By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho officials tonight will discuss the fate of a decommissioned jet aircraft on loan to the city from the Air Force.
The City Council will vote on whether to extend its loan agreement with the National Museum of the Air Force for almost another year. The city requested a decommissioned T-37A aircraft from the Air Force in 2002 on behalf of Premier Turbines, which was to restore the plane and put it on display near the company’s front entrance.
The city, meanwhile, pays insurance on the aircraft for about $1,875 per year.
When posed to the City Council on June 16, the council voted to delay a decision on the agreement pending discussion with Premier. Councilwoman Heather Bowers said the plane has neither been restored nor put on display as originally indicated.
City officials said Premier had undergone a change in ownership since 2002 and the company might no longer be interested in restoring the aircraft.
Mayor Jeff Werneke on Monday said the company has recently told him that it would be interested in helping with the restoration but not in playing the leading part. As for how and when the restoration would proceed then, those details are still to be determined, Werneke said.
“The economy has just played a part in both our budgets,” he said.
In the meantime, the city has learned it can insure the plane as a static display at a rate of less than $100 a year, Werneke said.
The proposal that will come before the council tonight would extend the agreement until March 31, 2010. The agreement has come up for annual renewal since its inception.
Other items that will come before the council tonight include a request for a special-use permit for the city to operate its recreational vehicle park across from Morse Park.
The RV park has been in operation for years, although technically the city now must have the City Council approve a special-use permit for it under the provisions of new code changes passed earlier this year. The council voted to remove a provision that would have exempted the city from its own code.
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Neosho council to discuss loan of jet
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