The Dunn County Airport Authority hopes a master plan, feasibility study and conceptual plan for the Killdeer airport is finished by 2015.

April 12--The Dunn County Airport Authority hopes a master plan, feasibility study and conceptual plan for the Killdeer airport is finished by 2015.

Phil Askerlund, who is handling the feasibility study, said the commission could expect the Airport Authority to request an additional 2 mills at that point.

"They want to get the airport open, usable so people can use the runway and land their aircraft," he said. "This airport can be whatever you want it to be. Create something to fit your needs as the county expands."

Askerlund said the feasibility study consisted of an existing facility inventory, the location, local business survey, local to national funding sources and outline facility requirements from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as airport facility recommendations.

Askerlund met face to face with perspective users of the airport from Dickinson to the north end of Killdeer.

"I asked if I could send them an online survey and 20 people said they would love to fill it out. I had five that actually did," he said. "The interesting thing is that all 20 business owners were all excited about it. Three of the 20 owned their own aircraft or were in the fractional ownership and said they would use the airport."

Several airport upgrades will likely be done as part of a two-phase project. Phase I could take five to six years.

"The major portion of that is a 425-foot section of runway that needs fixed and about 40 percent of the lights are working so the rest need fixed, and there needs to be some method for refueling aircraft," he said.

Larry Frei, a pilot in Halliday, likes the airport concept but has questions.

"If we lose (the Dunn County airport) now, we'll never get it," he said. "For a lot of communities with this kind of development, airports are important. However, with that said, I seriously question how you can generate income to make that happen."

That is Commissioner Reinhardt Hauck's question too.

In 1981, Hauck started as county auditor and he said the Airport Authority "was pretty good."

"But I watched it go back the other direction," said Hauck, who retired as auditor last year to run for commission. "I was treasurer for the Airport Authority for probably 10 years and we struggled. There were a lot of comments that nothing was happening and we struggled getting grants. We finally shut it down. It's a money pit, unless it's run right."

Askerlund said he discussed it with the five-member Airport Authority.

"I said, look, you guys have a responsibility to use those dollars you are getting right now," Askerlund said. "If you guys don't have a plan to make this successful, market it properly, if they give you the 4 mills and it starts to go downhill, they're not going to keep giving you 4 mills."

Askerlund said the Airport Authority is looking for state and federal funding sources too, like National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, Small Community Air Service Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It could take three years to register with NPIAS, which Askerlund said could generate about $150,000 a year.

First, the Airport Authority must make a few things happen:

- There must be 10 aircraft based at the airport within the first year of operation. Askerlund said a list was compiled of pilots who agree to base their aircraft at the airport if the facility is upgraded.

- The facility must be publicly owned.

- It has to be incorporated by the state aeronautics commission after upgrades.

- It must service a community that's within 30 minutes or more of average ground travel from a community.