The Carroll County Airport Commission met last Friday, and commissioners took another step toward installing a local weather-reporting station.
The Federal Aviation Administration will issue a grant to install a weather system, but the local airport would spend about $4,000 annually to maintain it. At the February meeting, commissioners noted that weather stations at Harrison and Springdale often leave a gap in reporting conditions at the Carroll County Airport. Arriving pilots sometimes encounter unexpected weather conditions here.
Commissioners will continue to pursue the Automated Weather Observing System. The FAA would not ordinarily support a new AWOS station so close to existing stations, but the aberrations of local weather might qualify for an exemption.
The commission also discussed how to budget for an AWOS. Monthly Fly-ins generate several hundred dollars for the airport, and those funds could support the weather-reporting system.
In other business:
- The April 8 eclipse is expected to bring additional traffic to the airport. Fuel prices at the airport are lower than most airports within a 50-mile radius. Many pilots have planned to watch the eclipse from the air, and no one knows how that trend will affect this airport. commissioners had considered hosting an event on the day of the eclipse, but traffic on U.S. Hwy. 62 could prevent local attendance. Instead, some commissioners will host a more casual lunch for the pilots who land here.
- Airport Manager Mark Pepple reported on the acquisition of another courtesy car, bringing the total to four. He said fuel sales were slower in February, but a recent fuel purchase will have the airport in good shape for the expected seasonal increase of traffic.
- A breakfast Fly-in was scheduled for the day after the meeting.
- The contractor working on a hangar upgrade had received an advance of $35,000 toward the final cost of $184,000. He submitted an informal request for an additional advance of $20,000, and said he has already spent $50,000 on materials. Commissioner Sandy Martin explained how the airport could juggle its budget to meet the contractor’s request, although she also expressed reservations. Martin noted that the airport will not receive any grant money for the project until it reaches 50 percent of completion. “We need to be careful on big projects,” Martin said. “This would leave us tight.”
The other commissioners noted that the contractor is local and has done other quality work at the airport. Commissioner Morris Pate expressed concern about setting a precedent, and a motion to increase the cash advance died for lack of a second.