By JIM ANDERSON

The Daily News

IRON MOUNTAIN — City officials in Iron Mountain are happy with SkyWest Airlines at Ford Airport and will recommend renewing an Essential Air Service contract, albeit at a much higher cost.

The Federal Aviation Administration will seek community input through Oct. 27 on EAS proposals for a new contract term that starts Feb. 1. SkyWest’s proposal for Delta Connection service covers five airports with a total annual federal subsidy in the first year of up to $32.36 million, including $7.07 million for Ford Airport in Kingsford. The other airports are in Sault Ste. Marie; Rhinelander, Wis.; and Brainerd and International Falls, Minn.

The plan calls for using 76-seat Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft at Ford, up from the current 50-passenger CRJ-200s that Delta Connection has begun phasing out. The current schedule of 13 roundtrips weekly to a combination of Minneapolis and Detroit will continue.

SkyWest may switch to larger aircraft at Ford as soon as this month, having recently gained FAA approval.

A proposal has also been submitted by Boutique Air of San Francisco, Calif., calling for turbo-props seating eight or nine passengers and offering 24 weekly roundtrips to Minneapolis only. There would be a codeshare agreement with United Airlines. Boutique’s proposed subsidy is $5.92 million in the first year.

“It’s working good now,” Mayor Dale Alessandrini said Monday of SkyWest’s offer. The idea of switching to smaller aircraft — though possibly faster and cheaper — appeals to him “not at all,” he said.

After other council members agreed, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said he’ll draft a letter in support of SkyWest’s two-year bid.

Total proposed cost of SkyWest’s offer for the second year is $34.63 million for the five airports, including $7.56 million for Ford. Boutique’s proposed cost for the second year at Ford is $6.25 million.

The proposed subsidy is up substantially from SkyWest’s current three-year contract, which expires at the end of January. That agreement covers the same five airports with a total annual subsidy of up to $15.28 million, including $3.87 million for Ford Airport.

Assuming a load factor of 46%, the new proposal works out to an effective subsidy of $5,390 per trip, or $149 per Ford Airport passenger, according to SkyWest. The subsidy per passenger at Ford under the current contract was projected at $127 in September 2020.

EAS is designed to fund a minimal level of scheduled air service to small communities that would otherwise be unprofitable for airlines to serve. SkyWest, a Utah-based regional airline, has been Dickinson County’s EAS carrier since December 2012.

The FAA will have the final say in awarding a contract, which depends as well on U.S. Department of Transportation funding. To help pay for EAS, the U.S. government collects overflight fees from international flights that fly through FAA-controlled airspace, even though the aircraft neither take off nor land in the U.S.

In other action Monday, the city council:

— Accepted a proposal from Bailey Excavating of Menominee to install a new sewer line on the 500 block of South Tamarack Street, where a sinkhole formed last summer. The cost is $200,827, which the city intends to pay with federal American Rescue Plan funds. Groundwater infiltration makes the work difficult, adding to the cost, Stanchina said. Pumps were installed as the city looked for a permanent solution and much of that equipment will be repurposed.

— Heard Uriah Van Ooyen suggest zoning ordinance changes to prevent situations similar to the one he’s facing on the 1300 block of Stockbridge Avenue, where he expects a neighbor’s new garage will be very close to his own home, with the “eves nearly touching.” Alessandrini said the city “will do some checking” on the matter.

— Accepted the low quote of $10,938 from St. George Glass and Window of Iron Mountain to replace 10 of the 14 windows in the police and fire building. The windows are original to the building when it was completed in 1993, said Edwin Mattson, director of police and fire services. The other four windows were replaced about 12 years ago. Three other quotes were received, ranging from $12,233 to $20,778.

— Accepted a $7,857 quote from L.W. Allen Inc. of Madison, Wis., to replace a rotating assembly at the Grant Street lift station.