Tenants press city on Hangar 1 door replacement and weather-station upgrades

Lock Haven — Hangar tenants raised safety and security concerns about a broken Hangar 1 door and asked the council when replacement work would be scheduled.

Tenant Jim Cooper said he was seeking a resolution and a date for the replacement. City staff replied an aviation engineer is required to replace the door and that the city has approximately a quarter-million dollars available toward the project. Staff said an engineer on retainer (Nick Barber) will allow the city to restart the RFP process and that they intend to move forward as quickly as possible, though no firm completion date was provided at the meeting.

Cooper and other tenants also pressed for clearer communication about project timing and interim security measures; staff agreed to keep hangar tenants updated. Separately, speakers asked about automatic weather-observing equipment; staff said the airport's AWOS/ASOS placement is constrained and that the city will invest in a DigiRail software upgrade estimated at about $4,000 from city funds to improve existing instrumentation.

Council did not approve a construction contract at the meeting; staff said they will return with project scheduling and procurement documents once the engineer and RFP process advance.