The Carroll County Airport Commission met Friday, the final meeting of a productive 2020. As commissioner Sandy Martin noted during a recent meeting, the airport has made major strides toward self-sufficiency.
Dirt work continues on a new hangar built under a ground lease, and materials for the project will arrive within the month. Another large hangar has recently been constructed under a ground lease and a grant will pay for extensions to connect those hangars to the runway. During construction, however, the airport must pay contractors and then seek reimbursement from the state.
In his monthly report, Airport Manager Michael Pfeifer said the airport has paid engineers and contractors for the first half of the south ramp expansion. The payments total about $82,000, and the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics will repay the airport within 10 days. The airport will go through a similar process upon completion of the project, paying off the remainder of the contract before reimbursement from the state.
Pfeifer’s report also discussed bringing electrical service to the new gate on the east side of the airport. That gate should reduce automobile traffic across the runway.
The report also mentioned repairs needed to the airport’s courtesy cars, and Pfeifer said the airport had purchased 4,500 gallons of fuel at $2.66. The airport did not have a fly-in scheduled in December, and foul weather kept pilots away from November’s fly-in.
The budget for 2021 will be similar to 2020. Justice of the Peace John Howerton, who represents the quorum court at commission meetings, had asked for some payments for personnel to be moved into different line items, to avoid having county money involved.
Commissioners thanked Martin for preparing the draft budget, and they also thanked Howerton for his work with the airport.