Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs petition for federal and state aid to rehabilitate Richland County airport terminal
Summary
Committee members voted to forward a resolution asking the state secretary of transportation and federal programs for grant funds to design and rebuild the airport terminal; design phase cost estimated at $150,000 with federal covering 90 percent.
The Richland County Executive & Finance Steering Committee voted Dec. 23 to forward a resolution to the full county board petitioning the state secretary of transportation and federal grant programs for airport improvement aid to rehabilitate the county airport terminal.
Mark (airport representative) told the committee the terminal was built in the 1970s, has sustained flood damage on multiple occasions and requires new siding, windows, roof and heating/air equipment. He said the restroom facilities are not handicap compliant. The proposed project would proceed in two phases: a 2025 design phase and a 2026 construction phase. The design phase was estimated at about $150,000; the suggested cost-share in the presentation was $135,000 federal, $7,500 state and $7,500 local (split in the document as $4,500 and $3,000). "Terminal building is quite old. It was built in the 19 seventies. It's been through 3 floods. Each time, several inches of water on the floor," Mark said.
Committee members noted that prior drainage and runway work addressed flooding and runway issues, and that private tenants have invested in new facilities: Mark said a tenant known as the Cardinals recently built a large hangar "I believe it's around $6,000,000," he said. Members discussed the benefit of completing design work soon so consultants can be selected and the county can maximize state and federal funding.
The committee moved the resolution to the full county board; the motion to send the resolution was made by Frank and seconded by Manning, and passed by voice vote at the committee level. The county staff said the project funding had already been included in the airport’s 2025 budget. The presenter said the federal-state-local split equates to roughly 90% federal, 5% state and 5% local funding for the design phase.
Ending The committee forwarded the petition to the full board for final action; if the board approves, the county will proceed with architect selection for the 2025 design phase and planning for construction in 2026.
