Airport continues to receive good news
The Boone County Regional Airport is excited about the growth and grants received recently.
At the November meeting, Airport Manager Judy McCutcheon announced they had been chosen for a $7 million grant to build a new terminal adjacent to the current 58-year-old facility.
“We currently have 18 enclosed hangars with a waiting list of 23 pilots. So we are combining State and Federal grants to provide an enclosed 10-bay hangar,” she said. “A state grant will cover four bays, and the federal grant will cover the six bays.”
McCutcheon explained that Boone County is covering the $800,000 portion of the grant that will be repaid upon project completion. “We are very grateful for their support and help with our projects,” she said.
“In May 2024, we were awarded two grants from the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics, a 90/10 grant of $500,000 for a four-bay hangar. Then, we were awarded an 80/20 grant for $300,000 for site development, utilities, and asphalt. North Arkansas College will provide the 20% of in-kind services, which will save us $75,000 and give their class of Heavy Equipment students some great hands-on experience,” McCutcheon said.
“It’s a $1.8 million project, and the airport will only be out $65,000. We will get the return on our investment pretty quickly. Hangars rent for approximately $290 a month,” she said.
McCutcheon explained that the federal grant has not been awarded yet, as the project had to go out for bid before we applied for the federal share.
The money for airport improvements does not come from local taxpayers. “The state grants come from aviation fuel sales tax collected from Arkansas airports. The federal share is funded by the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which receives revenue from taxes on airplane tickets, aviation fuel, and air freight. The federal grant can cover 75–95% of eligible costs.
The 2024 bids were opened for a 10-bay T-Hangar at the November board meeting. They received three bids, with Integrity Construction of Harrison being awarded the contract with a low bid of $1,456,216.50.
Combining state and federal grants has never been done. This has been a joint effort with Greg Thomas of Garver Engineering, McCutcheon, the FAA project manager, and Jerry Chism, Director of the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics.
Photo Credit: Judy McCutcheon. Soil samples must be taken before the new hangers can be built.
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
