Airport Authority receives grant funding resolutions from county
The Holmes County Airport will receive grant funding through the Airport Improvement Program Sponsor Certification, which will mainly be funded by the Federal Aviation Administration. The dollars will go toward improving the runway, taxiway and apron of the airport.
The Holmes County Airport Authority got some good news on the improvement front recently during the weekly meeting of the Holmes County commissioners on Monday, July 1 at the Old Jail in Millersburg.
The commissioners passed a pair of resolutions that will pave the way for some improvement to take place.
The first resolution was accepting the documents involved with the Airport Improvement Program Sponsor Certification, which will ultimately open the door for removing, replacing and resealing asphalt and making other improvements to the runway at an estimated cost of just under $491,000.
The runway in the proposal is a section that is 4,400 feet in length by 75 feet in width.
According to Mark Leininger, Holmes County director of the economic development council, the Federal Aviation Administration will pick up 90% of the needed funding through grants, with 5% coming from Ohio Department of Transportation and another 5% coming from local matching funds estimated to be $24,500.
“Basically, there are two separate grants here. One is for construction; the other is for planning,” Leininger said. “They are both FAA grants and are part of ongoing grants to make necessary improvements.”
Leininger said in addition to the aforementioned improvements, the grant would include adding new pavement markings to the runway.
The second resolution was a planning grant under the airport infrastructure grant that focuses on designing improvements to be made to the taxiways and apron.
“Like the runway, those need periodic maintenance,” Leininger said. “Cracks develop, and asphalt needs to be resealed.”
Estimated engineering costs for that project are set at $74,500, with the FAA portion set at 90% and local portion for the design phase at 10%.
Leininger said the county worked with a Holmes County Airport Authority consultant and engineer on the project.
He said the commissioners will serve as co-sponsors to the FFA grants, something the FAA has requested in recent years because commissioners have the authority to appoint the members of the board of the Holmes County Airport.