Airport faces challenge in retaining MoDOT grant

The crux of the issue is that the transportation grant requires there be a minimum of 10 aircrafts based at an airport. Salem has nine, and that may jeopardize Salem’s eligibility for the grant.

The City of Salem rents hangars to house aircraft and, currently, there is one lessee the airport board has yet to hear from. The lease agreement requires that an airworthy plane must occupy each hangar. As far as anyone on the board is aware, there has been no airworthy craft come in or out of that hangar.

The City of Salem as the lessor reserves the right to enter any of the hangars for inspection and maintenance purposes, according to the wording of the current lease agreement. At present, the hangar in question has a lock belonging to the lessee.

Chris Holliday, who is one of the lessees, said that if it is a matter of having enough aircraft housed at the airport, he has another craft that he would be able to base out of the Salem Municipal Airport.

Additionally, there is a waiting list for pilots who want to house planes in Salem, including Antonin Bohac, who is at the top of that waiting list and is awaiting a hangar. Bohac was present at the meeting to voice his concern to the airport advisory board.

Also at the meeting:

• Naramore asked director of public works Mark Nash about the status of a number of transformers that need to arrive in order to get the rest of the lights operational at the airport.

“The transformers have arrived,” said Nash.

• The board also reviewed bids for a new gas pump. One of the bids was for $19,000 and the other was $14,000, with each sum including its installation fee.

Naramore asked Nash if it would be possible to get replacement parts for the Gasboy fuel pump. Nash told Naramore and the board, yes.

The favored bid was for the $14,000 Gasboy because it is the more affordable option and because several of the board members and lessees are familiar with the brand from using pumps at other airports. Also, according to Police Chief Joe Chase (who spoke to the board over the phone), there would be no wait time on acquiring the Gasboy, and the company has a presence in close by Jefferson City.

Naramore asked Chase to look into pricing a grounding cable for the Gasboy as well as to look into receipt printing options.

The board agreed to recommend the bid to the board of aldermen for approval.

• Board member Harold Tubbs asked if the fuel-pumping limit could be raised. All of the pilots expressed frustration with the pump shutting off at 30 gallons, meaning that in order for any of them to fuel up completely, they have to run their credit card multiple times, incurring a fee each time.

• The board also discussed a replacement gate opener with a three quarter horsepower to one horsepower motor for approximately $2,800.

• The board also voted to raise hangar rates $10 more per year over the next five years to help offset some of the maintenance costs at the airport.

• City administrator Ray Walden reported that a company came to inspect for termite damage.

• The board also generally discussed how to make the Salem Municipal Airport more attractive and useful to pilots, including possible improvements to the pilot’s lounge. Naramore shared that city leadership reported tourism funding might also be available for a project like this.