City Council hears airport annual report

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council heard an annual report presentation on the Van Wert County Regional Airport and also looked at the mileage reimbursement policy for city officials during a series of meetings held Monday evening in Council Chambers.

Airport Manager Tom Dunno attended the Council meeting and presented the airport’s annual report to Council members during a special meeting held prior to the regular meeting of City Council.

Dunno first talked about the airport’s history, which goes back to 1927 when an airport was first established on Ohio 118. That airport was dedicated to Richard B. Reed, the first Van Wert soldier to die in World War I.

The airport was later moved to its present site on Leeson Avenue on April 9, 1934. Dunno noted that the City of Van Wert owns 143 acres of airport land, with the Van Wert County Regional Airport Authority owning another 79.42 acres and air rights to the airport. The Airport Authority also operates the facility, with the city leasing out its portion of the airport to that entity.

Dunno said that, while aviation growth nationally is expected to be static, significant growth is expected over the next 20 years, with “general aviation’s demand for products and services to be mainly in new business jets and light-sport aircraft,” according to an annual forecast from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Sources of income for the airport include fuel sales, which Dunno said “vary greatly” over a period of time; lease of acreage for farming; hangar rental/tie-down; FAA grants, which include a 10 percent local match; aircraft rental; landing fees; private donations; and city and county funding.

Expenses include grant local matches, salaries (one full-time, one part-time), insurance, vendors (fuel, office, parts), building and hangar maintenance, equipment expense and maintenance, fuel farm maintenance, groundskeeping, runways, snow removal, Aviation Weather Observing System (AWOS) purchase and maintenance and the cost of being a non-directional beacon navigational facility.

Dunno also addressed what needs to be done in the future to maintain the airport as a viable community asset.

The airport manager said zoning was an important part of maintaining the airport, but noted that zoning hasn’t been a priority for local planners. “Airport zoning at Van Wert was enacted by resolution as early as 1971, yet has not, in my opinion, been afforded the urgency it demands,” Dunno said, adding that, in the absence of a true airport zoning board, the Van Wert County Board of Commissioners is the zoning board for the airport.

Dunno also noted that master planning is a key to maintaining the airport and that the airport master plan should be “an active and living plan that is reviewed and amended as often as needed.”

Goals for the airport are, first, self-sufficiency; second, a visionary and workable airport layout plan; third, a better of understanding of grants for planning and funding to cover expansion needs; fourth, a way to accelerate debt repayment; fifth, establishment of a development fund; and, sixth, add and fund another airport employee.

Also Monday, City Council gave approval to the Van Wert County Fair Board to have a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter from the Ohio National Guard land at the fairgrounds during Veterans Day at this year’s Van Wert County Fair. Fair Board member Ann Marshall brought the request to Council.

Members of Council’s Finance Committee, among others, also discussed the city policy on mileage reimbursement for city officials, more specifically the policy regarding the city-owned car provided to mayors.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat brought up the issue again, stating that the policy is not clear and needs to be amended.

City Law Director John Hatcher agreed, although he noted that the reimbursement definition is well written. Otherwise, there are definite problems with the policy, he noted.

“The policy is all over the place,” the law director told Council members, adding that the definition of “city official” definitely needs clarification.

The end result of the discussion was that legislation will be prepared changing the word “shall” in the ordinance on providing a vehicle to mayors to “may”, which would allow mayors the choice of driving a city-owned vehicle or their own personal vehicle.

Mayor Don Farmer, who drove the city-owned vehicle during his first term as mayor, now prefers to drive his personal vehicle on city business. The ordinance amendment would also provide reimbursement to him for city business at the current IRS reimbursement rate of 55.5 cents per mile.

Following a brief meeting of the Water and Sewer Committee, legislation was adopted during the regular meeting to allow Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming to bid and award contracts for sanitary sewer replacement on a portion of Center Street.

A then and now certificate was also approved to pay the cost of upgrades to the Van Wert Fire Department’s Ladder 1 fire truck.

Mayor Farmer also had positive news related to income tax receipts, noting that income tax revenues were up $12,000 in March and $107,200 year to-date.