The village of Bluffton submitted a pre-application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the design and construction phases of work at the Bluffton Airport in 2021, according to Jesse Blackburn, village administrator.

He updated Bluffton council on the project at its Feb. 8 Zoom meeting.

The pre-application is for reconstruction of taxi lanes C, E, and F for 2021.

Completion of these projects will require the awarding of discretionary funds from the FAA, according to Blackburn, which are in excess to the entitlement funds received yearly by the village for airport use. The map with this story shows the taxiways under discussion colored in orange.

Blackburn told council that the taxiways are in poor condition.

Council also learned that all Bluffton residential electrical accounts have entered into a new electrical aggregation contract through Allen County Commissioners. This contract is for electrical supply from Energy Harbor and runs through Dec. 31, 2023.

Residents may opt out of the program at any time if they wish to do so with no fees required.

The previous electrical price was 4.89 cents per kilowatt hour. The new price is 4.50 cents per kilowatt hour.

If you wonder how much salt has been applied to village streets this winter season, the answer is roughly 75 tons.

And, 75 tons remain stockpiled in the village maintenance garage with an additional 125 tons reserved through the Allen County Engineer’s office for delivery if needed.