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WILLIAMSTOWN -- COVID-19 relief, grants and projects were among the items discussed by the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Authority on Tuesday.
To bring the authority members up to date on all projects, airport Manager Glen Kelly reported the roof construction of the main terminal and general aviation buildings is complete and the LED lighting project began this week.
The LED project will include new wiring for the lights on the main runway, a new backup generator and some re-wiring for the electrical volt.
During the 2012 derecho, the generator at the airport powered the fuel farm and made it possible for first responders to have fuel.
"It was the only one working for quite some time. That generator was quite overloaded. It's over 25 years old," Kelly said.
The airport has a 5 percent match for the funding of the project and the state will cover 2.5 percent.
To help with COVID-19 relief, the airport received funding including payroll protection and Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act funds.
Kelly said the payroll protection money was beneficial and it kept the airport from going in the red with payroll due to the decrease in sales during the first quarter of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Everybody's numbers have dropped," he said.
Wood County Commissioner Blair Couch said the hope is the commission will be able to make up for the lost revenue due to the coronavirus. Couch said the commission is set to receive another round of C.A.R.E.S. funding and it will set aside around $60,000 or $80,000 for the airport
"My hope is before we look at diminished revenue, (we'll) see if that $8 million distribution will cover that," Couch said. "(We'll) work up the lost revenue between 2019 and 2020 and we'll see who will pay for that but one way or another, I think the airport will be made whole."
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.