Airport Board meeting reveals cuts in FAA funding for runway project, offers alternatives

The Dubois County Airport Board held their monthly meeting last night.

Airport Manager Travis McQueen reports that the Dubois County Flight Services has increased their fuel usage in January from 586 gallons in 2011 to 778 in 2012. McQueen says that the usage statistics provides one way to gauge economic movement and that they will follow the usage to see if flight activities increase during the year or decrease.

McQueen announced to the board that the FAA Funding Match for airport capital projects has been reduced from 95 to 90 percent. That means that the board will have to come up with an additional 5 percent for the runway project.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is also in the midst of figuring what their percentage of contribution will be in the future. At this point it is set at 2 ½ percent.

McQueen and Woolpert Engineering representative Chris Snyder told the board that Tiger Funding could be an alternative way to obtain money for a capital project for which the board can apply. Tiger is a Federal program which stands for: Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery fund.

In regards to the runway project the FAA is suggesting that the board submit a final proposal to them with primary and secondary choices for a new runway configuration.

The board picked a committee to work on the proposal. The committee members include board president Mike Cummins, and members Brett Yourgans and Raymie Eckerle along with Airport Manager Travis McQueen.

The White House has proposed a $100.00 fee for planes that fly Instrument Flight Rule every time they file a flight plan. Planes that are navigated solely by instruments and electronic signals file Instrument Flight Rule flight plans. McQueen says that this type of fee has been proposed before and has gotten turned down before reaching law stage.