ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners on Thursday gave the green light to the construction of a new, $1.5 million airport terminal.
The green light came in the form of funding.
Most of that money — $770,400 — comes from the county’s $10.4 million allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Other sources for the project include:
- $482,826 from the county’s capital projects budget
- $103,773 from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency fund, a U.S. Treasury program
The Ashland County Airport Authority also received a $150,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation in early 2022.
The authority received four bids from area contractors, according to Tom Zupan, a trustee for the airport authority. Ultimately, it chose Simonson Construction to build it under the state’s “design-build” process, which combines the design and construction of a project into one contract.
Commissioner President Denny Bittle said the project’s cost is $1.45 million, with a contingency of 10%.
Ashland County Auditor Cindy Funk, in attendance at Thursday’s meeting, expressed concern with which entity will pay for “cost over” expenses — the county or the airport authority.
She used the recently completed dog shelter as an example.
“I mean that was proposed, and it went way over,” Funk said.
Initial official estimates put the dog shelter’s price at $1.5 million. When finished, the project amounted to $3.5 million, according to county records.
Commissioner Mike Welch said he didn’t know who would pay for expenses that spill over the estimate.
“I don’t know that answer, at this point. I think we have to wait and see how the project get’s moving. Because it’s kind of a guessing game,” he said.
Zupan said they would cross that bridge when they come to it.
“But the whole concept of design build is to hit the budget,” he said.
The ‘spirit of aviation’
The approximately 4,000 square-foot terminal building’s look attempts to capture “the spirit of aviation,” said Brad Adams, owner of VSWC Architects, the firm tapped for design.
“We had some traditional designs, but ultimately we coalesced around a very unique statement-type building — very contemporary in its styling,” Adams said.
The architect said the front of the building depicts two wings with angled soffits and tapered columns to reference a plan’s landing gear. On top, a skylight hearkens to a plane’s canopy.
Inside, the terminal will feature a wing dedicated to a “part 141” flight school, equipped with three flight simulators and two or three offices for trainers.
The FAA regulates flight schools under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. “Part 141” outlines a “structured training program and syllabus.”
“Part 141 pilot schools may be able to provide a greater variety of training aids and require dedicated training facilities, flight instructor oversight, and FAA-approved course curricula. Colleges and universities, which may offer aviation degrees, often provide pilot training under part 141,” reads an FAA description of the flight school.
The building will also feature a pilot lounge and a community room large enough to host groups of up to 30 people, a bathroom with a shower and a public restroom.
Thursday’s approval means Simonson can begin construction this summer. Zupan said the plan is to move into the new terminal by spring of 2025.
Officials have said the airport’s current 900 square-foot terminal, built in 1972, is undersized and dilapidated. It is unclear, at this point, what the airport authority plans to do with the current building.
A ‘home run’
The airport authority’s main source of income, as of now, is fuel sales, Zupan said. But the addition of a flight school — a for-profit operation — would create a new revenue stream, he said.
He said several universities have expressed interest in partnering with the authority to operate a flight school. Such partnership, he said, would mean the university would rent the educational space.
Zupan also alluded to a possible partnership with companies that offer medical evacuations via helicopters, another source of income.
The commissioners unanimously agreed the project could serve as an economic boost to the area.
“This is one really huge project for the future of the county,” Bittle said, adding the new terminal will serve as a good introduction to Ashland when newcomers make a stop.
“I think it’s just a home run,” he said.
Connector to U.S. Route 42
Connecting the airport to U.S. Route 42 has been in the works since 2020, when initial estimates for the road came in at $400,000.
But “it ain’t gonna happen this year,” Zupan said.
He said that estimate has now swelled to $1.6 million, according to an engineering firm’s estimate.
The land for the project, 25 acres, was acquired five years ago through FAA grants, Zupan said.
The airport authority also received a $75,000 grant from the FAA in August 2022, which covered the cost of engineering the road.