Wood County Airport Authority discusses projects, approach
Trending
WILLIAMSTOWN -- The Wood County Airport Authority met Tuesday morning to discuss airport updates involving projects, property leases and the possibility of drilling for natural gas.
The airport is working on the precision approach path indicator, a visual aid to help pilots land a plane.
Previously, the PAPI had a tree obstruction which was removed but after a flight check, there was a terrain obstruction on one side.
"The only possible fix is to re-engineer the approach. I'm waiting on the email from the flight check team before I move forward," airport manager Glen Kelly said. "It's a pretty big undertaking."
The construction of two roofs is expected to be completed by Feb. 15 but Kelly said there have been some weather delays.
The LED lighting project is estimated to begin March 1 with the work continuing through June.
Last month, the Wood County Airport Authority approved a mineral lease to drill for natural gas after receiving a $50,000 grant from the Wood County Commission for an erosion study.
Kelly said they will continue with that in the beginning of March.
The fuel farm had a few issues that needed to be addressed but Kelly said most of them have been taken care of and everything is coming along smoothly.
The funding for the maintenance to the fuel farm came in part from the $12,500 grant from the state which was originally planned for marketing but it was announced those funds could also be used for safety improvement.
A man who leased a piece of property the airport owns at the industrial park passed away and the airport authority is going to discuss the transfer of the land to the man's heir.
"It's airport property which is almost impossible to sell, the Federal Aviation Administration has to approve it," Kelly said. "This was leased many years ago. We just need to go through the process and get it transferred. That has to go through the airport authority because it involves the leases."
There were 221 emplanements in January which is down from 441 in January 2020.
Fuel sales reached 22,211 for the month which is down from last year but that is due to the deployment of the West Virginia National Guard.
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.