) match.
Operations Administrator Eric Jaquez said three bids have been received, with the lowest bid coming in at $3.4 million, which is over the budgeted amount. Jaquez attributed the increased cost to rising prices for construction overall.
The FAA provides significant funding for both county airports, but Jaquez said privately owned hangars and 50 ft. in front of those hangars are ineligible for FAA funding.
Commissioner O’Hearon asked a number of questions about how FAA funding is distributed between the two airports in the county. The last FAA funded project at the Rangely airport was for $700K in perimeter fencing. O’Hearon said she recently toured the Rangely airport and is concerned.
Jaquez explained that FAA funding allocates annual entitlement funds for airports. “We typically save those entitlements until you have 90% of a capital improvement project,” he said. There’s also Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding available. “We started bucketing money toward this for when this project was ready. What’s happened is it’s gone higher than what we bucketed.”
Commissioners concluded that they need more information on the county’s current financial situation before moving forward with the project.
The board also approved a letter of support for amending the Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Colorado regarding oil and gas permitting. Natural Resources Policy Director Reece Melton referenced communication with QB Energy and said “it sounds like this will at least foster more conversations.”
An April 21, 2025, article in the GJ Sentinel said QB Energy, which now owns the Piceance Basin assets formerly owned by Caerus Oil and Gas, announced a long-term plan to spend “$10 billion drilling some 3,000 wells.” According to the article, QB Energy CEO Roger Biemans (former president of Encana Oil and Gas), the company has to duplicate efforts with state and federal regulators, even on federally owned property, which slows down the process.
Commissioners also approved a letter to Anschutz Exploration regarding the County Rd. 77 bridge replacement project.
