SLN puts grant
dollars to work
Salina, Kan., (September
28, 2009) - A big piece of the Salina Airport Authority's mission statement
is to "be proactive in providing the citizens of the city of Salina,
Saline County and North Central Kansas with an aviation service center and
industrial center that supports business and industry, which in turn
provides jobs and payroll that benefit the region."
At a time when headlines read "unemployment up, economy
down" that mission is all the more important and the Authority is
working toward and succeeding in that goal.
"We have seven open grants right now that are at work for us,"
said Manager of Administration and Finance Shelli Swanson. "Six
of those grants are funded through the Federal Aviation Administration's
Airport Improvement Program and one through the Kansas Department of
Transportation. We have been very successful in competing for grant
dollars over the past decade."
The Salina Airport Authority competes with airports throughout the country
for discretionary dollars. Based on the size of the airport and the
number of enplanements, the airport is entitled to a mere $150,000 per
year. However, more than $15 million have been roped in over the past
decade with a whopping $5 million at work this summer in AIP grants.
"The reason we have been so successful is that we are diligent about
keeping our airport layout plan up to date," she said. "We
ensure projects that we foresee as possible get approved and are depicted
on an approved airport layout plan. Our plans are designed and on the
shelf, ready to go when the funds become available so we can have timely
submittals to the FAA. The Kansas AIP grant funded through KDOT was a
matching funds grant for about a half a million dollars. This is the
first year we've ever secured KAIP funds."
Without the grant money the Authority would have to borrow funds, issuing
long term general obligation bonds. It would then be the
responsibility of the Authority to come up with funding to service the
debt. That funding would have to come from local mill levy property
fund taxes or out of the operating budget. In a nutshell, to continue
on the path toward growth without grant money the Authority would have to
borrow the money and raise taxes.
"Without the funds we obviously wouldn't have the facilities we have
today," said Swanson. "If we hadn't have been as proactive
with this multiyear taxiway project we could be looking at another five
years with Taxiway Alpha in a less than desirable state."
The projects funded by these grants mean jobs for the Salina
community.
"General aviation growth leads to new jobs and higher paying
jobs," said Executive Director Tim Rogers, A.A.E. "This
summer's improvements will keep the airport up to date with industry
expectations."
With a good system of runways and taxiways the Authority can continue to
recruit, grow and retain aerospace and aviation jobs. The
improvements support local fixed base operators by giving them the facilities
they need to bring general aviation business to "America's Fuel
Stop."
|
