Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport reports completed terminal, $43.95M project and new parking fees
Summary
Airport director Devin Brubaker told the Rock Springs City Council the new terminal is complete after a $43,950,000 project funded by 23 sources (FAA ~$26.76M; Wyoming Business Council $10M), reported a clean FAA audit, and announced paid parking (first four hours free; $6/day) to help long-term financial sustainability.
Devin Brubaker, representing the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, updated the Rock Springs City Council on airport operations, project finances and near-term priorities on Feb. 3.
Brubaker said the airport finished its new commercial terminal and completed a 20-year master plan. He reported a clean FAA review with "0 discrepancies" and highlighted that the terminal project totaled $43,950,000 and involved 23 separate grant agreements or loans that require ongoing closeout work. The Federal Aviation Administration covered roughly $26,760,000 (about 61%); the Wyoming Business Council provided $10,000,000 in BRC support (described as $5 million in grants and $5 million in loans); Sweetwater County and local cash contributions covered smaller local shares.
Brubaker provided 2025 performance metrics: the airport sold about 518,000 gallons of jet fuel and 43,000 gallons of avgas in calendar-year figures, and a single transient FBO hangar generated $455,992 in revenue. Passenger levels were the second-best year on record (behind 2012). He also said the airport's completion percentage was 99.11% (national average ~98.54%) and on-time performance compared favorably with national averages.
To help cover operating and debt costs, the airport board has adopted paid parking: Brubaker said the board set a $6 daily rate with the first four hours free and will offer an annual membership for frequent local users. He said parking is a large revenue source for airports of Rock Springs’ size and that about 39% of vehicles using the lot are from outside the county.
Brubaker warned that the airport faces new debt-service pressure from the terminal ($194,000 annual debt service) and that continued airline lease and operating-agreement negotiations will affect the airport budget. He noted ongoing legislative items to watch, including state air-service funding in the budget bill (about $18.4 million overall in the draft) and liability-limit proposals that could affect local insurance costs.
Why this matters: The new terminal expands accessibility (ADA improvements noted), increases airport-generated revenue streams and exposes the airport and local governments to project-closeout and debt-service commitments. Paid parking shifts more direct costs to users rather than local taxpayers.
Next steps: The airport will continue to monitor legislative air-service funding, complete grant closeouts, pursue hangar and taxi-lane construction with remaining apportionment funds, and advance design work for crosswind runway rehabilitation scheduled for 2027–2028.
(Reporting is based on the airport presentation to the council; direct quotes and figures come from Devin Brubaker’s remarks.)
