Delta Regional Airport Authority discusses five-year investment plan
Members of the Delta Regional Airport Authority on Thursday heard from project manager Jordan Culver with Garver about the group’s current capital investment plan.
Members Chad Runsick and Kendall Owens did not attend the meeting.
Board president Shannon Hobbs told the group he asked Culver to attend the meeting to talk about the current CIP and one for the next five years.
"Mrs. Nancy (Jarratt) reached out to me this week and asked if we could talk on this CIP again," said Hobbs.
Culver said the current capital investment plan, which is basically a five-year plan for the Delta Regional Airport, shows what projects should be considered.
"On this CIP that we handed out, this is due to the FAA every November and it is kind of like a five-year plan," said Culver. "It documents how you plan to spend the FAA money that is available and to also input statefunded projects as well so that the FAA can see that you are investing in the airport beyond the FAA dollars. This is a living document, so we can update it throughout the year and resubmit it to the FAA."
According to Culver, currently, the airport is waiting for another sealcoat project to take place.
"I will take a moment to discuss some of the projects that are in the works right now," said Culver. "We have the sealcoat, which they did just come out and do a new sealcoat recently. They did not get the application right the first time, so they came out and resealed it and repainted all of the markings. I will let you all know when we get a good day on that one."
Culver said the automated weather observation system has been held back due to unavailability of materials.
"On the topic of the weather observation station, they are waiting on the materials, it is just taking a really long time to do that," said Culver. "They are supposed to be starting on site work in August so that when the materials come in, they will be ready to rock and roll. Once they get it all set up, they will have to wait on the manufacturer to come in and get it all set up. It is a little bit of a process to get the AWOS installed but hopefully we have it up and running by the end of the calendar year."
According to Culver, future projects that need to be the focus of the group include the fire suppression system, adding a storage facility and the possibility of building another hangar in 2026.
(Continued from Page 1) "Right now, the airfield is in really good shape," said Culver. "We've got the runways, taxiways and the apron paving all taken care of. Really, your biggest needs right now, as you guys are in a really good position, are to build up that fire suppression system, the storage facility and building a new hangar. The storage facility was part of the original construction plans of the airport but because of funding we weren't able to get it constructed. And, because it costs such a large amount of money, we haven't gotten the FAA to buy off on constructing it. We have the 10-inch water lines installed, but the water is not run to them."
Hobbs told the board he would like to look at moving meetings to every other month rather than each month.
"I want to discuss with the board the possibility of moving our meetings from once a month to once every other month," said Hobbs. "We really don't have a lot going on right now and there is not enough going on on a dayto-day basis for us to meet each month. I want to hold off on making any decisions until we have all members present." customers are spending more on pricier food and gas, leaving them less able to buy clothes and other discretionary items. Likewise, Best Buy downgraded its sales and profit forecasts because surging inflation has forced consumers to reduce their purchases of electronics appliances.
Inflation has been rising so fast that despite the pay raises many workers have received, most consumers are falling behind the rising cost-of-living.
High inflation and interest rates are also hampering the U.S. economy, which shrank in the April-June quarter for a second straight quarter, intensifying fears that a recession is looming. Two quarters of declining growth meet an informal rule of thumb for when a recession begins, although robust hiring suggests that the economy still maintains pockets of strength and isn't yet in a downturn.
On Wednesday, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a point for a second straight time in its most aggressive drive in more than three decades to tame high inflation. Powell signaled that the Fed' could raise rates by smaller increments in the coming months.
Still, he also stressed that the Fed's policymakers regard the fight against inflation to be their top priority. He gave no hint that a weakening economy would cause the Fed to slow or reverse its rate hikes this year or early next year if inflation remained high.
By raising borrowing rates, the Fed makes it costlier to take out a mortgage or an auto or business loan. The goal is for consumers and businesses to borrow, spend and hire less, thereby cooling the economy and slowing inflation.
Globally, inflation is weighing heavily on other economies, too. This month, prices jumped 8.9% in the 19 European countries that use the euro currency from a year earlier. Europe's economy has been hit particularly hard by higher natural gas and oil prices stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though it managed to grow slightly in the second quarter.