Airport finances stabilizing
DUNBAR TWP. — Following nearly 18 months of financial instability, the Fayette County Airport Authority is now on solid ground.
Shana Kallok, administrative assistant for the authority, reported to the board Wednesday that the only outstanding invoice is the $28,271 owed to Purvis Brothers Inc. of Mars. The company provides various types of fuels for aircrafts.
The amount does not reflect the $16,000 sent to the firm last week to decrease the balance due, Kallok added.
Pointing to the up-to-date payment ledger and the $42,000 worth of fuel the airport has onsite, Bill Gerke, board chairman, said that recent criticwism levied by county Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink that the authority is not being operated effectively, is unfounded.
“We have $42,000 (of fuel) in the ground and we only owe $28,000,” he said. “We pay our bills. This place is being run efficiently.”
In an April statement, Zimmerlink said that the past due operating bills and fuel bills incurred by the board was “due to their poor management and poor board oversight.”
The comments came as the county commission was poised to earmark the remaining $30,300 from a $50,000 county grant to the authority to bring its finances up-to-date and for any needed repairs.
The 2010 funding was to help the authority with a planned hangar project. However, the project was scrapped after it was determined it would be too costly to undertake.
The authority spent about $19,000 for the study, with the balance staying in the county coffers.
Recently, the authority requested the untapped funds be turned over to it and the allocation spent at its discretion.
Zimmerlink, meanwhile, said that county should not be responsible for the authority’s debt.
“The county budget should not pick up their tab,” she said.
Authority board member Myrna Giannopoulos questioned if the prior funding was used to pay the fuel bill or if airport manager John “Bud” Neckerauer had been directed to contact the county to request the money be turned over to the authority.
Joe Maher, authority vice-chairman, said that county Controller Sean Lally had advised the authority of the remaining funds at its April meeting and as to how to have it transferred to the authority’s general fund.
“He explained to us how the money was in the coffers of Fayette County and then our ability to tap that and bring it into our accounts,” said Maher. “It was perfectly legal.”
In other financial business, Kallok additionally reported that all revenue due through rental fees was up to date.
County Commissioner Al Ambrosini, who attended the meeting, said that he was pleased with the financial turnaround being made by the board.
“You have come a long way to improve the business-like atmosphere at the airport and the economic aspects of the airport,” he said.
In other action, the board also conducted the following business:
n Learned that the contract with Michael Baker Engineering Inc. will expire in August and that authority has the option of extending the agreement for an additional year or to seek other engineering services.
n Advised that a roofing project to repair water-damage is underway. The authority is using a $118,000 state grant to complete the work.