Airport operator, medevac provider and commissioners debate helicopter base amid FAA master-plan constraints

A packed public discussion at the June 18 meeting focused on whether the Lifelight medevac helicopter can remain based at Portage County Airport and how the county must navigate FAA rules and existing leases.

Joe, an airport operator who said he previously leased FBO space, urged the commissioners to clarify whether the county wants the helicopter in the community and offered to lease land and build a hangar. "Do you people want them here? Do you want them in the community?" he asked, pressing for a public position.

Airport director Robert (Rob) explained the practical constraint: medevac operations and ground-ambulance housing are not included in the airport master plan the FAA reviews when approving grant-funded capital projects. Rob said the FAA will not provide a blanket release and will require a specific request and documentation showing exactly what land use is being released from aeronautical to non‑aeronautical or mixed use; that process requires amending the master plan or a pen-and-ink change and can take time and money. "They’re not in the master plan," Rob said, adding FAA grant assurances prohibit mixed use unless specifically approved.

Speakers debated options. Some commissioners, including one who described decades of EMS experience, said keeping a helicopter based locally matters for response times; others stressed compliance and the potential to jeopardize FAA grant funding. Staff noted the lease that previously included ambulance housing was terminated with an effective date in late July; commissioners asked whether a helicopter-only lease could be crafted as an interim step while a new hangar is built or a master-plan change is pursued.

Operators said they would be open to temporarily basing the helicopter at the airport if the ground ambulances were not housed there; airport staff said that could be done but the existing lease would need to be reissued because the prior lease had been terminated. A private operator (Mr. Bonner) offered to submit written proposals for either building a new hangar on county land or other site plans; commissioners asked for those plans in writing and requested any FAA correspondence or documentation showing the basis for the FAA’s position.

No formal decision was made during the meeting. Commissioners requested written proposals from the operator and from the private party proposing to build a hangar, and asked staff to gather FAA documentation on the master-plan and release process. Staff and commissioners agreed to reconvene the discussion after receiving written proposals and any FAA responses. The meeting record reflects a firm interest among commissioners in restoring local medevac basing if it can be done without jeopardizing FAA funds.