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Nueces County airport logs, hangar demand and a fuel-price increase approved
Summary
County airport staff showed new VERTower traffic tracking data used for grant justification, reported all hangars leased with a waiting list, and the court approved raising airport fuel price to $5.65/gal; commissioners asked for a future profit-and-loss report and flexible pricing guidelines.
Nueces County Commissioners on April 15 received an operational update from the county airport that covered traffic monitoring, hangar occupancy and fuel pricing.
Airport staff described a VERTower system installed late last year that electronically tracks aircraft landings and takeoffs to produce monthly utilization reports and support TxDOT Aviation grant applications. ‘‘This VERTower system does exactly that... it records what kind of aircraft comes in and out of the airport,’’ the airport presenter said.
The presenter told the court all hangars are leased and there are about 17 people on the waiting list for hangar space. Staff said revenue from fuel sales was meaningful to airport operations: the presenter reported 2024 fuel sales of $91,579 with a cost of about $76,000 (roughly $15,000 net) and nearly $18,000 in fuel sales income for 2025.
The court approved a proposal to raise the airport’s fuel price to $5.65 per gallon (the last load cost the airport $4.93 per gallon), a move staff said keeps the airport competitive with nearby facilities and preserves a roughly $0.52-per-gallon markup. Commissioners discussed authorizing the airport manager to adjust prices within a competitive range and asked for a profit-and-loss statement to show revenues, expenses and fund balances at the next meeting.
Commissioners also discussed a long-term access-road concept to connect I-69 to the airport; the court tabled that request to a later meeting to allow staff to refine the proposal and to coordinate with TxDOT and MPO procedures.
Staff said the airport will present the VERTower report and related proposals at the next airport board meeting and return to the court with the P&L and a recommendation on a flexible pricing policy.
