Airport fence could be finished by year’s end

By Ed Runyan

The airport’s director of aviation plans to meet with airlines this summer with a goal of attracting additional flights.

VIENNA — With news that the multi-million dollar, three-year fence replacement project at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport could be complete by year’s end, one official is hoping the airport can move forward with other projects next year.

John Masternick, a member of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport, said the priority of the fencing project has put airport expansion plans on hold the past couple of years.

Airport officials had hoped in early 2007 to find companies interested in building new hangars on airport land near the airport’s entrance on state Route 193.

But when the FAA informed the airport that its funds would be needed for fence installation for the next couple of years, plans to make sewer and road improvements necessary for development of new hangars took the back burner.

On Wednesday, Duane Dunn, senior engineer with airport consultant R.W. Armstrong of Cleveland, told the port authority that the final phase of fencing is likely to be awarded soon to Jack Gibson Construction of Warren. The company was deemed the apparent low bidder, Dunn said.

That final phase of the fence project could be complete by the end of 2008, he said.

That phase, the fifth altogether, will cost $1,081,496, with $970,410 coming from the FAA. The remainder will come from the Ohio Department of Transportation ($48,000), and the port authority ($63,075), Dunn said.

The project involves raising the height of the perimeter fence around the airport grounds from 6 to 10 feet to keep out wildlife.

The fourth phase, costing about $1.2 million, is being done by Abcon Inc. of Youngstown. Dunn estimated that phase will be complete by July.

Masternick said he also hopes money will be available to improve existing hangars, such as the one used by fuel handler and service provider Winner Aviation.

But Steve Bowser, director of Aviation at the airport, said the FAA requires that its money be used for safety and operational needs, and that will probably eliminate the chance to use the money for development or improvement of hangars.

In other business, Bowser said he hopes to meet with airlines in the coming months to try to attract one to offer regularly scheduled flights to a regional hub and connections to many other markets.

Last October, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the airport a $575,000 grant that was designed to attract an airline by providing revenue guarantee money to offer to an airline.

Airport officials hope to find an airline able to offer daily service from the local airport to a hub such as Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Columbus; or Cincinnati.

runyan@vindy.com