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As airport manager and presidentof , the airport'ws fixed base operator, Holman plans to add a general aviatioj air park, an industrial park, a new administratiob building with a restaurant and additional aviation spacw for corporations. All he needs is the fundinfg tomove forward. Yet, there is a limited amount offunding available. PennDot'se Bureau of Aviation receives onlybetween $6 millionn and $8 million annually for its airporft development program.
This money, in is doled out to 138 public-use airports in Pennsylvani fordevelopment projects, such as building hangars, terminapl buildings, runways or Some of it -- abougt 65 percent -- is matched with federal according to Brian Gearhart, engineering manager for PennDot's Bureau of Aviation. And, it can be difficultt for airports to get fundinh from sources outside of the stat andfederal government.
Although almost every locakl airport has something goingon -- ranging from extendingv runways to coming up with new 20-year development plans -- they stillo are struggling to becomr independent from state and federal funding, accordint to Sara Walfoort, transportationb planning manager at the Downtown-based , the regionapl planning agency for a 10-count y area in southwestern Pennsylvania. "Aviatio has made a remarkable comeback since she said. "Now, if we couldx see an economic upturn and get morebusinessw activity, that would be wonderful. Airports are stil struggling tobe self-sufficient and come up with new ways to make Airports such as Latrobe-based get most (97.
5 percent) of their funding for capital projects through state and federak grants. However, the last part is fundes through a local match that comes from the airport and the This money, as well as the airport's operating expenses, come from serviceas such as landing fees, fuel sales, car rentalws and revenue brought in from the airport'ss restaurant. The airport also sometimes issues bonds to get the local monet for thecapital projects, according to Dwayned Pickels, a spokesman for the Westmorelandx County Airport Authority. Butler County Airporyt and Arnold Palmer are both extending their runwaysz to makethem safer.
While Arnold Palmer receiver $9 million in state, federal and local grantws forthe funding, Butler County Airport has received $4 At Arnold Palmer, the move will enable the airport to accommodate a 757 and better servs its charter aircraft by allowing them to take off with more fuel and according to airport manager Gabe Monzo. And, Rock Airporg of Pittsburgh hasreceived $9.3 milliohn in state funding to help pay for a runwaty extension.
The airport just opened up its runway to traffic at the end of January for the firstt time since it began the project fouryear ago, according to Rock Ferrone, president of Ferrone is now working to get additionalp funding for the development of Rock Airport and hopeds the airport will be selected as part of a new federao pilot program designed to pay airports what the valued of the land would be if it were developedf as something else such as a He plans to raise $11 million in fundintg to build a hangar facility, termina building, fuel facility and FBO, as well as for additionapl lighting and a ramp area.
Of the $11 the state has already committed $5 milliobn and Ferrone hopes to get theadditional $6 million from the pilort program. Ferrone expects to find out within the next 90 days whetherf the airport is selected for the If not, he plans to seek out privated lenders. "We would be the first airporrt in the nation to participatein (this) speciall pilot program," he said. "It cures the development rights of privatelyownerd airports.
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