The Carroll County Airport Commission heard promising news at a meeting last week, with a new business making serious inquiries about relocating to the airport.
Chad Doyle said he has just sold a business painting corporate jets and has been looking for a place to start a new business. He said he liked this area and this airport in particular and asked about a ground lease to build a hangar.
Doyle said he owns four planes and buys and sells other planes. He would need a hangar at least 80 ft. square, and perhaps as big as 100 feet. He said he would not need much space outside the building, and he and the commissioners discussed a location which appealed to both parties. The airport would have to extend a ramp from the building to the runway, but a grant would pay most of the cost.
“We’d be honored to have you,” commissioner Dave Teigen said, explaining that the airport has executed similar arrangements in the past. Doyle would build the hangar and pay a monthly lease to the airport for the building’s footprint. After 40 years, the hangar would become the airport’s property.
The plan may unfold quickly. Doyle said he needs about six months to wrap up other ventures.
To-Do List prioritized
On the subject of hangars, Consulting Engineer Dan Clinton said the airport will have to wait longer to replace a large awning hangar with an eight-bay hangar. “There are other things you have to do first,” he said, “and your share of an eight-bay hangar would be pretty expensive.” In response to a question about repairing the awning hangar, Clinton said only the slab is worth keeping. The roof on that awning can be repaired, but only temporarily.
The airport needs to upgrade edge lighting on the runway next, and the wind cone must be relocated. That cone requires a marked circle with a diameter of 110 ft. Clinton said the new Master Plan will help show where the airport can place new assets like the windsock or the new hangar. The Master Plan will also indicate what other property the airport might try to acquire.
Commissioner wanted
During the comments period, commissioner Morris Pate reminded everyone that the commission has had an open position for too long. He said another commissioner would provide more input and oversight, and all agreed. Teigen said he has asked everyone he could think of, including people just moving to the area.
The airport would also benefit from having a flight instructor nearby. Commissioners also heard that the flying club based at the airport needs more participants to remain viable.