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Caldwell Executive Airport director outlines multi-month strategic planning process
Summary
Airport Director Scott Swanson told council the airport will run stakeholder workshops, produce a strategic plan for annual updates and seek council support to adopt the plan by May to align with the 2026 budget; he emphasized the FAA 20-year master plan is inadequate as an annual development guide and highlighted infrastructure funding needs.
At about 5:30 p.m. during a council workshop, Scott Swanson, the City of Caldwell’s director of aviation, presented a multi-month strategic planning process for Caldwell Executive Airport and asked for council and economic-development support. The presentation described planned stakeholder workshops, an outreach plan, and a target to present the resulting strategic plan for council acceptance by resolution in May to align with the 2026 budget process.
Swanson told the council the airport “has a choice in how we develop the airport going forward,” and that the Federal Aviation Administration–mandated 20-year master plan is not sufficient to guide annual development strategy. He said the strategic plan would focus staff and the airport advisory board on priorities, create performance metrics, and help prioritize projects the airport can pursue to become revenue neutral.
Swanson said he is using instructional materials from the Transportation Research Board to structure the process and expects four internal airport-board meetings as well as several public workshops. He listed firm dates and formats: two four-hour stakeholder sessions (January 30 and February 6) and a larger session slated for Thursday, February 27 from 8 a.m. to noon. He said the sessions will solicit feedback on strategic issues (what the airport is doing well, what can be improved and what the airport should work on) and on tactical needs (examples he gave included porta-potty maintenance and whether the airport needs a wash rack).
Swanson described an infrastructure example: “How are we gonna get $3,000,000 to put the infrastructure in on the north side of the airport?” He said current airport revenue sources are limited and will not by themselves fund such projects, and that the strategic process is intended to engage stakeholders, the Idaho state economic-development agencies and congressional representation to identify funding strategies and priorities. He said the FAA Airport District Office (Helena) will be consulted for regulatory and project-funding guidance but that broader economic development and revenue strategies will rely on state and local stakeholder engagement.
John Bridal, a member of the airport advisory board and an airport tenant who described himself as a retired CEO, said he has experience with strategic planning and told the council the airport is “a jewel” for the region. Bridal said the goal is to align the strategic plan with the city’s budget so priorities can be executed and tracked year to year.
Swanson said he expects to bring a strategic plan to the council in May, and that he would seek council support — likely by resolution — so the plan can inform the 2026 budget. The workshop was for discussion only; no formal action or votes were taken.
