Board OKs repayment requests

Portland Board of Aviation on Wednesday approved pay requests for reimbursements for airport plan updates and studies at airport.
Portland Municipal Airport will receive two grants, the first totaling $87,957 to reimburse it for a runway justification study from 2013 to 2014 and to update the 2015 environmental assessment to extend the runway length to 5,500 feet. The board received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in January to extend the runway from its current length of 4,000 feet.
Jason Clearwaters of Butler, Fairman and Seufert, Inc., the airport’s engineering firm, told the board the first reimbursement to the airport would total $18,496 from the FAA. Board members Mike McKee, John Lyons, and Dick Baldauf, absent Jim Runkle, voted to make the payment request.
The second grant is for an update of its airport layout plan. The board made a reiumbursement request for $33,350 from the FAA and $1,852.77 from the state, which brings the grant to 87 percent completion.
The board also voted to approve airport manager Hal Tavzel’s two-year contract effective immediately. His salary will increase from $26,000 to $30,000 a year.
McKee told the board the trailer being purchased to serve as a temporary workspace for the Lutheran Air helicopter crew is in construction and “should be ready in the next two weeks.” McKee said it will be placed just north of the hangars.
“The utility locate was done yesterday and the city’s been out here to locate where they’re going to run the sewer so that’s just a matter of getting it hooked up,” he said.

In other business the board:
•Approved the payment of claims totaling $2,384.57.
•Heard from Tavzel that fuel sales are up. In July, the airport made $26,826 in revenue and in August the revenue increased to $27,066.89. For September, the airport has brought in $16,727.22 in fuel revenue so far.
•Heard from Tavzel that there are eight students taking flight instruction at the airport and one is set to buy a plane.
•Heard an update from Clearwaters about the Sept. 16 visit from representatives from the FAA and Indiana Department of Transportation Aviation to conduct and annual inspection and discuss the next five years in terms of FAA projects and funding. No problems were found during the inspection.
•Learned from Tavzel that a fly-in held in August organized by Westchester United Methodist Church was a success. More than 700 people attended and 225 took flights.
•Heard Clearwaters will attend the Aviation Association of Indiana Annual Conference in Plymouth.
•Learned repairs to concrete in front of the service hangar at the airport are expected to be complete this week.