ASHLAND — The Ashland County Airport Authority wants to build a new, revamped terminal and Ashland County Commissioners are keen on seeing if money from American Rescue Plan Act could cover some of the cost.
Authority trustee Tom Zupan said Thursday the proposed 2,200 square-foot building would cost around $572,000 to build.
“Without ARP, we wouldn’t consider this. I mean, it’s half-a-million dollars,” said Commissioner Denny Bittle.
Commissioners are hopeful the county’s $10.4 million ARP allocation will be able to be tapped into for the project. They said further research is needed in order to determine that, though.
Zupan made the authority’s proposal during an Ashland County Commissioners meeting on Thursday. He said the terminal, an “undersized” 900 square-foot building from 1972, is “not compliant with building codes and is absolutely dilapidated.”
“Moreover, it is not even close to being compliant with CDC-recommended COVID-19 building specifications,” Zupan said.
Zupan said a new terminal would help the airport authority secure leases and different deals similar to Aerohio, a recreational skydiving center. He said pitches to Ashland University for a flight school have failed, along with a pitch to the Ohio State Highway Patrol to use the airport as a post for its aviation section.
The plans for a new terminal align with the authority’s longterm goals for development there. In 2019, the county acquired land that, if funding allows, would connect the airport with an access road to and from U.S. Route 42.
Zupan said the airport awaits to hear from the Federal Aviation Administration on a grant application for that project, which he estimated to cost between $400,000 and $500,000.
“That is our number-one FAA grant request,” Zupan said, adding it would cover around 95% of the cost. He said construction would begin in 2023 if the FAA approves the grant request.
Redeveloping the airport is an important piece to the county’s overall economic development, Commissioner Michael Welch said.
Currently, the airport hosts a flight school and other aviation-related companies.
One company stores eight airplanes there for its pipe-inspection operations.
In May 2020, Aerohio decided to relocate to the airport. Zupan said the addition has been a boon to the airport as the company purchases fuel sold by the airport.
“The largest line item of income the airport authority has is fuel sales. Last year, Aerohio bought 23,000 gallons. So our income doubled for fuel sales for bringing them onto the field,” Zupan said.
The airport also sees recreational fliers land there from time to time, Zupan said. He said businesses from Ashland also use the airport for corporate travel.
Monthly and annual events also bring “thousands of people” to the airport, he said.
“When you have people come into the airport, that is the face of the airport. And a new building would be enticing. I know that when you look at criteria points with businesses looking to move into your area, a viable airport is extremely important,” Welch said.
