County authorizes engineering services for airport development; infrastructure only

The Lincoln County Board authorized Helms Associates to provide professional planning and engineering services for development of the south 20 acres at the Lincoln County Airport at its April 14 meeting.

Dave Myers, speaking for airport staff, said the work covers taxiway construction, grading for future hangar development and related planning and construction management tasks. "As we move forward with improvements at the airport...there will be two new taxiways and also the hanger area where we will be building new hangars," Myers said.

Commissioners clarified that the contract covers infrastructure planning and construction management only and does not commit the county to any particular developer for hangars. One commissioner asked whether sewer service was included; staff replied it was not part of the current proposal but that sewer is being discussed with Helms as a potential future consideration.

The board approved the authorization on a roll-call vote. The contract approval authorizes staff to proceed with the planning and engineering scope before separate decisions on hangar construction or additional utilities.

Procurement and next steps: staff will finalize the scope and manage bidding and construction oversight as required. The contract as presented focuses on airport infrastructure; decisions on hanger construction and utility improvements will be addressed in later phases.