Courtesy vehicle replaced

Portland Municipal Airport is getting a new courtesy vehicle. 

At its meeting Wednesday, Portland Board of Aviation voted to purchase a new vehicle to transport people who fly into the airport.

It also heard details about a youth flying event taking place next month. 

The current courtesy vehicle, a former police cruiser, is at least a decade old. Board president John Lyons suggested replacing it and presented two bids. 

Fuqua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep offered a 2015 Dodge Caravan with 23,836 miles for $15,984.50. The bid from Moser Motors was for a 2016 Ford Fusion SE with 68,172 miles for $13,825. 

After deliberating between the car and the SUV, board members Dick Baldauf, Mitch Sutton, Faron Parr and Lyons selected the bid from Moser Motors. 

They also decided to have Display Craft create a decal for the Ford designating it as a city vehicle. 

Also on Wednesday, the board heard about Young Eagles event hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association that will take place at the airport on July 13. 

From 8 a.m. to noon, children ages 8 through 17 will be able to take free airplane flights. Pilots will donate their time and aircraft for the event, and the airport is looking for more volunteers. 

Children will need to have a signed parental consent form to fly. 

In other business, the board: 

•Heard that the runway extension plan is continuing to make progress. The airport should be able to advertise in May 2020 for bids on the drainage and grading work for the project, which will extend the runway from 4,000 feet to 5,500 feet. 

•Approved a draft of a federal disadvantaged business enterprise plan. To receive funds from the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport must have a goal of using a certain number of businesses deemed disadvantaged by the state. According to the draft, the airport has a goal of 5.4 percent utilization for 2020-2022. 

•Learned that the airport sold 4,462 gallons of fuel in May for $18,227.53. In May 2018, the airport sold 4,668.12 gallons for $17,960.78.