With a new hangar almost complete, the Carroll County Airport Commission considered the possibility of building more.
At the monthly commission meeting last Friday, Airport Manager Michael Pfeifer said he has a long waiting list for hangar space. The airport still has some suitable sites, and commissioners discussed issues from drainage to septic tank locations. They considered traditional single-plane hangars, but also discussed a large gang hangar. That would require moving planes around when someone needs a plane parked behind others, but the practice is common at other airports. Pfeifer said many of those on the waiting list would be willing to share a large hangar.
Walt Kenyon, who is nearing completion of a hangar 100 ft. square, said he has already moved a plane inside. He offered to show the commissioners how they could fit six to eight planes inside a building that size.
The commission has pursued gradually increasing lease prices with the small annual increases allowed by the contracts. Commissioner Sandy Martin noted that a five percent increase would still leave the airport with lower rates than other airports in the region. She said she liked having attractive rates, but the commission has a responsibility to keep pace with the market. With such a long waiting list, commissioners were not concerned about possibly alienating a current leaseholder with the small additional cost, and they passed the increase. The timing of the rate hike will allow ample time to notify leaseholders before the end of the year.
Longer-lasting LEDs to be installed for runways
Consulting Engineer Dan Clinton said a project to replace runway lights with LEDs will probably start in November. In addition to energy savings, the lights will be set in concrete bases, and mowers can pass over them. The commissioners discussed the need for more security cameras to protect the lights from theft.
Clinton also stressed the importance of finishing the new master plan for the airport. “We desperately need land, but we need to have the master plan in place,” he said. The Federal Aviation Administration will only support grants as part of an overall master plan. The commissioners discussed the possibility of extending the runway by 400 ft., for a total of 4,000 ft. That extension would allow more types of planes to use the airport. Clinton reminded commissioners that extending the runway would also require extending runway protection zones alongside the runway and at each end.
In other business:
- Covid restrictions had eliminated monthly fly-in events at the airport. Pfeifer reported on the fly-in held Sept. 19, and described “a wonderful turnout.” Pfeifer said volunteers cooked a lot of eggs during the breakfast event, and the airport took in more than $800. The airport had another fly-in scheduled for Oct. 17, the day after the meeting, although high winds were possible in the forecast.
- Some of the money received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act went to pay off a long-standing equity loan. The airport has four years to spend the remaining $10,000 from the CARES grant, and that money can go towards operations, salaries, or debt reduction. The commissioners considered the merits of spending the money slowly or drawing down the account quickly, in hopes of further stimulus spending. After weighing the options, they tabled the matter for a month.