Airport board discuss funds

SUPERIOR – The chairman of the board for the Mineral County Airport stood before the county commissioners on April 10 asking for approval on several items.

Steve Temple, airport board chairman, proposed that the airport loan a sum of $2,043 to the Ekalaka Airport in Ekalaka, Mont. for a project.

“The Mineral County Airport receives $150,000 a year that comes from federal funding which is in excess of aviation fuel taxes,” Temple said.

That money is generally used to build hangars and make runway improvements.

Generally, if the airport isn’t using a sum of money at that time, the funds can be transferred over to other area airports that act like a loan, Temple said.

“We use that money to build hangars and make runway improvements,” Temple said. “We are probably a year out right now from needing to resurface the runways.”

The motion passed as County Commissioner Duane Simons agreed to loan the money to Ekalaka Airport. Laurie Johnston seconded the motion.

Second, Temple reviewed the annual airport facilities and land use agreement including the increase in lease amount from $350 to $400, and weed abatement from $500 to $750.

“The U.S. Forest Service repays those funds in large part when they do use the airport,” Temple said. “We basically mow the east end of the airport for their firefighting benefit.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to pickup the check for 90 percent of the airport master plan update.

Temple also said that the biggest issue at the airport right now is the need to make the runways bigger for aircraft of 12,000 pounds or greater, so the county airport isn’t just operating for light duty aircraft.

“The airport is designed so it can be expanded, but it hasn’t been as of right now,” Temple said.

The Forest Service has also been using the airport, which is more typical during the firefighting season.

“This year the county constructed a gravel road to help provide access to all the firefighting equipment that was at the airport so they didn’t interfere going by all the hangars,” Temple said.

Another issue brought to the commissioners’ attention, is the possibility of the airport installing a state-of-the-art weather reporting system.

“We wanted to get it in a way that wasn’t real expensive to maintain,” Temple said. “That’s been our challenge with the FAA as they want a gold plated system, while we just want the affordable one.”

The consultants to the airport have recommended the possibility of writing a need assessment, which can be used to secure funding for a potential weather reporting system.

“In exchange for the use of the airport by the Forest Service, we made contact with them asking if they would give us a letter of support for weather reporting equipment and they said they would be interested in doing that,” Temple said.

Laurie Johnston made a motion to sign the 2014-2015 Airport Facilities and Land Use Agreement.

Duane Simons, commissioner of the west-end, seconded the motion and it passed.