Sawyer County Airport paving work advances; committee approves McCain hangar lease transfer

Airport management told the Sawyer County Public Works Committee that pavement removal at Sawyer County Airport is progressing quickly and that several deferred-maintenance items may be addressed with funds returned from pavement demolition.

Derek Leslie (airport staff) reported crews began pavement removal early in the week, with heavy equipment staged and dump trucks hauling material to a pit on Highway 77 (referred to in the meeting as "Millstone Mills"). Leslie said surveyors would "be doing red tops on Monday and Tuesday" and that, depending on weather, additional pavement removal could occur later in the week. He said the contractor had come "out of the gate swinging hard" and that construction deconstruction work "is probably gonna be done tomorrow afternoon" if conditions hold. Leslie and other staff also discussed localized maintenance work the airport might perform with county forces to address concrete joint sinkage and similar issues rather than waiting for state projects.

Leslie said the airport layout plan and master plan work remain pending because the Federal Aviation Administration must first approve forecast documents; he said FAA timelines are slow and that the airport may not see layout-plan work this year. Staff also noted a busy spring fuel-sales week that helped airport revenues.

On a separate agenda item, the committee considered a lease transfer for a hangar identified as the McCain hangar. Committee members said the existing hangar lease was renewed in 2021 and that McCain requested transferring the lease into a McCain Trust. Committee members said leaseholder McCain "is a good hangar owner" who maintains an aircraft and a pilot's license. A motion to approve the transfer of the McCain hangar lease to the McCain Trust was made by Mister Evans, seconded by Randy Newman, and the motion "carried" after an affirmative voice vote.

Airport staff also raised the possibility of hosting an open-house pancake event in July and discussed small maintenance work that could be completed while larger projects proceed. No changes to airport master-plan scope or FAA approvals were adopted at the meeting.