Airport Committee, Pilots Recap Fly-In Success

By DIANNE ALWARD-BIERY

Cleaver Senior Staff Writer

HARRISON – The May 21 meeting of the Clare County Airport Committee started off with approval of the agenda, meeting minutes of April 22, and the Airport Manager’s Report. Lori Phelps, interim airport manager, reported the airport’s tractor had been serviced and is operational; the snowblower had been serviced and is ready for winter; the mower….. She also noted her Airport 101 training is “going fine.”

Under Old Business, work on Turf Runway 9/27 is still on track for August which will include leveling, fertilizing and seeding of an area estimated at 5,000 square feet. Also on the list is survey and staking of the airport property to include Lot A (007-272-000-01), Outlot B (007-272-000-02), and the new south entrance. It was noted by Commissioner Gabe Ambrozaitis that the Multi-Unit Agreement draft has been completed.

New Business items included the MDOT lighting and crack sealing/marking grants which likely would be presented again the next day at the Clare County Board of Commissioners meeting. [See that BOC meeting story elsewhere in this issue.]

That led into an after-action review of the previous weekend’s Fly-in/Dawn Patrol, and various suggestions regarding parking, table/canopy placements and the likely adequate number of portable toilets. A lot of helpful observations and suggestions were made, all aimed at making the tentatively scheduled Oct. 4 Fly-In/Dawn Patrol event problem-free and successful.

This meeting was notable for a variety of reasons. First was the full complement of committee members in attendance: Gabe Ambrozaitis, David Hoefling and Rickie Fancon [who hasn’t attended since March 2024]. Second was the attendance of Commissioner George Gilmore: notable because his frequent denigration of the airport as a waste of his constituents’ money because they see no benefit locally was replaced by constructive, problem-solving suggestions for generating airport cash flow.

Gilmore had attended the Fly-In, but due to the cold, misty weather had chosen to remain in his vehicle; however, he said he used that time to come up with the aforementioned constructive ideas for increasing airport usage. They included increasing hangar lease rents [which had already been done recently]; volunteer offered plane tune-ups; introductory teaser flying lessons to entice interest; selling a $50 meal which would include a plane ride/pilot-donated plane rides. It was noted that to provide rides to the public requires the pilot to have a commercial license, and that selling meals [as is done at some Dawn Patrols] would constitute undercutting the Airport Restaurant, which is leased from the county.

Gilmore also suggested the idea of county-funded hangars built with local business support of materials and some labor. He even offered to serve as the general contractor for such a project, and that he was “more than willing to help. Ambrozaitis observed that previous T-Hangar [for 10 aircraft] pricing was $1 million – although there would be no requirement to construct one that large.

Gilmore continued, noting he would feel better about spending the county’s money to support the airport if the community had some “skin in the game.”

Fancon added that he thought things could be made better and that its time for everybody to pitch in. Ambrozaitis reiterated that “It’s a great opportunity.” He went on to describe the next steps after the MDOT funded lighting and runways work, which would be taxiways. The taxiways cost was cited as $414,000 and that he believed other grant dollars could be pursued, possibly as an 80:20 match.

Pilot Tom Stier voiced his thought that people are willing to participate if they see the county is committed, and that businesses would come to the airport if there is a commitment of support from the county. Fancon stated that he would like to see letters of intent from businesses, nothing binding, but letters that show a business’s committed interest in investing there.

The Airport Committee meets next at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 24 in the BOC Room of the Clare County Building, 225 W. Main St. in Harrison.