Alva Regional Airport Manager Derrick Courson said September was a very good month for fuel sales. “Our CAA business really bumped up our fuel sales and traffic,” he said.

The Corporate Aircraft Association (CAA) added Alva to their approved list for jet refueling at a negotiated price. Courson is tracking the CAA sales separately on his fuel sales report which showed CAA members purchased $10,132.60 of Jet-A fuel in September. Total Jet-A sales for the month was $14,782.60. “It’s been the best month so far since I started (as airport manager) in September (2020),” Courson added.

The September fuel report shows $10,507.26 of 100LL avgas was sold. With oil sales and overnight hangar rental of $90, the airport took in $25,491.73.

Of course, with the increased sales comes a need to order more fuel. Courson told the Alva Airport Commission during their Oct. 11 meeting that he ordered a full load of Jet-A on Sept. 2 and had to order another full load on Sept. 28. During that time he also ordered a half-load of avgas.

During the first week of October, fuel sales continued to be high, Courson said, with about $12,000 already sold but he expected that to slow down later in the month.

The airport has a lot of area of mow, but now that mowing season is slowing down airport employees are starting fall cleanup. Courson said they intend to check on and dig out drainage areas.

A new desktop computer for the pilot’s lounge has been ordered. A new printer has also been purchased as the old one would no longer communicate with the computer for wireless printing.

A preconstruction meeting was held Sept. 29 for the apron extension at the airport. This project will add more concrete parking area for aircraft. Construction started on Oct. 4 with 120 calendar days to complete it. Changes to the plans were made that will save some money.

Courson said everything went smoothly until the construction crew came to the drainage area. Work was halted to consult with the engineer. From emails with the engineer, Courson said it appears they have worked out a solution.

Both the green Buick and the white courtesy cars at the airport need repairs. The green vehicle has a brake issue on the back right tire. The white car has a brake light out. Courson will arrange for service work. The courtesy cars are available for use by visiting pilots and passengers.

The GPU (ground power unit) has been ordered, and Courson expects it to be delivered by the end of the month. The unit can provide electrical power to aircraft while on the ground. There had been some requests for this service. Courson said he checked with other airports about charging for use of the GPU. El Reno charges $25 for 30 minutes of use.

Airport Commission Chairman Dale Logsdon said he thinks they should charge for use of the GPU to recoup costs. “We’re not flush with money,” he said, citing the purchases of the GPU, the computer and car repairs. They suggested Courson set up a fee schedule.

Financial Reports

Mayor Kelly Parker who is also on the airport commission gave a brief city council report. When he offered to answer questions, Paul Kinzie asked about getting airport financial reports emailed before the meeting and also mailed to members as they have in the past.

“Personally, I like to look through all that before I come to the meeting so if we have any financial decisions, I have the information here to look at,” he said.

Parker said City Business Manager Angelica Brady has been busy recently, but a new employee has been hired for the city office, and Shelly Wallis has been moved into an executive assistant position to help. He said that should take some of the workload off Brady.

“It seemed pretty standard up until a few months ago,” said Kinzie. “For me it’s hard to make a financial decision not really knowing what’s happening.”

“The workload increased when we got the new council members,” said Parker. “We just have a lot more meetings and activity with other parts of the city. The workload increase, I think, is the biggest thing.”

On Wednesday, Brady sent out an email with the financial information. As of Sept. 30, the airport checking account for airport funds from grants that the city borrowed has $623,261.08. The cash balance of airport funds in pooled checking account is $371,081.71. The airport has four certificates of deposit totaling $440,542.74.

Smith Family Donation

Kinzie spoke about the history of the Smith family with Alva ties. He said Dr. Gene Smith, Jr. of Stillwater had an airplane and made flights to Alva where he enjoyed visiting the airport museum. He, his brother Dr. Larry Smith of Alva, and their sister Teresa Smith wanted to donate some aviation items to the airport for display.

“It’s a bit of local history that’s coming back,” said Kinzie. He asked that the donation be put on the agenda so the commission could formally receive the items and send a thank you letter to the Smiths. Parker made a motion to do so, and it passed unanimously.

A separate story in this edition of the Alva Review-Courier by Kinzie provides details about the items donated.