SARA plans runway improvements, considers hangar donation

The terminal for the South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field. (News-Times file)
The terminal for the South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field. (News-Times file)

A capital improvement project to upgrade a runway at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field has been moved to 2021.

On Dec. 14, the El Dorado Airport Commission approved a work order to restripe Runway 13-31.

Jordan Culver of the North Little Rock-based Garver engineering firm, said the firm is coordinating the project with the Federal Aviation Administration, saying that the job was moved to 2021 to ensure that grant funds would be available for the applicable grant cycle.

Culver said the FAA has asked that the design documents be 90% complete by the end of January. The next steps would be bidding the job and opening bids, with a goal to have the work completed by summer.

Jonathan Estes, manager of SARA, said the cost is estimated at $150,000 and Culver said state and federal grants will cover 100% percent of the work, with the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics kicking in 5% and the FAA, 95%.

The restriping project is part of SARA’s overall Airport Improvement Plan.

Culver told commissioners that a draft for the 2023 capital improvement plan is due by November 2021 to be eligible for grants to help pay for proposed projects.

A rehabilitation of Runway 4-22 is also in the works as a part of the existing AIP.

Culver said Garver had planned to do the 4-22 rehab in conjunction with the 13-31 project but the FAA would not allow both jobs to be done within the same grant cycle. Culver said the anticipated completion of the runway rehab is the summer of 2022.

“The timing is going to be a lot more critical on this job and we need to get the grant (application) in as soon as we can for the next grant cycle,” he said. “Ideally, you want to do asphalt in the summertime. It’s all going to depend on when the FAA can cut your grant for you.”

Airport commissioners also signed off on a change order for a timber-clearing along the approach of Runway 13-31.

Commission chairman Mickey Murfee explained that some of the land that was surveyed and intended to be a part of the cut was not on SARA grounds.

He said the contractor for the job corrected the error, which resulted in a $6,000 cost reduction.

In other business, the airport commission discussed an offer that is on the table for a hangar, dubbed the Miller Hangar, at the SARA.

Estes said Clay Murphy, owner of the hangar has offered to donate the hangar to the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, possibly as a fundraiser. The large blue hangar is located near the airport entrance.

Estes said he had spoken with attorneys representing the parties involved and he explained that the hangar must be used for aviation/aeronautical purposes, the airport commission has to sign off on the assignment and the BGCE needs to have a clear understanding of the purposes and usage of the hangar.

A lengthy discussion ensued, during which airport commissioners expressed concern about maintenance and the likelihood of finding prospective buyers for the hangar.

They also raised the possibility of asking Murphy to consider donating the hangar to the airport, with Estes saying, “If we were to obtain that hangar, it would be a nice asset to the airport and I could probably fill it pretty quickly.”

“The Boys and Girls Club is not a business. It has transitory management that is typical of nonprofits, so this could just become an albatross over time. That’s a high likelihood,” Commissioner Aubra Anthony said.

Commissioner Bob Watson asked if “it would be out of bounds” for Estes to speak with BGCE executive director David Lee about the matter and other commissioners agreed.

“I just want this conversation to be had with their director. I’m not trying to block it. I just want to know if they know what they’re getting into and maybe some of their board members ought to be apprised of that,” Watson said.

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