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Sedalia airport director outlines projects: taxiway rehab, lighting upgrades, hangar and training goals
Summary
New airport director Mitch Mullin told the council the airport handles roughly 8,000–11,000 operations per year, described upcoming taxiway and runway work, and outlined goals to expand flight training and hangar capacity.
Mitch Mullin, director of the Sedalia Airport, told the council the airport averages about 8,000 to 11,000 operations annually and outlined several near-term projects and longer-term goals.
Mullin said the airport has two runways — Runway 18/36 at 5,500 by 100 feet and Runway 5/23 at 3,519 by 50 feet — and about 20 based aircraft (17 single-engine, two twin-engine and one jet). He said the facility has 18 hangars (13 T-hangars and five box hangars) and four privately owned box hangars under lease to the city.
Planned projects include rehabilitation of the north parallel taxiway and the northern 500 feet of Runway 18/36, a phased project Mullin said was scheduled to begin later this month. He said phase 1 and 2 would keep one runway open and that a short phase 3 would complete the work. He also said a separate environmental assessment of wetlands for a potential south parallel taxiway is estimated at about $100,000 and is a grant-based project.
Mullin identified lighting upgrades — high-intensity LED runway and taxiway lighting — as an FAA-recommended improvement with preliminary cost estimates in staff materials of about $513,000 for runway lighting and $467,000 for taxiway lighting. He said LED lighting would reduce bulb replacement costs and energy usage compared with the current halogen system.
Operational goals Mullin described include hiring an inspection-authorized (IA) mechanic to expand maintenance revenue, purchasing a second training aircraft to expand flight instruction (the city’s leased aircraft cannot be used for all instructor training exercises), and building additional hangars to meet demand from a waiting list.
Mullin said a 2012 MoDOT economic impact study cited annual regional economic impact from the airport and noted that transient corporate traffic supports local business travel. He said staff would continue to seek FAA and state grant funding where available.
