Lake County reviews airport upgrades as hangar bids fail and fuel-farm costs rise

Lake County commissioners heard an airport update Wednesday that highlighted stalled hangar leasing, unexpected fuel-farm upgrade costs and plans to pursue state grant funding and market development to attract more jet traffic.

Airport presenter Josh told commissioners the county reissued a request for proposals for ground leases aimed at getting private parties to build hangars, but “we put out the RFP for a second time and got no bids again.” He said some prospective renters declined because they did not want to pay for engineered drawings required to respond to the RFP.

The lack of lease responses has pushed the county’s timetable: staff now expects construction start in 2026 rather than 2025, and said this winter will be used to prepare shovel-ready documents and negotiate with interested parties outside the formal RFP process.

Commissioners and staff also discussed upgrades to the airport’s fuel farm. Josh said the county had budgeted roughly $65,000 for safety and efficiency work but received two summer bids for about $113,000 and $157,000. He described the upgrades as measures to improve fuel filtration, add water separation and replace corroding piping with stainless steel to support more jet traffic and higher fuel-quality standards.

Explaining operational…