EL DORADO — The El Dorado Airport Commission is continuing its search for funding options to pay for a restoration/renovation of the terminal building at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
The group discussed the proposed project last week.
Commissioner Craig Smart and airport manager Tim Johnson said a recent walk-through of the building shed some new light on updates that could be made to a comprehensive improvement plan that was drafted in 2015 by CADM Architecture, Inc.
The plan included options to renovate the terminal or to build anew. The airport commission initially selected the latter option, which cost an estimated $200,000 more than the restoration project ($1.9 million).
But last year, commissioners opted out of new-construction in the face of staunch opposition from local and state historic preservationists, a federal Section 106 Review and a potential Section 4(f) process, which stipulates how the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation may approve the use of certain property, including public or private historical sites.
Now, the airport commission is moving forward with its architect to restore and modernize the nearly 70-year-old terminal.
In January, commissioners directed CADM architect Blake Dunn to revise the two-year-old draft of the master renovation plan with cost estimates that allow for the work to be done at once, rather than in phases.
During an EAC meeting on Feb. 13, chairman Mickey Murfee said he is looking into possible funding sources and has enlisted help to scout out available grants.
Mayor Frank Hash said the city has typically subsidized grant awards for capital improvement projects but has scaled back this year due to a financial crunch.
The city based its 2017 budget on a projected $1 million revenue shortfall in the general fund.
City department heads were asked to trim their budgets as much as they could without cutting into operations or services, and they were told that capital improvement purchases, including new police cars, would have to be placed on hold.
“We’re not buying anything this year. We’re on our knees hoping that things will happen. It’s (the decline in revenue) flat-lined now, and we hope that it trends upward,” Hash said.
Johnson and Smart, who is part of an EAC committee that is focusing on the renovation plan, including the conceptual design, reported that the committee recently conducted a walk-through of the terminal with Dunn and came up with some ideas to make the building more functional.
“We can put the meeting room downstairs and make these rooms up here (second-floor) rentable. They can be used for parties and meetings, and outside it can be like an observational deck with a view of the airport,” Smart said.
He and Johnson also said they also learned that some interior walls on the first floor could possibly be removed, opening up some space for other functions.
“With the exception of two round poles downstairs, there’s no need for the interior walls. They don’t provide any support to the building,” Johnson said.
Smart said Dunn is updating the conceptual design and cost estimates with the committee’s ideas in mind.
In other business, the commission authorized its engineering service, Garver, to begin the scope of work on a proposed project to install a new PAPI (precision approach path indicator) on runway 13-31.
The group re-upped its contract with the Garver firm last month.
Johnson explained that the PAPI project was part of a five-year plan that was previously presented by Garver engineer Blake Roberson. The plan provided a forecast for airport improvement projects for which Garver would pursue federal funding.
The PAPI project was listed for 2017.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.a