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Council weighs airport hangar, manager role and tarmac funding in budget talks
Summary
Council members discussed retaining Hurricane’s airport hangar, adding a part‑time airport manager, and budgeting for engineering and a partial city share of tarmac replacement tied to grants; staff recommended keeping the hangar for equipment storage and budgeting $128,000 plus a contingency for airport work.
Staff and councilors used the budget meeting to review operations at the Hurricane municipal airport and to discuss whether to retain the airport hangar and add a part‑time airport manager.
City manager Paige and public works staff reported the airport previously relied on a mix of informal arrangements: a hangar occupant provided some managerial functions in exchange for hangar use, leaving unclear lines of authority and limited enforcement capacity. Staff said the city has begun moving maintenance equipment and implements into the hangar to protect machinery from weather and to use the space for modest maintenance and classroom functions.
Councilmembers discussed the pros and cons of selling the hangar and instead paying a manager’s wage. Several said the hangar has structural issues but also provides valuable indoor storage for a tractor and implements purchased with earlier grant funds. Staff recommended retaining the hangar for now and budgeting a part‑time manager to handle tie‑downs, lease compliance and routine inspections.
Public works staff suggested budgeting roughly $20,000 annually for a part‑time airport manager to start, with an additional $15,000 set aside to cover the city’s engineering and matching share for an FAA‑eligible tarmac rehabilitation project. The council discussed how the airport’s revenues currently do not fully cover operations; staff said converting the airport into a separate fund would make accounting clearer — a step the city plans to take in the coming budget cycle.
The council also discussed minimum standards and lease enforcement. Staff said the airport’s minimum standards permit the city to inspect hangars and to pursue lease termination for noncompliance; councilmembers asked legal and administrative staff to bring an enforcement framework that sets clear expectations and a stepwise compliance process.
No formal vote was taken; councilmembers asked city staff to include the proposed part‑time manager and the engineering match in the draft budget and to return with more detailed cost estimates and proposed lease‑compliance procedures.
