Several projects have been completed, and several more are in the works. That’s according to officials with the Plymouth Municipal Airport.
Airport Director Dave Lattimer appeared before the Marshall County Council on Monday to discuss the airport’s plans and answer questions from taxpayers who may not otherwise get to receive updates by attending meetings in the City of Plymouth.
Lattimer says last year was a big year for the airport, rebuilding and widening the runway and spending $2.3-million for the project.
“We came in under budget by about one-quarter of a million dollars and some of that extra money is being spent for some drainage at the East end on the North side and there’s a noll that interferes with approaches, night approaches, down to the East end of the runway that’s going to be addressed in the next 30 days,” says Lattimer.
Besides the runway improvements, the airport has expressed an interest in developing a weather station at the site.
Each of the surrounding weather stations is around 30 miles away from Plymouth, making the setting ideal to better understand the local area. The Board of Aviation Commissioners has accepted bids for the project, and now the decision to move forward with installation and construction was anticipated this week.
The question, however, remains when it comes to extending the runway at the Plymouth Municipal Airport. Lattimer says standards have changed a bit.
“The insurance companies have jumped in the mix and they’re telling commercial operators that if you land somewhere less than 5-thousand feet and there’s an incident, there’s a chance you won’t be insured,” says Lattimer. “We’ve lost some of our traffic in the last couple of years, we’ve lost some of our traffic to Rochester because they do have 5-thousand feet.”
The Marshall County Council asked questions about the airport’s current use for business executives frequenting the county.
Lattimer continues to remind local elected representatives of the airport’s plans to request a road closure to extend the airport runway.
