Mayville Airport, N.D. Hunts for Cash to Repave

May 9, 2005
The runway is in decline and without action the airport could go under.

The clock is ticking on the deteriorating Mayville Airport.

"If nothing is done, we'll lose the airport in five years," Brett Brudvik said. "That word put a spur into people to realize this problem is real. We can't land airplanes at a place that isn't safe."

An inspection showed a runway that is "declining rapidly," according to Mark Holzer, North Dakota Aeronautics Commission aviation planner. "Once it gets ruts and potholes, we can't keep it open safely."

The first response by local pilots such as Brudvik and community leaders was to establish the Mayville Airport Authority. The group can devote more time than the City Council to efforts to save the airport, specifically to repairing the runway and ramp.

All agree that the salvation for the airport and its crumbling pavement is a designation as a federal airport - and the money that comes with it. The commission and authority have started working toward that goal.

Paving the runway is beyond the airport's means. The airport receives $14,600 in annual revenue and has $30,000 in reserves. Last year's estimate for repaving the 3,200-foot runway was $240,000.

The answer is in becoming part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. If given that status, the federal government pays up to 95 percent of improvements' costs. The state picks up 2.5 percent, leaving the local entity with 2.5 percent - not 100 percent - of the cost.

"So, getting that designation is a pretty big deal," said Brudvik, chairman of the authority.

Requirements for that designation include:

Having at least 10 aircraft based at the airport.

It currently has seven aircraft. But Holzer said that requirement would be met with letters of commitments from other pilots to house their planes there if another hangar was built. The federal government would pay for the majority of the hangar construction.

The airport needs to be at either 25 miles or 30 minutes of driving time from the nearest airport. The airport in Hillsboro, N.D., is right on the border of those standards.

But that requirement also can be skirted if there's proof of enough traffic and need in the area. Holzer and Brudvik said that shouldn't be a problem, either.

Holzer said the existence of a college, which Mayville has, could be enough alone to qualify. Brudvik adds that the local hospital sometimes needs airlifting of patients, the National Guard unit based here attracts aircraft and an aerial sprayer provides high traffic volume. The use of the runway by the UND aviation program also will show worth.

"Hardly a minute of the day goes by without touch-and-go traffic from UND," he said. "Hopefully, that will be a big factor in getting us the federal help."

Brudvik said an airport is crucial to the welfare of this town of 1,900 people.

"One of the top-five factors in attracting economic development is having a functional airport," he said. "There's a lot more interest in seeing development here than there used to be. I don't think anyone really looked into the importance of the airport in that until now."