The Carroll County Airport Commission spent some time Friday in long-range planning, but the airport has an immediate need for mowing equipment.
With grass starting to turn green, commissioners looked for alternatives to the present equipment, which is not expected to last much longer. At the February meeting, the CCAC discussed buying a finish deck for the tractor, but they focused their attention last week on a zero-turn radius mower with a 104-in. cut.
The machine has 85 hours of operation, but Williams Tractor will provide a new warranty. The gasoline-powered mower can handle as much as 11 acres per hour, but it carries a $20,000 price tag. Commissioners reconsidered some alternatives, including a batwing finish mower with a 12-ft. cut. The airport’s current tractor does not have enough power or hydraulics to operate that equipment.
Commissioners voted to get a formal proposal from Williams Tractor to submit to the quorum court.
Advances on leases could improve cash flow
Looking to the future, consulting engineer Dan Clinton said the Federal Aviation Administration has asked for a draft of the airport’s next master plan. The airport will have to cover the immediate expense, although a grant in late summer will likely be available to repay that cost.
Clinton also urged the commission to consider taking a loan to pay its portion of a matching grant to build hangars. Without a loan, the CCAC planned to give discounted long-term leases on some of the hangars.
Although commissioners agreed on the advantages of a county-approved loan, they planned to ask the county for additional funds for a mower. During budget negotiations, the county had forgiven part of an existing loan the airport had struggled to repay.
Commissioner Morris Pate, acting as chair, agreed with the concept of taking advances on leases to provide matching funds, but questioned the discounts. The airport has worked in recent years toward self-sufficiency, but long-term advance leases would mean the airport would not receive rents from those hangars for five or 10 years.
Airport manager Michael Pfeifer had made a casual survey of people who might lease a spot in a proposed eight-bay hangar. He said he found little response to a 10-year discounted lease, but a five-year lease attracted more interest. Pate stressed the importance of minimizing discounts, to increase long-term airport revenue. Hangars across the region rent for more than at the Carroll County Airport, and a demand exists for more hangars.
A hangar currently houses an inoperable plane, and the lease has not been paid in several months. By the terms of the lease, the commission could vacate the lease now, but they would have to wrestle with the problem of what to do with the aircraft. They could tie it down on pavement, but a hailstorm could plunge the airport into a lawsuit. The tenant will receive a final notice, giving him until May 1 to remove his plane.
In other business:
- The airport still has not received insurance funds for storm damage, which the insurance company paid to the county. Pfeifer described the path the money had to take, through the budget committee to the full quorum court for approval.
- Fuel will remain at regular prices during the March 16 fly-in. In the past, the airport has offered discounted fuel to attract pilots to fly-ins, but the airport has focused more on developing revenue from fuel sales.