Airport officials shift focus to hangars

By Ed Runyan

A 10-foot fence circles the entire eight miles of the airport.

VIENNA — After six years and $4 million in federal money spent, the new fence surrounding the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has been completed.

Airport officials received the information Wednesday at a meeting of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport.

John Masternick, port authority chairman, asked whether that will allow the authority to finally use its annual allocation of Federal Aviation Administration money to build new hangars.

The authority has been trying for several years without success to build additional hangars to house aircraft — something that would spur development at the airport and something for which there is a demonstrated need, Masternick said.

Duane Dunn, a representative from R.W. Armstrong, the airport’s Cleveland-based consulting company, told Masternick it is possible that FAA money could be approved for hangars, but only about $300,000 will be available in early 2009.

The FAA will release the other $700,000 later in the year, he said.

Steve Bowser, the airport’s director of aviation, said he thinks it is possible the FAA will allow the money — called Aviation Improvement Project money — to be used for construction of hangars, but a more likely scenario would be for the money to go toward replacement or repair of the current ones.

It will take about $2 million to $3 million to replace a hangar, Bowser said, so it will take more than one year’s worth of FAA money to complete a project.

The current hangars were built between 40 and 70 years ago, when aviation was much different from today, Bowser said. Additionally, the hangars are in bad shape, he said.

A problem is that Airport Improvement Project money is meant to address safety issues, not promote airport economic development, Bowser said.

But if the FAA feels the airport’s safety issues have been addressed, the money can be used for hangars, he said.

The eight miles of new fencing and various other safety issues took precedence during the past six years, he said. The fence was considered complete last week. It replaced 6-foot fencing with a 10-foot fence. Its purpose is to keep wildlife, such as deer, off airport property.

Among the other projects the FAA has funded in recent years was the purchase of a de-icing truck, which arrived the airport early this month at a cost of $250,000. The vehicle brings the airport up to current technology for de-icing planes, Bowser said.

In other business, Bowser said Allegiant Air, the Las Vegas-based leisure airline that offers regularly scheduled air service at the airport to Florida, returns to service Monday.

runyan@vindy.com