Columbus Municipal Airport is moving forward with its plans to build new single-engine aircraft hangars, after a 3-1 vote by the aviation board to approve construction.
The plan is to build a large unit with seven individual hangar spaces on the north end of the five acres at the northeast corner of Arnold Street and Andrews Street. The hangars are to be 33-feet by 45 feet.
Board president Mark Pillar said that the airport plans to rent these hangars at $275 per month with a Consumer Price Index adjustment every five years. Airport director Brian Payne said that electricity and gas service are not included in the monthly cost.
The board voted to approve the construction at a special meeting on Sept. 28. Aviation commissioners Pillar, James Euler and Brad Davis voted in favor of starting construction. Doug Van Klompenburg voted against it. Commissioner Dick Gaynor was present for some of the meeting’s discussion but not for the vote.
The contractor hired for building the seven-hangar unit is Dunlap & Company, Inc. Dunlap’s original base bid was $1.04 million and its original alternate bid was $865,000. However, after removing and rethinking some of the work, the airport was able to reduce the cost to $779,430.
Overall, the hangar project’s total cost is about $1.17 million. The airport recently received $393,277 in tax increment financing funds from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission that will go toward the ground work for the hangar project. Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc, will be the contractor for that part of the project, which includes grading and asphalt work for the building site and parking lot.
Payne said that the airport will also need to go before city council to appropriate money for the project into their 2020 budget. He said the first reading for these appropriations will likely be at city council’s Oct. 20 meeting; two readings are required for approval.
The main debate at the Sept. 28 meeting was over whether or not the project was financially responsible, given the amount of time it would take for the airport to break even.
“If we charge $275 per unit (per month), and we increase by CPI adjustment every five years … we’re looking at year 27 for our full break-even of our investment,” Payne said. “And that’s just our investment. Again, that’s not including the TIF dollars.”
However, both he and Pillar pointed out that there have been other projects that were not necessarily profitable but were ultimately good for the airport.
“What’s the rate of return on the terminal building?” said Pillar. “When’s it going to pay for itself? Never. But we did it because it’s the right thing to do. It was an investment in the airport that led to other investments in the airport.”
The Federal Aviation Administration, which recently provided a grant to the airport for its fence project, would see in an increase in based aircraft and operations as signs of a “more viable airport,” Payne said.
“And they’re much more willing to spend money at a viable airport that’s investing in itself than they are in an airport that has their hand out at all times,” he said.
Van Klompenburg, on the other hand, called the proposed hangar project an “irresponsible use of airport funding.”
“They’re really nice hangars, but I don’t think the economics work at all,” he said. “… I think we could get twice the number of ‘T’ hangars out of roughly the same investment. And that would be what I would consider serving the pilot community with something that gets it in the $150 to $200 range with reasonable economics. But we seem set on a path to create really wonderful hangars that nobody wants to rent.”
However, Payne said that of those surveyed about the new hangars, eight out of 21 respondents said they were ready to move in immediately. Three said they could move in six to 12 months, and another three said they could move in after 12 months. Seven respondents marked the question as “not applicable.”
He said that the survey respondents were most interested in paying $250 a month, but $275 was a close second.
He also said at the redevelopment commission meeting that the airport has almost 20 aircraft on its waiting list.
“Out of other airports around us — Shelbyville, Greenwood and Bloomington — out of all three of those airports, there is only one space available,” he said.
Pillar was positive about the project’s effects on the airport.
“It’s another move forward,” he said. “It’s another progressive move on our part to make the Columbus Airport more attractive.”
