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WINTERSVILLE -- The Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority Board of Trustees' regular meeting Monday began by remembering 9/11 and included discussion about Geary A. Bates Jefferson County Airpark projects, following last month's record operations.
Board president Brandon Reece called to mind the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the beginning of the meeting, which occurred on the attacks' 22nd anniversary.
"We've got enemies in this world, and we all need to remember that and be defensive and protect ourselves," Reece said. "People want us to forget that that happened, (but) that's something I feel strongly we should never forget."
Later, airport manager Brian Thaxton reported that the airport has seen its biggest operations month recorded since 2018. August saw 1,135 operations, with the second highest non-2023 operations month being May 2021 with 780.
Operations, Thaxton explained, are recorded manually upon flight arrivals and departures. Reece said many of August's operations can be credited to former board member Mike Menzel's Pier Aviation in Wintersville, which offers flight instruction.
Also, board members discussed the then-upcoming budget hearing with the Jefferson County Commissioners on Wednesday. The board agreed to ask commissioners to contribute $100,000 -- the same amount as last year -- to the airport's approximately $440,000 budget, covering utility and salary expenses, said Gary Folden, the board's secretary and treasurer. In addition, the board's representatives asked for another $10,000 that would cover aspects of the manager's payroll.
Folden said after the meeting that the board will not know the commissioners' final decision on the budget until they finalize their budget, which could be as late as March, but will likely be before then. The airport pays for the rest of the budget, with funds coming from airport rental and gas and oil revenue.
Separate discussions regarding sealing the airport's roughly 9-year-old blacktop led to debate over how to proceed. The debate follows a decision from the board this year to get a quote for sealing the whole airport. The board only had some of the airport's aprons sealed to see how the new material performs.
Among other suggested maintenance, board member Geary Bates drew attention to needed sealing for certain blacktop areas. Bates, who had the project's square footage and engineer's estimate, said the board should not wait to have the rest sealed because prolonged maintenance costs would be a problem.
Folden noted that having a well-maintained blacktop is a consideration by the Federal Aviation Administration for funding, and it benefits planes taxiing on the asphalt.
Board member Rich Stenzel first suggested pushing the sealing project to the spring and asked Bates how many years the airport would get out of the sealing before it needed to be redone, to which Bates said five years. Stenzel suggested yearly rotating sealing schedule for different areas.
However, Bates raised concerns about rising costs for the project if the board holds off. In terms of costs, board member Geno Morelli said it might be better to have the existing asphalt ground and repaved entirely. A comparison of prices per square foot was inconclusive due to missing additional information, and the board agreed to put the issue on the agenda for the next meeting.
In other business:
• Lance Wanamaker, the board's consultant from Michael Baker International, told the board they need to officially apply for a 5 percent match grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation. That grant would come following a grant received in July from the FAA that would cover 90 percent of payment owed to Michael Baker for design work on the airport's wildlife fence.
• Thaxton said review is being done on suggestions by American Electric Power to have power lines run through the airport's property to a prospective well pad. Thaxton said later that above-ground power lines would enter protected airspace.
• Stenzel informed the board on progress made toward using solar arrays to power the terminal and fuel farm and separate arrays to power the Tee hangars and beacon and runway lights. Making the switch, Stenzel said, would drop the airport's spending on power from almost $13,000 to $11,800 each year, with a required minimum for being on the grid. The first project would require 100 feet of panels and the second 50 feet -- all would have to face south and require an FAA 7460-1 "notice of proposed construction or alteration" form.
• Thaxton and Reece spoke on the money needed to provide access points inside and outside the terminal to send WiFi across the airport for planes to update their maps.
• The board was notified of a final letter from law firm Steptoe and Johnson PLLC after the board said they are no longer in need of their services. The firm had been hired in 2019 to keep track of EPA filings related to the possible purchase of the Crossridge Landfill. Folden said that there has been no recent activity on the matter, prompting the board's decision.
• The board approved a motion to recommend the commissioners to hire a part-time worker based on Thaxton's recommendation.
• Meeting attendee Roger Mapel inquired about renting the airport's currently unused Experimental Aircraft Association hangar. Stenzel said it is possible the hangar could be torn down to build extra box hangars if the airport needs them, but the likelihood of that happening within the next 10 years is low. Board members said they would be accommodating to Mapel if they rented to him and later needed him to move. The board approved a motion to have the airport manager propose an offer to Mapel with a caveat that his planes could be moved and accommodated if an opportunity for the EAA hangar arises.
The board's next meeting will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 9. Meetings are every second Monday at the airport terminal building and are open to the public.