County and city officials are considering a new lease agreement for the Lampasas Municipal Airport.

While trying to negotiate an economic development deal, city officials discovered that the city’s 25-year lease of airport property from the county ended in 2006, Lampasas City Manager Michael Stoldt said at a recent Lampasas County Commissioners Court meeting. The city and county each own half of an undivided interest in the 182-acre airport property.

Stoldt asked commissioners to decide whether to approve a new lease with the city or to relinquish the county’s 50 percent ownership.

“It creates a potential for a problem down the road,” the city manager said of not having a current lease agreement.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Vincent suggested a lease with an opt-out clause but no expiration date. Other commissioners, who said city and county officials need more time to review possibilities for the airport property, favored specifying the dates during which a new agreement would apply.

Although commissioners did not call for relinquishing ownership of the property north of town, they also did not indicate interest in operating the airport. Stoldt and County Auditor Jack Clark both noted the airport rarely generates a profit.

Commissioners appointed Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack B. Cox and County Attorney Larry Allison to a committee that will issue a recommendation for a new use agreement for the airport. Stoldt also will serve on the committee, which also may include a Lampasas City Council member.

Also at the recent meeting, commissioners gave unanimous approval to a resolution that offers support for Copperas Cove’s application for pass-through financing to fund a highway bypass around the city.

A U.S. Highway 190 reliever route will travel around the south side of Copperas Cove, beginning at the intersection of U.S. 190 and Farmto Market Road 2657 and extending to the east end of the city. Construction, estimated to cost $55 million, is expected to begin by the spring of 2011, Copperas Cove City Manager Andrea Gardner said. The project should last two to three years, she said.

The new road will generate growth in Lampasas County, said Vincent, who also said the bypass will make Copperas Cove safer and reduce traffic congestion. “I think it’s a good thing to support,” added the commissioner of the reliever route.

In another road-related matter, commissioners said county employees will place signs on County Road 2737 to provide notice that a portion of the roadway will be closed permanently. The closure request was submitted by property owner Justin Sparks, whose land surrounds part of the county road behind a private gate.

CR 2737 will be closed to public access from the west gate of the Sparks property eastward to the intersection of CR 2737 and CR 2745.

Commissioners will vote in an upcoming meeting to close the portion officially.

In other business, the Commissioners Court voted 5-0 to approve the transfer of as much as $50,000 from the city of Lampasas to the Lampasas County Higher Education Center Foundation.

Along with the county and the city of Lampasas, the Lampasas Independent School District and the Lampasas Economic Development Corp. gave $25,000 apiece to help establish the post-secondary campus. Stoldt plans to seek approval from all the donor entities to transfer funds to the LCHEC foundation, as he said the foundation’s 15 members have more experience than city staff in operating an educational facility.

Also at the recent meeting, commissioners:

• tabled discussion of changes to the county’s rabies and animal control ordinance. The Commissioners Court plans to vote on a new policy at its meeting on Monday.

• awarded a one-year rolling stock insurance contract to Extraco Insurance for $77,258.

• awarded a bid of $26,585 to Higginbotham Associates for workers compensation insurance.

• approved a budget amendment, funded by about $26,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency money from Precinct 3, for a backhoe purchase. The backhoe will be considered road and bridge equipment, and will be available to all four county precincts.

The Commissioners Court will meet Monday at 9 a.m. in the first-floor courtroom at the county courthouse.