A Federal Aviation Administration grant application for the Lincoln County Airport fuel system design and terminal area fencing construction was signed by the Board of County Commissioners March 2.
Chris Nocks of Armstrong Consultants of Grand Junction, Colo., said the application was for $150,000 with a required $10,000 from the County.
“This is just the preliminary app,” Nocks said. “When we get to the fence part we’ll have to put in the exact dollar amount and submit a revised grant app at that point based on bids.”
Armstrong will do the design of the fuel system and fencing, but will need to subcontract out the fencing construction, however they will provide the construction period inspection for the fencing.
Nocks said when completed, the Lincoln County Airport will be able to provide both jet fuel and aviation gasoline.
Wendy Rudder informed Commissioners FFA grants are “the best grants you can get because the FFA pays for the maintenance of your runways, for the pavement, for the stripping, for the fog seals, etc. They only thing they don’t pay for is weeds.”
The airport authority will have to purchase the fuel and gasoline, but Rudder said, “After you start selling it, then it replenishes itself, and then if you start buying fuel as we sell fuel, then a little bit of money comes back into the County.”
Nocks said once the fuel is provided for airplanes, “It gets broadcast over the internet and planes just passing over, can come in and fuel up, and continue on.”
He said even if the fuel is not used very often, there are things that can be done with filtration to keep the fuel fresh.
Airport board member Phyllis Robistow of Pioche, and former County Grants Administrator, noted that federal law requires the BLM, “if we have jet ‘A’ available, they have to buy it from us, they can’t bring their own. As long as we have a BLM contract, that will be a given.”
At the same time, Commissioners signed a 2015 amendment in the amount of $65,000 for the professional services agreement with Armstrong Consultants.
