Durant wins $3 million state appropriation for control tower study; airport manager outlines hangar, parking and education plans

Durant's airport director told the City Council that the state legislature has appropriated $3,000,000 for an initial siting study and design phase for a new air traffic control tower, an appropriation the director said would begin work in April 2026.

The appropriation, the director said, would fund a siting study and the design phase and represents the first new control tower project in Oklahoma in decades. "This appropriation will fund a siting study and design phase starting around April 2026," the director said during the department reports. He said contingency planning places the likely tower location between the airport terminal and the Southeastern aviation campus.

Airport staff also outlined a design phase for a grant-funded aircraft parking expansion slated to begin in 2026 and described a state interest in subsidizing a new large hangar development concurrent with that project. The airport manager said parking capacity is an immediate operational need: during peak times the field struggles to handle transient aircraft and the airport lacks long-term tie-down accommodations that would provide affordable storage and recurring revenue.

The airport director described near-term operational fixes and cost-saving decisions taken since joining the city in April, including removal of excessive vegetation at a previously uncleared 13-acre parcel (completed on an ad hoc basis at an outlay of about $3,600, versus an estimated $83,000 to clear the whole parcel) and transferring underused equipment to other city departments. The terminal received three new HVAC units at a reported cost of $33,258; an underused kitchenette is being converted to a line-service office at a cost of $15,486 to better support line staff operations, the director said.

Staff reported small revenue gains from operational changes: converting a hangar to transient overnight parking generated roughly $4,760 in four months compared with about $1,240 in rent for the same period, and vacating another hangar is expected to add about $3,720 in annual rent. The director called for city leadership support of a longer-term vision that links airport expansion with aviation education programs at local institutions, noting a recent Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission aero-education grant of $10,500 awarded to Durant Public Schools.

Council members asked clarifying questions about timelines and community benefits. The director described the airport parcel near the proposed tower site as a potential incubator and vocational nexus for collaboration among the university, Kiamichi Tech and local high school programs.

The director closed by unveiling a new airport logo commissioned for public release.

Ending: The council received the airport report as part of department updates; no formal action on the tower or hangar projects was recorded during the meeting. Staff said design work and siting studies are the next steps contingent on the appropriation and subsequent planning.