Airport to receive boost

The BitterRoot Economic Development District, Inc (BREDD), the federally designated economic development district for Western Montana Region covering Ravalli, Mineral, and Missoula counties, was awarded $627,000 of grant money from a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to help communities in Montana create jobs and boost local economies.

Last Wednesday, Marcy Allen, executive director for BREDD, met with the county commissioners to discuss the $60,000 that would be channeled into creating essentially a business plan for the Mineral County Airport.

“We’re really excited about it,” Allen said.

Several local pilots and airport board members as well as some citizens were also in attendance on Wednesday. Allen said that she was hoping to get a feel about how they might operate and implement the grant. She said that it would be good for the commissioners and airport board to talk together about what might drive it.

The county will be expected to put up $3,000 as well. Allen said that they are currently looking at two candidates, one of which will be hired to run the project while working closely with the county.

There was some confusion about what exactly the grant would do, but it is a study that will hopefully build a business plan for the airport and put in place an improvement plan.

One of the things the study will do is hopefully tell the county what they can and cannot do out near and at the airport. Kevin Chamberlain, from the extension office, said that there is a lot of gray area about what can and can’t go on out there. He said that often times when they’ve had somebody interested in putting their business out there, they weren’t able to tell them exactly what they can and can’t do and where they could put things.

Commissioner Clark Conrow said that the plan, once drawn up, would perhaps show them what avenues they could take to implement the projects they’d like to see take root.

Allen said that when the project was initially proposed it would show how to make the county airport pay for itself. Conrow also said that was why they initially talked to Allen.

“When we initially talked to Marcy we wanted to look at what we can and can’t do out there,” Conrow said.

Allen said that she believes, from looking at other small county airports, there is potential out there that could be capitalized on. Ultimately, the grant will help to show how to sustain the airport.

The scope of work for the grant includes three main points: project coordination, access existing documents and develop a needs assessment and business plan.

Under project coordination, current operations and future objectives for the airport and surrounding property would be researched. Allen said that they would solicit input from stakeholders as well as present findings.

Existing documents would be gathered and reviewed that may or may not already outline current restrictions on what can and can’t be done. The scope of work also calls to develop an inventory of existing airport infrastructure and facilities.

When developing the needs assessment and business plan, the existing and expansion opportunities at the airport and adjacent lands including zoning and current and proposed land use restrictions would be described. The work would evaluate the current method by which the airport board leases land for personally owned hangers and present alternatives. The scope of work under the grant would also analyze the five-year Capital Improvements Program and discuss changes that could boost economic activity at the airport.

Mary Jo Berry, from the Chamber of Commerce, expressed that they feel many people don’t know that Superior has an airport at all. She suggested that it could play a vital role in allowing people to come into the area for recreation and said that the chamber is thinking of hosting a fly-in so people could see what Mineral County has to offer.

Steve Temple commended the commissioners and others who have been working hard toward the sustainability of the airport.

“One of the big reasons my wife and I moved to Superior was because of the airport,” he said. “We’re really close to wanting to build a hanger. I think it’s great that the airport was repaved and got fencing. I’m glad to see you committed to the airport. I think you’re doing the right thing.”

The U.S. Economic Development Authority’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (CTAA) is aimed at helping to create and retain jobs by providing grants to communities that have experienced, or are threatened by job loss resulting from the negative effects of trade. Grants under the program can be used to support a wide range of technical, planning, and infrastructure projects to help communities adapt and diversify their economies.