City of Malta looks to sell lots to Motor Sports at old airport

The Malta City Council approved a motion that will allow the City of Malta to discuss selling lots at the old Phillips County Airport to the Phillips County Motors Sports organization which currently run their events there during race season.

The location (south of Malta) is currently listed as a Superfund Cleanup site by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the City is currently in a 99-year contract with the PhillCo Economic Growth Council who has been tasked with bringing economic development to the old county airport land. Malta Mayor Shyla Jones said the land at the airport became contaminated after years of airplanes being washed on the property and washing chemicals seeping into the ground. She said that although all the digging and cleaning has been completed at the site, she added that numerous expensive completion reports remain to be conducted by environmental engineers before any of the lands would have any value and be removed from DEQ Superfund listing.

“The property is worth zero right now,” Mayor Jones said. “Until this cleanup is done (PhillCo) can’t sell any lots due to restrictions.”

Mayor Jones explained that grant money has run dry for the project and the City of Malta doesn’t qualify for low interest loans to finish the job. Mayor Jones estimated that the cleanup has cost approximately $6 million thus far (much of that paid for by grants) but added that the last hurdle toward completion (the finalization reports) remain. Mayor Jones said that while she was at a recent PhillCo meeting the topic of selling some of the lots in order to get the needed money to finish the environmental engineers’ reports was brought up.

Mayor Jones said that even when the cleanup is complete, the old airport has restrictions on what types of buildings can and can’t be built on the property giving the example of day care facility, housing units.

“The only people that the property is worth anything to right now is Phillips County Motor Sports,” she said. "They are the only people who would benefit from buying the lots and I think we should look at selling them some of the property."

Mayor Jones said that if PCMS were interested and decided to purchase the land (she suggested offering them around 30 lots) the money made from the sale could pay for the final cleanup reports. She said that estimates for the final cleanup reports are nearly $40,000, if approved on the first submittal. Mayor Jones said several lots already owned by people would be excluded in the possible sale, as would the lots which the Malta City Works team stores old cardboard on. Mayor Jones said in past conversations with PCMS, PCMS members have said they would like to expand their raceway and a larger facility could mean big sponsors for the racing club.

"I think we need to do something because the property isn't worth anything right now the way it is," Mayor Jones said.

The Malta City Council voted 4-0 in favor of talking to PCMS about the possibility of selling them the land.

In other City of Malta news, Public works director Jim Truelove said that the heavy snow that pounded the Hi-Line earlier in the month caused problems to several Malta lift stations, but added that they were each fixed and back in working order. Director Truelove said that hydrant flushing is taking part around town — adding that he would have future flushing announced on the radio ahead of time from now on — and said that most of the tree trimming in alleys has been completed and the Public Works teams are currently working on trimming trees on Streets and Avenues and will do so as long as the weather holds out. Director Truelove said he would pull all the grass cans from around the City following the council meeting and added that he is meeting with three different pool construction companies to get their opinions on how the City should proceed with an ongoing pool project.