Airport announces expansion
Warren County Airport has some major improvement projects in the works, including a new 11,550-square-foot T-hangar which will hold up to 10 aircraft, and a sophisticated Omni-Directional Approach Lighting System, designed to aid pilots in landing at night or in inclement weather.
The projects will be funded by Vision 100 federal grants in the amount of $817,000 for the hangar project, which required 10 percent matching funds from the county, and $90,000 for the runway light system.
According to airport manager John Patterson, the hangar project will provide significant revenue from rental fees for the hangar spaces, for which there is already a waiting list.
?This is an effort to make this airport more profitable for the community,? Patterson said, ?and less of a burden on the taxpayer. This is federal money that was out there, Vision 100 money, which is unique because its revenue generating money.?
The project will built adjacent to the current T-hangars on land inside the current complex.
?The project itself is going to be divided into two separate pieces,? Patterson said. ?The first is going to be taxi lane and apron construction, which will utilize $241,000 of the grant money. The second is the actual construction of the T-hangar, for which we are receiving grant money to the tune of $576,607.?
According to Patterson there is a waiting list of 13 individuals requesting hangar space, so the hangars will essentially be occupied immediately after construction is complete. Patterson says, at the current rental rate, the hangars will generate around $13,000 per year.
Another benefit of the projects is they will serve a dual purpose.
?We?re bringing landfill in from one part of the airport to this project, which will benefit a future project here at the airport,? Patterson said.
The dirt for the other project would have eventually been excavated anyway, so the decision was made to perform this project early and use the resulting dirt as landfill for the hangar project.
?We?re always looking for a way to save money for the community with our projects,? Patterson said, ?and this was a good way to do that.?
Airport Committee chairman Joe Lane Howard says the airport has obtained from $5 to $8 million in improvement grants over the last decade.
?These types of projects work great for the airport,? Howard said. ?Each one brings us closer to being a self-sufficient airport.?
Airport committee member Keith Bouldin agreed.
?Any time you have a waiting list for hangars, you can build them and people will pay rent on them,? said Bouldin. ?I?m in the storage business, and if I fill up all my storage and people are wanting space, then I?m going to build more. It wouldn?t make sense not to.?