Fredericksburg Airport board mulls cheaper way to build

Oct. 25, 2012

Oct. 25--Members of the joint city-county airport board say they may have a way to build 20 new T-hangars, attracting business and increasing revenue, for less than half of the original proposal.

"We found one thing the city and the county do good together," said airport board president Stephen King. "They do good dirt work."

King pointed Wednesday to the new 48-space gated parking lot recently built by city and county crews. County road and bridge employees completed the dirt work for the project while the city's street crews paved the parking area.

Airport Manager Bruce McKenzie estimates the entire project when finished next month, including lights and gated access, will have cost less than $80,000, and airport board members are hoping the parking area will begin generating revenue for the city- and county-supported facility.

Last year, the airport's budget received a $200,000 supplement from the city and the county, $100,000 each. That number was reduced to $180,000, or $95,000 each, for the budget year that started Oct. 1, and the airport board has been challenged to keep reducing its dependency on local tax dollars.

To accomplish that, the board has been looking for new sources of revenue, such as the parking lot, which will cost a monthly fee to use. With the current 16 T-hangars owned by the airport already leased, and airplane owners on a waiting list to get in at the first available opening, the airport board has proposed constructing an additional 20 hangars to add to the revenue.

Earlier this year, the airport board was presented with a plan that included a $2 million price tag.

"The cost of the project I saw was just. ..." King said.

"Stunning," said airport board member Ed Livermore.

"Stunning. That's a good word," King said. "I would like to have 20 new hangars, but it didn't look like we were getting the value out of them that we expected for the cost."

King, board member Tom Moser and McKenzie went back to work and looked at alternatives to reduce the cost. They already were looking at funding the project largely with grants from the Texas Department of Transportation with local matching dollars, but they also considered asking the city and county to contribute labor.

"It is going to require some cooperation," King said.

Airport board members say that, although there is a waiting list for people to get into a T-hangar, there is no guarantee they will fill 20 new hangars the day they are complete. Many of those people on the waiting list currently rent spaces in Fredericksburg or San Antonio.

However there still is local demand. According to City Manager Todd Parton, there are 14 corporate jets on the tax rolls housed at the Kerrville airport, and Kerrville Aviation owner Joey Kennedy told the board that three plane owners rented space in his large hangar in the past 30 days. Those owners likely would move into an individual T-hangar if they were available.

Airport board members say part of their job moving forward on the project is to make sure people understand the value of the local airport. Livermore cited himself as an example, noting that 10 years ago he was torn between retiring to Savannah, Ga., and Kerrville. A pilot himself, Livermore said the deciding factor was when a T-hangar became available to lease at the Kerrville airport, a lease he continues today.

The airport board took no action Wednesday on the proposal, but members noted the Fredericksburg airport just completed construction of 10 new hangars. King said funding sources still have to be secured, and McKenzie said grant funds won't be available for at least another year.

Copyright 2012 - Kerrville Daily Times, Texas