DeKALB — The DeKalb City Council approved the purchase of a 2026 Sky Mark 5,000-gallon JetA refueler for the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport on Monday.

Currently, the airport uses a 1992 Ford F-700 with outdated safety features and hard-to-replace parts.

The parts to fix the refueler and bring it up to code are too expensive for the airport’s budget, leading the city manager to look for support for funding.

City Manager Bill Nicklas stated that achieving funding for this project was difficult.

“It’s the first time in maybe 20 years we have been able to buy a major vehicle out of the airport budget,” Nicklas said.

The refueler will cost the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport a total of $302,650 to purchase.

Approval of diesel bus purchase

The city of DeKalb will purchase two 35-foot diesel buses for a total of $1.37 million in an agreement with Gillig, LLC.

During the public hearing, DeKalb resident Amy Doll stated her concerns over the city not investing in hybrid buses in accordance with the sustainability plan from 2024.

“In the background information, I didn’t find any information about why the vehicles are not the diesel electric hybrid, and I would remind the council that there is a sustainability plan for 2024,” Doll said. 

City Transit Manager Michael Neuenkirchen said there are plans to purchase one hybrid vehicle out of the six that the city plans to buy this year, but currently, it is out of the city’s budget to buy more.

“As a division, we really would love to have all hybrids in here that would be our choice. I would like to say that it’s going to be a challenge going forward from a funding standpoint,” Neuenkirchen said.

The two buses will cost the city roughly $686,000 each, compared to over $1 million per bus the hybrids would have cost.

Upcoming City Council meeting details can be found on their calendar website.