County considers new hangar for airport
NORWICH – County leaders agreed late last month to apply for a $300,000 state grant to build a commercial airplane hangar at the Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport in North Norwich.
The grant carries with it a 10 percent local share. Officials will dip into the airport’s $500,000 trust fund and/or accrued interest to cover the amount. The airport’s namesake and benefactor was a decorated World War II military pilot who became a popular Norwich aviator and businessman.
The hangar is needed for two reasons: To garage larger aircraft and because the current hangars are full. Independent airport operator PrivatAir has been forced to keep a recently acquired turbo-propped craft at a hangar in Binghamton.
“We do have a lot of customers in the Binghamton area, but our employees are here and if we had space, there’s a good chance we would have kept it here,” General Manager Jamie Baciuska said.
PrivatAir is currently servicing executive travel for Lockheed Martin. The company keeps a jet at the Chenango County airport for regular Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals charters. The jet hangar here also houses a plane owned by New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Edmeston.
“If a light jet or larger aircraft comes in and wants to stay over, our hangars are completely full,” Baciuska said.
According to the chairperson for the county’s Planning & Economic Development Committee, the airport has had to turn away business in the past. “We lost a couple of chances for a corporate plane because we weren’t able to offer this,” said Linda E. Natoli, R-City of Norwich.
If awarded the grant, the county will place a taller and wider hangar building on the north side of the ramp, directly across from the existing hangars.
Chenango County Airport Administrator Donald MacIntosh said a commercial hangar would allow for “a broader base” of offerings in case current business travel were to decrease. Cincinnati-based P&G has continued to cut back on both employees and operations in the Norwich area over the last decade.
Contract negotiations between the county and PrivatAir - an effort that has ensued since mid-2003 - have finally approached the final stage. A public hearing is set for Dec. 11 during a meeting of the full board. MacIntosh said negotiations have resulted in a year-by-year contract rather than the previous three-year period.
Other airport capital improvements of late have included new weather and fuel systems. Through the years, the local legislature has approved the addition of t-hangars and runway expansions. Easements on properties that would be critical for a runway expansion project have been signed and closed. A New York State Environmental Quality Review was completed for replacing the runway’s threshold.
“The airport is certainly very important to economic development here,” Baciuska said. “We see aircraft that do come in on a regular basis to conduct business in the area. If they have to drive, they might not choose to conduct business, or it might not be as easy for them.”
Pilots may choose from a handful of small, regional airports in the Chenango Valley, including airports in Sidney, Cortland and Hamilton and one near Endicott. The latter two are of comparable size to Chenango County’s facility.
The grant carries with it a 10 percent local share. Officials will dip into the airport’s $500,000 trust fund and/or accrued interest to cover the amount. The airport’s namesake and benefactor was a decorated World War II military pilot who became a popular Norwich aviator and businessman.
The hangar is needed for two reasons: To garage larger aircraft and because the current hangars are full. Independent airport operator PrivatAir has been forced to keep a recently acquired turbo-propped craft at a hangar in Binghamton.
“We do have a lot of customers in the Binghamton area, but our employees are here and if we had space, there’s a good chance we would have kept it here,” General Manager Jamie Baciuska said.
PrivatAir is currently servicing executive travel for Lockheed Martin. The company keeps a jet at the Chenango County airport for regular Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals charters. The jet hangar here also houses a plane owned by New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Edmeston.
“If a light jet or larger aircraft comes in and wants to stay over, our hangars are completely full,” Baciuska said.
According to the chairperson for the county’s Planning & Economic Development Committee, the airport has had to turn away business in the past. “We lost a couple of chances for a corporate plane because we weren’t able to offer this,” said Linda E. Natoli, R-City of Norwich.
If awarded the grant, the county will place a taller and wider hangar building on the north side of the ramp, directly across from the existing hangars.
Chenango County Airport Administrator Donald MacIntosh said a commercial hangar would allow for “a broader base” of offerings in case current business travel were to decrease. Cincinnati-based P&G has continued to cut back on both employees and operations in the Norwich area over the last decade.
Contract negotiations between the county and PrivatAir - an effort that has ensued since mid-2003 - have finally approached the final stage. A public hearing is set for Dec. 11 during a meeting of the full board. MacIntosh said negotiations have resulted in a year-by-year contract rather than the previous three-year period.
Other airport capital improvements of late have included new weather and fuel systems. Through the years, the local legislature has approved the addition of t-hangars and runway expansions. Easements on properties that would be critical for a runway expansion project have been signed and closed. A New York State Environmental Quality Review was completed for replacing the runway’s threshold.
“The airport is certainly very important to economic development here,” Baciuska said. “We see aircraft that do come in on a regular basis to conduct business in the area. If they have to drive, they might not choose to conduct business, or it might not be as easy for them.”
Pilots may choose from a handful of small, regional airports in the Chenango Valley, including airports in Sidney, Cortland and Hamilton and one near Endicott. The latter two are of comparable size to Chenango County’s facility.
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