NORWICH – It’s been a long time since the little administration building of the county-owned Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport saw upgrades, but airport management is now planning to bring long-awaited improvements one step closer to fruition.

The county is looking at a renovation project encompassing roof repairs, new windows, and updated lounge, kitchen, and bathrooms for the airport administration building. Fixes to the on-site jet hanger are also listed in the project.

Chenango County is wielding a $200,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to fund renovations to the airport’s administration building, and an additional $237,654 grant from the New York State Department of Transportation for repairs to the jet hangar.

The problem, according to Airport Administrator Shane Butler, is that of the three work bids received by the county, the lowest is roughly $50,000 over the $187,000 projected budget. Contractors blame inflationary expenses, including rising costs of building materials and prevailing wages.

Since the airport doesn’t use local tax dollars, county officials draw from an interest account funded by interest proceeds from the Lt. Warren Eaton Airport Trust to fund airport operations. That account will have an estimated $335,000 by year’s end, all of which has been allocated toward expenses to keep the airport running.

“All costs are going up,” said Butler, noting that expenses could exhaust the interest account as early as 2026. “It’s a warning that next year, we’ll be at a crossroads.”

The Chenango County Planning and Economic Development Committee earlier this month referred a $237,000 bid for administration building upgrades from Upstate Companies to be reviewed by the county’s finance committee later this week.