FAIRMONT–The Fairmont Municipal Airport is going through a Master Plan Study and an open-house public meeting will be held at 4:30 on June 10 at which point people can learn more about the project, ask questions and provide input.

Airport Manager, Lee Steinkamp, explained that work on the study started in 2023 and went on all through 2024 and is expected to be completed this fall.

“For smaller airports like this, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) wants it done every 10 to 15 years and the last one was done in 2010 so we’re due,” Steinkamp said.

The city has been working with KLJ Engineering on the project.

“There’s been a lot of data gathering. The whole airport and about a 10 mile circle around it was flown and surveyed by LiDAR,” Steinkamp explained. “It picked out obstacles like buildings and trees and land.”

Other information like zoning and who owns the land around the airport was also gathered. Anything that doesn’t currently comply with FAA standards was also identified.

With data gathered, Steinkamp said they will start to develop a plan by looking at future construction and improvements as well as potential opportunities to expand.

“The main priorities are runways, taxiways, clear zone areas. All your airport stuff has to be good before they will allocate money for things like hangars,” Steinkamp said.

The last big project done was the hangar project in 2020, which costed about $1 million. Steinkamp said that there are currently 33 airplanes based at the airport and just a few on the waiting list so there isn’t high demand or need for another hangar at this point.

“Part of the plan was also drawing up a few alternatives to our layout,” he said.

These alternatives, as well as some of the data, will be on display at the open house, which Steinkamp said is required as part of the study by the FAA.

By the fall the study should be complete and Steinkamp said then they will come up with a Capital Improvement Plan based on the study and in 2026 or 2027 they will do an ALP (airport layout plan) and start on some projects.

The project in total will cost about $500,000 but the vast majority, 90 percent of it, will be funded by the FAA with the state covering 5 percent and the city the remaining 5 percent. Therefore the cost to the city of Fairmont is roughly $25,000.

In addition to the Master Plan Study, the airport always has ongoing pavement maintenance and crack filling. This fall they’ll replace all of the blue taxiway lights with LED lighting. Steinkamp said they have bids back and are waiting for the FAA to issue a grant before the work can start.