Dubois County Airport Authority: New bathrooms a must for those about to bust

Refueling and de-fueling are the top priorities for visitors stopping at the Huntingburg airport on long flights, according to pilot Jim Kulbeth.

Kulbeth took advantage of the public portion of the Dubois County Airport Authority’s monthly meeting to talk about a “serious issue” at the airport.

“I think the airport authority needs to start looking at putting in a bathroom facility at the gas pump,” Kulbeth said.

He told the board that he had witnessed at least three incidents in the last three weeks in which aircraft had landed for fuel and after finding out the public restrooms were about 1,400 feet away at the public terminal, relieved themselves near the gas pumps.

Kulbeth said the incidents were “pretty embarrassing” for the airport before recounting a recent incident with a group of students from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University that stopped over for fuel at the airport.

“There were six or seven aircraft that came in here as a group from Embry-Riddle University,” Kulbeth said. “They made a long flight and there was two things on their mind: taking a pee and fuel. And, it was in that order.”

Kulbeth said after the group found out the bathroom was 1,400 feet west of the pump, “three or four of the guys said, ‘Screw that; it’s gonna be here because I can’t wait.’ It was rather embarrassing.”

He said that during long flights, the passengers and pilots pulling in for the great fuel prices at the Huntingburg Airport are finding it a burden to then go to the restroom so far away. He gave another instance in which a group pulled in and after finding out the bathrooms were so far away, took off running. “I jumped in the truck and went down and got them,” he said. “And the lady said, ‘Thank goodness because I don’t know if I would have made it.'”

Pilots pull their planes up to the pumps to refuel, and it is difficult to then move the plane down to the public terminal to take care of other business. The difficulty could turn customers away in the future.

“Sometimes when I’m (flying) across the country, I want to stop, get fuel, de-fuel and go,” Kulbeth said. “I don’t want to re-crank up, drive another 1,400 feet or make a mad dash. The more convenient it is, the more people you’re going to get popping in here.”

He added that the incidents inspired him to look into the cost to build a bathroom at the fuel pump area.

“It ain’t cheap,” Kulbeth said. “If you put in a double unit, it’s about 60,000 bucks. A half unit (unisex) would make it about $35,000. I think you seriously need to give it some consideration.”

Authority president Mike Cummings agreed with Kulbeth. “I think it is a great point,” he said. “It’s the most basic of services. It’s certainly worth looking into the options so we know.”

Airport manager Travis McQueen said in the interim, he would put the information about the bathroom facilities out on the various platforms and apps pilots use to determine services and fuel prices at fixed-based operations across the country.

McQueen pondered whether adding a golf cart for customers to use for transportation from the fuel pumps would be a bandaid to the issue for now.

Looking forward, Cummings said that depending on the cost, the money to pay for the facility could come from the Rotary Fuel Fund. The airport authority injected about $60,000 to create the fund to operate the fueling operations when the airport took over the fixed-base operations from Dubois County Flight Services. Its balance sits at $217,455 currently; an amount built up through the profit from fuel sales.

“If nothing else, put a couple porta-potties,” Kulbeth said. “It’s better than nothing.”

A new T-hangar

With the grants available through House Bill 1001, the airport authority gave McQueen authorization to begin the application process to receive funding to build another T-hangar.

McQueen told the authority that although the money through the Community Crossing grant is publicly slated to go to roads and bridges, a subsection lists airport projects as well. “It was clearly focused towards roads and bridges, but there was a caveat in Senate Bill 67 where it itemized airport authority capital projects,” McQueen said. “When I attended the Vincennes INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) meeting, they suggested I go ahead and apply.”

The funding was created through HB 1001 to work with Senate Bill 67 to improve infrastructure across the state. SB 67 released over $400 million in funding to the government units, municipalities and counties that receive local option income taxes. The state had withheld these funds in response to the economic downturn several years ago.

While municipalities and counties are required to put 75 percent into a special fund for road projects and the remaining 25 percent into the rainy day fund, other government entities like libraries and airports can place all of it into their rainy day fund.

The airport will leverage rainy day funds to potentially be doubled to cover the cost of a new hangar. The 10-unit T-hangar built in 2015 cost about $640,000 but was mostly funded through the county. With the budget concerns the county is dealing with, McQueen is reluctant to go to the council for more funding.

With the authorization, McQueen is going to work with Wolpert Engineering to have some cost estimates created for the project so he can have the application ready by the July 15th deadline. The grant award notifications will be made August 2.

Currently, the airport is full except for one or two spaces available in Hangar 5. As a regional airport, McQueen feels the project will hold merit with INDOT and the state.

“It’s a long shot Hail Mary,” McQueen said. “But if we don’t ever apply, we can’t play the game.”

Also at the meeting:

-Heard the Accelerated Ground School will be offered on July 15, 16 and 17 for $589. The three-day class – Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – is much shorter than previous courses offered at the airport. It is a necessary component for a student to pass the written examine through the Federal Aviation Authority. After passing the written examine, potential pilots can concentrate on passing the flight exam.

-Approved McQueen to obtain quotes for crack-sealing repairs. Pilots are reporting the crack sealing compound is being picked up by the airplanes as they drive across the pavement. According to authority attorney Phil Schneider, the authority can authorize McQueen to seek and award bids for the repairs that do not exceed $49,999. Over that amount has to be approved by the airport authority.