Cost of new airplane hangar at Decorah Airport will be covered by Gundersen Health Systems lease

Decorah Airport (file photo)

The Decorah City Council has unanimously approved issuing up to $1.5 million in General Obligation Airport Bonds to cover the cost of a new hangar at the Decorah Airport.

Decorah City Administrator Chad Bird says while the authorization is for up to $1.5 million, city officials are hoping to keep the cost of the hangar under $1 million.  Furthermore, he says the entire cost of the hangar will be paid by a long-term lease of at least 15 years and maybe 20 years to be signed by Gundersen Health Systems, which will be using the hangar to house its new Decorah-based medical AirLink helicopter.  That means not only that the city is not on the line to pay hangar costs, but that Gundersen is making a long-term commitment to house the helicopter in Decorah.