The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport Board approved a motion Tuesday night to bid a project to repair damaged aircraft hangars.
Airport Director Dean Selby said the repairs would be for a total of 12 hangars on rows A and B. Selby said the hangars are some of the oldest the airport has, and have needed repairs for some time.
“Those two hangar rows in particular are really in rough shape,” Selby said. “The metal is torn up, and some places the foundation is crumbling. We are getting to the point where we are gonna have to repair them, or we are gonna lose them.”
The board questioned where funding for the repairs would come from, as a quote to repair all 12 hangars would cost an estimated $60,000. Selby said the challenge the airport faces is possibly raising hangar rates to cover the cost.
“Even at that kind of price, the hangars barely pay their way,” Selby said. “The seven-year payout on them is over $100 per hangar that we would have to generate extra revenue just to pay for that. They have never covered the cost of just the repairs on it with just hangar rents. It’s been hard for me to justify diverting revenue that the FBO generates or that ground leases generate to supplement these hangar repairs, and that’s one reason why they have been put off so long.”
Selby suggested breaking down the repairs into different phases to split up the cost over time. The board ultimately decided to bid the entire project after a suggestion from Board Member Randy Porter.
“I would do a bid to fix them all, and let’s see what it comes back at,” Porter said. “I mean, piece milling it, it’s never gonna get done, and then you don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”
Selby said hangar rates are not designed to make money but to cover maintenance costs and also ensure the airport has enough aircraft to meet FAA requirements. Board Member Nate Maxwell said hangar rates should have been raised to accommodate repair projects when the hangars were built.
“I don’t know how much money has been spent on them in the last 50 years on an annual basis,” Maxwell said. “But I feel like a lot of me being a pilot, also in Hangar B, if our rents are going up, we are going to be like, ‘Why are we getting hit with all this suddenly?’ It should have been going for 50 years, not 2025 or 2026.”
Selby said more hangar improvements and repairs are also needed. Board Member Chad Marcum said he thinks it would be good for the airport to form a plan showing what revenue from hangar rates goes toward, should they raise hangar rates.
“Have a plan, this is what we are doing with that additional revenue, regenerating from these to make these repairs and upgrades, and not just band-aid them, but actually, you know, do something good,” Marcum said.
In other business, Selby said the USDA recently completed a wildlife assessment of the airport. Selby said the assessment suggested removing two wetlands and finding ways to control wildlife. Selby said one pilot hit a vulture and the incident caused an estimated $100,000 in damages.
Selby said some threshold lights that have been out for two years have finally been replaced. Selby said some ramp-side area lights have been struck by lightning and that he has ordered some replacement lights.
Selby said the airport has not received a contract yet for a ramp expansion project. Selby said he is not sure what the holdup is, but hopes to receive a contract soon.
Selby said fuel sales were up in October compared to last year.