Airport committee lists Jet A fuel, more hangars and lighting among top priorities

Dan, the city council liaison, briefed the planning board on the airport committee’s top priorities. He said the committee identified four near-term focuses: improve interior building conditions and security (no cameras or lights currently), add Jet A fuel service to accommodate turbine-engine aircraft, construct additional hangar space (a proposed extension to add roughly six new bays), and install visual approach slope indicator lights to improve pilot safety.

Dan said hangar space is fully leased now and a waiting list exists, which supports the case for new hangars. He said hangar construction is expensive — roughly $125 per foot for pre-engineered unheated metal buildings — and that the committee is evaluating FAA grant eligibility, city capital funds and public–private partnerships as potential funding paths. "If we can get grants to do that, it's more likely," Dan said when asked how the city would pay for hangars.

The committee also discussed options that would allow private parties to build and lease individual hangars on city-owned land. Dan said the airport has reserve funds and that committees are putting preliminary sketches into the capital plan.

When asked about Amazon’s presence, Dan said he had not seen evidence Amazon alone was driving increased flights and that recent activity is more likely tied to the development committee’s efforts and the industrial park expansion around the area near Amazon.