MidAmerica Airport Requests Funding Hike
Budget Calls For $500,000 Increase To $6.6 Million Total
Belleville, IL (November 17, 2000) -- MidAmerica St. Louis Airport turns 4 years old in 2001, but airport officials are already asking St. Clair County for $124,000 to repaint yellow safety markings on the runway.
That is one requested item on a proposed budget airport Director Floyd "Rick" Hargrove presented to the county's Public Building Commission at its Thursday meeting.
The preliminary 2001 budget calls for a $500,000 increase to $6.6 million, although Pan Am airline, which started flying out of the airport this year, would repay the county $300,000 for labor costs, reducing the budget to $6.3 million.
County records show the airport lost $10.8 million in 1999. In 1998, the airport lost $7.3 million. Figures showing the airport's financial performance in 2000 will be released next year. The runway was last painted when the airport opened in 1997.
Commission member James Nations wondered whether the painting had to be done every four or five years and whether the work could wait until 2002. "That is an example of the kind of thing we will be evaluating (when reviewing the proposed budget)," Nations said.
The clarity of the markings is a safety concern and will determine when the repainting must be done, Hargrove said.
"The commission deferred action on the budget to its December 21 meeting, when it is expected to approve the final budget. Nations said changes can and probably will be made to the budget before the December meeting.
Hargrove also wants another fuel truck for the airport, which would be leased for nearly $250,000 over a seven year period. Currently, the airport has a fuel truck with a 5,000 gallon tank.
If airport workers have to completely fuel a Pan Am Boeing 727, which requires 15,000 gallons of fuel, they have to make three trips to and from a fuel supply station on the north side of the airport. The new fuel truck would have an 8,000 gallon tank, and would allow crews to keep fueling planes if one truck breaks. "If one breaks, I can't refuel airplanes," Hargrove said.
Here are some of the other proposed budget items:
- $47,000 in real estate taxes due to St. Clair County.
- $73,000 in trash cleanup costs, which includes disposal of de-icing fluid.
- $210,000 for electricity at the airport.
- $225,000 for potential design and engineering work.
- $364,453 for maintenance of airport facilities, which includes airfield lighting, terminal repair and maintenance and airfield pavement maintenance, among other things.
The proposed $225,000 for engineering would only be spent if the work is needed, Hargrove said. The airport must pay real estate taxes to the county on land it uses for non aviation-related purposes, he said.
Gary-Chicago Airport in Indiana, another airport Pan Am serves, is proposing a $2.15 million operating budget for 2001. That does not include a maintenance hangar, which the city of Gary pays for with casino revenue. Also, the airport receives money from property tax revenues.
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
David Van Den Berg Article © Belleville News-Democrat
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