Commissioners review Devil’s Lake airport budget after SkyWest deal boosts terminal revenue

Ramsey County commissioners spent part of a budget workshop on the Devil’s Lake airport’s finances, where Dominic reviewed revenue gains tied to a new SkyWest agreement and warned of uncertain maintenance costs for recently added terminal amenities.

Dominic told commissioners that terminal rent has “gone up significantly because of the new deal signed with SkyWest,” and that reimbursable revenues now include about $20,000 for advertising and $50,000 for a passenger boarding bridge. He said those increases improve the airport’s revenue picture but that the county should plan conservatively for maintenance. “I put a lot more in maintenance because we don't know what maintenance is going to cost,” Dominic said.

Commissioners and staff discussed where various revenue streams flow. Jeff (Speaker 2) and others clarified that ticket revenue does not go to the county general fund, while the airport collects terminal rents and landing fees. Dominic also said the county expects FAA entitlements for a runway improvement project and mentioned an estimate of about $1.5 million in federal entitlement funding.

Speakers noted recent ridership gains tied to a new direct flight to Denver and said passenger counts have been strong; Dominic and commissioners discussed federal Essential Air Service changes and concluded Devil’s Lake likely still meets the distance-based eligibility threshold. No formal vote was taken on airport-specific appropriations; staff said they would refine the mill calculations and revenue estimates before the public hearing on the overall county budget.

Next steps: staff will update the airport budget worksheet to reflect clarified valuation and mill-levy calculations and bring final numbers to the public hearing scheduled for Tuesday.