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WILLIAMSTOWN -- The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport is seeing progress with projects, coronavirus recovery and economic impact.
The Wood County Airport Authority met Tuesday to discuss these updates and airport manager Glen Kelly said he is pleased with the airport's success.
The airport landed a No. 3 spot in the state for the aeronautics economic impact study.
"All the work that was done on the projects certainly had a major impact along with the industrial park," Kelly said. "It was a great year for us for projects and we came out at number three, I think that's huge. We're discussing some other things as a result."
A majority of the LED lighting project is complete but weather and other unforeseen issues have caused delays. Kelly said the last component of the project should be finished in August.
"There's a new controller that has to be constructed. Our LED contractor found another gas line which actually cut the gas line to the terminal. What they knocked, they fixed. It had been leaking and we didn't know it," Kelly said.
With the new lighting, bulbs won't have to be replaced as often and electricity costs will go down, authority member Terry Moore said.
"We won't have to buy bulbs as often and the electricity should come down 30 to 50 percent. It's a safer system, it cuts that way down," Moore said. "I think it's very exciting to get this LED lighting to make us look like a newer airport."
The airport applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan and Kelly said he is expecting approval soon.
"It kept us in the black this year. Even though I cut down the spending in a lot of places, it did enable us to stay in the black. Had we not, we would have been in the red slightly. I'm very happy those were allowed," Kelly said.
There were 641 emplacements in June, which is up 200 from 2019.
"I think (it) is phenomenal. We expect to hit 700 this month," Kelly said.
Fuel sales were also up from the 2020 numbers with 28,838 gallons sold in June.
"It is a trend I like to see," Kelly said. "I'm just thrilled with the fact that we have the number one airline in the country and we're trending up there as absolutely one of the best airports in the state. I think that's something we should all be proud of."
Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.