LIMA — Allen County commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday to permit the Allen County Airport Authority to apply for a $4.26 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to renovate its runway.
“Even though it was a mild winter, last winter had a severe impact on the cracks in our runway,” airport board President John Newman said. “A group of people from the FAA out of Detroit came down to examine it. We had planned to redo the runway in a couple of years, but once they came down and viewed it, they said that we should get it done now because we didn’t want to get into a reconstruction rather than a rehab.”
The terms of the grant call for a 10 percent match on funding, but half that match would be provided at the state level, leaving the county responsible for $213,000, or 5 percent, of that grant.
“The airport will be able to supply a portion of that,” Newman said. “We’re very fortunate to have that. We’re getting over $4 million for a contribution of $213,000.”
The project would involve removing 1.5 inches of the pavement surface, repairing any cracks in the subsurface and repaving the runway. Newman said the investment is sorely needed, with the airport aiding the county economically.
“Everybody who comes in there usually is doing business with the county,” he said. “If they couldn’t come in, it would be detrimental to the county.”
Newman is very confident that the grant will be approved once submitted, meaning the airport would be temporarily shut down to local traffic.
“We hope to begin work in August,” he said. “It will affect operations at the airport for about 45 days. Anybody that has a plane there that needs to fly during that time will probably have to go somewhere else to house it for a month or two.”
Newman hopes to receive approval of the grant within 10 days of submitting the application.
