The idea of selling or leasing Arens Field is drawing opposition from its board of aviation commissioners. Board President Jeremy Wegner refuted claims that the publicly-owned airport simply subsidizes people with private jets and crop dusters, during this month’s joint Pulaski County Council and Commissioners meeting. “I think it’s more than that,” he said. “It’s open to everyone.”
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Pulaski County officials will continue discussing the future of Arens Field tonight. The county commissioners recently agreed to hire Daryn Wilder as airport manager, even though some county officials had expressed interest in privatizing the airport. Board of Aviation Commissioners President Jeremy Wegner is expected to weigh in on Bluebird Ag’s interest in buying or leasing the airport during tonight’s joint county council and commissioners meeting.
Continue readingArens Field has a new manager. The Pulaski County Commissioners appointed Daryn Wilder to manage the airport Monday, at the recommendation of Board of Aviation Commissioners President Jeremy Wegner.
Continue readingSome Pulaski County officials are open to the idea of privatizing Arens Field, but there would be a number of obstacles that would have to be overcome before that could happen.
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Pulaski County Courthouse renovation plans could take another step forward this morning. A contract with architecture firm Rowland Design will be up for the county commissioners’ approval.
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Funding for Pulaski County’s COVID-19 response will be up for the county council’s approval tonight.
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The Pulaski County government is getting its share of federal COVID-19 response funding. The county commissioners Monday agreed to let the EMS department accept a funding distribution from the CARES Act.
Continue readingPulaski County Emergency Medical Services may temporarily suspend collections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EMS Director Brandon DeLorenzo is expected to discuss the issue with the county commissioners this morning.
Continue readingArens Field is set to get some new fencing, but the Pulaski County Commissioners will have to do more research to see if the County Highway Department could help with the work. County Commissioner Kenny Becker brought the request to the rest of the commissioners last week.
Continue readingPulaski County officials continue filling vacancies on various boards and commissions. Last week, the county commissioners appointed Jack Olds and Bob Eber to the board of aviation commissioners. Rita Carpenter was appointed to the property tax assessment board of appeals, while Dave Schambers was reappointed.
Continue readingA preliminary step for the renovation of the Pulaski County Courthouse and expansion of the Justice Center will be considered by the county commissioners this morning.
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Funding arrangements for upgrades to Arens Field are back in place, following action by the Pulaski County Council last week. The airport is in the process of getting more than $200,000 worth of improvements. Pulaski County only has to pay five percent of the cost, since the rest will be covered in state and federal grants. However, much of the local match was apparently cut from this year’s budget.
The Pulaski County Council is making funding arrangements to keep airport upgrades on track. Aviation Board President Jim McDaniel says Arens Field is in the process of getting more than $200,000 worth of improvements, “A new parking lot out front, more security across the fuel farm, working closer towards, someday, they’re going to request that we fence the whole place, but there’ll be a gate.”
Arens Field is seeing the benefits from some recent upgrades, and a few more improvements may be coming. Thanks to federal and state grant funding, the airport was able to install a new fuel system last year giving pilots access to both jet fuel and low-lead fuel 24 hours a day.
Pulaski County has a new IT director. Matt Voltz was appointed by the county commissioners Monday to replace RB Walters, who resigned in March.
The Pulaski County Airport expansion project is still a very hot topic, as Chris Smith approached the Commissioners this week to ask about the process to close a road. The proposed expansion for the airport would require the closure of road 100 West, in addition to a large amount of land acquisition from citizens. Many residents feel that this is not only unnecessary, but that it would violate many of their rights.
The Pulaski County Commissioners met yesterday evening and were approached by taxpayer Tim Hoffa regarding the airport expansion project. Hoffa explained to the board that there is one vital benefit to be gained from expanding the runway, and that is the ability to save lives.
Hoffa is currently in the process of being evaluated for a double-lung transplant, and one of the qualifications for such a procedure is a nearby airport with a runway of at least 5000 feet. Hoffa said he was ecstatic when he heard about the proposed expansion, because it shortened his trip to the airport in the event of a donor match. Hoffa explained that he would have a limited amount of time to get to the Fulton County airport, which is the closet airport that meets these requirements. He stressed that hundreds of lives could be saved with this expansion, and that the Commissioners should approve and expand the runway because saving lives is more important than any other potential issues with the project.
Nearly 20 citizens of Pulaski County packed into the Commissioners’ meeting room to dispute the expansion of the county airport. The Pulaski County Airport Association Board has been looking into expanding their runway by 800 feet, which would allow larger corporate aircraft to land at their airport without jeopardizing their insurance, but the expansion requires the closure of road 100 West, as well as the acquisition of land from citizens. Everyone, from farmers to pilots, had something to say regarding the issue.
