Trending
WINTERSVILLE -- The Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors came to a consensus Monday regarding a draft drawing for its wildlife fence, continuing the project's progression through the design stage.
After reviewing and revising the draft, created by the airport's consulting firm, Michael Baker International, the board has a better idea about its desired location for the approximately 13,000-foot fence and its various points of entry.
The fence's proposed perimeter was developed after a property walkthrough by representatives from Michael Baker, along with board members Dustin Van Fossen and Rich Stenzel. Stenzel described the draft perimeter's rationale, noting that the fence will have added security benefits.
"As I view it, this is a wildlife fence, but I also want to make it a security fence," Stenzel said.
The board determined the fence itself, intended to keep wildlife like deer off the airport's runway, will be 10-foot-tall vinyl fencing with barbed wire on top. The fence will also reach 4 feet underground to keep wildlife from digging underneath.
According to the board's final determination, the fence will not impede access to the airport's terminal building, the STAT MedEvac building and the Anthony Mining Co. building.
However, the fence will block access to the airport hangars and maintenance buildings. Those will be accessible through automatic vehicle gates or pedestrian swing gates -- STAT MedEvac's building will be flanked by two 8-foot sliding gates to accommodate rescue equipment. The gates will be opened by key fobs or pass codes during off-hours, and board President Brandon Reese added that an override code should be available in case of emergencies, if the gate keypads malfunction.
The fence will include multiple drainage features and a handful of manual, double-swing gates for maintenance purposes. It will stretch to surround the airport's Automated Weather Observing System, and it will take into account a roughly equal-area property swap the airport authority is finalizing with a neighboring property owner in order to keep the perimeter compliant with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Current fencing at the airport will be taken out as part of the project. The new fence, however, will provide "controlled access" to the hangars and create added security where there wasn't any beforehand, Reese said.
The parking lot adjacent to the airport's Tee hangars will be blocked off by the new fence, which will be a problem, Reese said, as that lot has historically been the site of public events. After the new fence is installed, visitors from the public will need to find a new area for parking.
For public events, Van Fossen proposed that the electric gates be left open, the lot be used as a midway and the hangar area be blocked off to prevent people from walking onto the runway. Alternatively, events could be relocated to a grassy area outside of the airport's perimeter, which would necessitate using a portable power supply.
The plans will be submitted for approval by local utility workers and fire and rescue officials to ensure there are no access issues in case of needed maintenance or an emergency.
Separately, board members discussed the developmental potential of its B1 hangar, weighing the possibility against the current tenant's desire to continue leasing.
Board member Geary Bates suggested the authority hold off on leasing the hangar in order to perform upgrades that will make the facility more enticing for prospective commercial tenants. Suggested upgrades included adding heating, constructing a bathroom and bringing WiFi into the hangar.
"I'm just looking at a way to better promote this airport," Bates said of the proposal.
The upgrades would be speculative, with the hope of attracting a corporate tenant, though it would displace the hangar's current tenants, individuals with the Pier Aviation flight instruction school. With the lease due in March, those tenants were seeking a one-year lease with three one-year options to renew and did not want to enter a month-to-month lease contract.
After an executive session, the B1 hangar's lease was renewed for a one-year term with three one-year options to renew.
Reese said the lease rate was increased by 5 percent with an escalation clause of 5 each year. A "goodwill clause" was added "to continue lessor-lessee cooperation for joint availability (and) use of B1."