Alva Review-Courier -

During their meeting Monday night, the Alva Airport Commission discussed the purchase of a commercial mower and talked about the search for a vehicle that will hold six or more people.

Airport Manager Derrick Courson said he talked to Rother Brothers in Fairview about a 72-inch Bad Boy mower with a Kawasaki engine for $13,780. He also spoke to Western Equipment in Alva and was provided with a quote of $13,502.32 for a 72-inch John Deere mower with rear discharge and tweel tires.

Courson did not have paperwork on the Rother Brothers quote. Paul Kinzie said he’d like to see both quotes to compare them.

Mayor Kelly Parker commented that Courson needs to get three quotes, and they need to be “apples to apples,” or the same specifications. He added that the cost is within the city business manager’s spending limits so the board wouldn’t have to make the decision.

Kinzie said he was interested specifically in looking at warranties on the mowers and things like the gauge used in steel decks.

“Personally, I don’t think we need it,” said Chairman Dale Logsdon. He said the airport already has the zero-turn, the finishing mower and the big mower. If the airport gets a new mower, he thought one of the others should be traded in.

Kinzie said when working on this year’s budget, a new mower and a van were two of the capital outlay items discussed. He was not opposed to another mower.

Courson said a 72-inch mower won’t work for mowing the ditches because it would get too banged up. Currently the airport uses the 60-inch mower for that task. He also commented that having another large mower would save on mowing time because he and the other airport employee could work at the same time.

Logsdon said they didn’t all have to agree on everything, and he would go along with whatever was decided. In the end the commission members took no action but instructed Courson to try to get three quotes and work with the city business manager to choose the best one.

Larger Passenger Vehicle

The airport has received some requests for a larger vehicle than the passenger cars available for visiting travelers. The courtesy cars are used to provide transportation into town for food or other shopping.

Courson said he has looked at online auction sites for vehicles seating six or more but hasn’t found much. He’s also been looking for a chassis for the Jet-A fuel truck. He hasn’t had much luck. Courson said he intends to check with dealers also.

Commission members cautioned him that he should look over any vehicle considered for purchase, check the warranty and take it for a test drive. The commission members took no action, giving Courson the authority to make the decision along with the business manager, provided it’s within the business manager’s $25,000 spending limit.

Manager’s Report

March was a slow month for fuel sales, Courson said. The airport sold 3,364 gallons of 100LL for $15,547.77 and 1,350 gallons of Jet-A for $6,906.05.The 100LL avgas sold was up quite a bit which Courson attributes to a lower price than anywhere else in the area. However, Jet-A fuel is priced about average right now in Alva.

Courson reported a helicopter doing survey work has recently been refueling twice a day at the airport. He was surprised when Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell arrived in a Cessna 182 to speak at Rotary last month.

Courson bought a spray rig for $1,800. It holds 55 gallons and it took three tanks to handle the weed spraying. He said quotes for commercial spraying came in around $4,000.

He reported replacing the garbage disposal in the sink that kept getting stopped up. The disposal cost $99.

A new plane has been added to the Alva field. It belongs to a new pilot who recently completed his training.

Courson said Survival Flight is interested in basing a 407 helicopter in Alva. Right now it would be hangered in the Roundtop, but it will require 24/7 fuel access. He said that might require upgrading the Jet-A fuel pump so he won’t have to be called out in the middle of the night for fuel.

There’s no timeline yet on the new credit card equipment installation, and the AWOS upgrade is still waiting on equipment.

City Council Report

Early in the meeting, Mayor Parker introduced Steven Ford who was finishing his first full day as Alva Business Manager.

Parker said the airport will need a budget amendment before the end of the fiscal year since revenue (mainly from fuel sales) and expenses (mainly from fuel purchases) are more than budgeted. Year to date, the airport currently has $75,000 more in revenue than they have spent. Parker said oil well revenue is not showing up in the financial reports although Heather Bonham knows the city has received checks. Apparently, they have been put in the wrong category.

Fire Chief Bryan Miller has been communicating with AT&T about internet service. They are putting in fiber optics which will offer 50 mgs up and down speed plus two phone lines for about $75 less than the airport is paying for DSL internet.

Parker said he had an email from engineer Toby Baker who planning to set up a meeting shortly on the runway lights.

Pile of Concrete Rebar

Under board comments, Logsdon said he noticed a pile of concrete rebar is getting dumped just east of the water tower at the fairgrounds. The airport owns the property. He asked if anyone knew who was dumping it, but no one did. He estimated about 20 short dump trucks worth of concrete rebar was piled there. “We can get it cleaned up,” said Parker.