Airport Trust Authority Says No to Land Transfer

Members of the Grove Municipal Airport Authority voted to not approve a request from the Grove Industrial Development Authority to transfer ownership of a parcel of land on the airport's East side, for future industrial development. The board wants to hold it for future hanger use, as it is the only piece of undeveloped property it currently owns.

The vote at Monday's regular meeting was 4-0 with member David Adzigian voting to abstain. The land in question was part of an FAA grant purchase in 1998, and at that time owned by GIDA; later it was transferred to the airport trust authority "because they asked for it."
Last summer the board wanted to purchase 59 acres of land owned by Mike Prather on the west side of the airport but grant money and local bank loan could not be accomplished prior to the deadline date.

Prather now has a contract for 25 acres from a developer wishing to build housing on the land at a price range from $100,000 to $120,000; Prather has kept another 10 acres off market, but combined with the 23 acres left, would total 33 acres.
The trust authority approved entering into a contract to purchase this land, subject to Council approval. The authority has $250,000 in grant money available, which on July 1 rolls over into the next fiscal year.

The board noted that if this land is not purchased, the airport could not expand as there is nothing else left.
Meanwhile, the price keeps rising, now to $6160 per acre, the board noted.

Grove Airport Survey Results Revealed

Results of a survey of 48 airports in the region were revealed at this week's airport trust authority meeting showing Grove Municipal Airport pretty much in the middle of the group.
Board member David Adzigian spent several weeks tabulating the questionnaire, sent out in April by airport manager Terry Abercrombie.

Since all questions were not answered by all airports surveyed, the results are based on responses to each question. Here is a summary:

How many based aircraft? Of 40 respondents, seven had 100 or more; 10 had 45 or more; 23 had 37 or fewer. Grove has 60.
Annual operating expenses? Of 30 respondents, the average was $200,000/year at 21 airports. Grove is $266,000.
City/County funded? Of 41 respondents, 22 receive funding, 19 do not. Range is $2,500 to $200,000 with five being 100% funded. Grove is $46,200, or 17% of the total budget.
Of the 40 respondents, 11 offer full and self service fueling, 24 offer full service only, and five offer self service only.
Fuel markup for LL100 surveyed respondents was an average of 58 cents per gallon; Grove is now 60 cents; for Jet A, average markup is 81 cents, while Grove is 60 cents minimum.
Charges for T Hangar fees ranged from $16.67 a month at Vinita to $600 a month at Wiley Post, with Grove charging from $65 to $135 a month. For airports with multiple rates there were seven airports who charge from $121.91 to $183.70 while the average for single rate airports is $87.68. Some 35 airports have a waiting list for T hangers, including Grove.
Of 41 airports, 31 have other hanger rentals while 10, including Grove, had none.
The airport board agreed to study the results before discussing it any further but congratulated Adzigian on a job well done. Two agenda items were tabled until the next regular meeting as a result of the survey, including T Hangar rental rates and land lease rates.