At Friday’s meeting of the Carroll County Airport Commission, commissioner Sandy Martin discussed the airport’s finances saying, “We’re going to become self-sufficient in the next two years.”
Martin guided a conversation about the budget for the coming year. Airport Manager Michael Pfeifer said the buildings on the near side of the airport will need painting, at a cost between five and eight thousand dollars.
The airport also must make repairs to some courtesy cars, and commissioners would like to buy another courtesy car.
Justice of the Peace John Howerton attends commission meetings as a representative of the quorum court. In response to a question, he said the county will fund the airport at the same level as last year. Martin said she would have a draft of a budget for the December meeting.
A project to pave the south ramp and some aprons leading to new hangars will soon be complete. The airport will have to pay for the project, and the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics will then reimburse the costs. The total project will cost $166,000, and the state will pay 90 percent of that, leaving the balance of $16,600 to the airport. The project is more than halfway finished, and ADA will issue half the funds at that stage of completion. The airport will have to pay $83,000, which the state will reimburse within about 10 days.
In previous years, the commission might have had to borrow those funds from the quorum court. Because of receipt of funds from new ground leases, the airport has enough money to pay the $83,000 and await reimbursement. Consulting Engineer Dan Clinton advised commissioners to keep that reimbursement handy, because they will soon have to repeat the process when payment for the final half of the project comes due.
Clinton also led the commissioners through the capital improvement plan the airport must submit annually. Purchasing more land for new hangars and to extend the runway, will remain a priority. The airport will probably not be able to acquire property before 2022, since next year’s grant money will go to sealing and repairing all the aprons.
Long-range plans always include the possibility of extending the runway, and Clinton suggested focusing on increasing to 4,000 feet, from the present 3,550. Extending past that limit would involve greater problems with land acquisition and dealing with the terrain.
In other business:
- A project to replace runway and taxiway lights with LEDs will begin soon.
- Excavation continues for another new hangar. The building will arrive soon.
- With 29 people on the waiting list for hangars, commissioners discussed buying back leases on two hangars that are currently empty. Those occupants still pay their leases, but the airport would do better with active occupants. The owners have not shown immediate interest in selling, and the airport does not currently have the funds.
Commissioners entered an extensive discussion of various types of leases and the time remaining on those leases. The airport has made major strides toward financial sufficiency in recent years, but some older leases bring in little revenue.
- The commission initially voted to purchase 4,000 gallons of fuel, but Martin asked to amend that decision. The commission approved the expenditure, but instead of making the purchase immediately, they gave Pfeifer discretion about when to buy. Fuel sales slow down in winter, and Pfeifer said he would not want fuel to remain in the tanks too long. He will also be able to watch fuel prices and buy at the most favorable time.