Portage commissioners to choose consultant to guide them through possible airport takeover

Portage County commissioners are set to begin the process of hiring a consultant to advise them on the possible takeover of the Portage County Airport in Shalersville.

More: Portage County commissioners to consider consultants to advise them on county airport

Commissioners will interview Steven Baldwin Associates of Albany, New York and Aviation Management Consulting Group of Colorado in a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. A third consultant that also submitted qualifications is out of the running.

The meeting will take place in the commissioners’ board room, seventh floor, Portage County Administration Building, 449 South Meridian St., Ravenna.

Commissioners said previously that the consultant will guide them as they consider a potential takeover of the airport.

Last year, the volunteer board that oversees the airport approved a resolution seeking dissolution, the first step toward a potential takeover of the airport by the commissioners.

The board made the case to county commissioners for a county takeover. The airport, the board said at the time, is running on a "break-even point," and is beginning to lose FAA support because it has no support from the county. The FAA, said Chris Gilmore, past president of the board, "writes the big checks" and projects such as a runway expansion would be funded at 100 percent.

But no steps have been taken since then.

Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett said previously that the airport is underutilized, and has the potential to be a county asset. Airport officials have long talked about a runway extension at the airport to boost revenue.

"They get very little revenue, yet they're expected to operate a multi-million dollar airport," Christian-Bennett said.

Commissioners have been told that they would have to pay an estimated $30 million for previous work done at the airport if the facility were to actually close, plus the county could lose an undetermined amount in potential economic development. One issue is that when any company seeks financing for an expansion, they are more likely to receive funds if they have access to an airport, even if they never use it.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com or 330-298-1139.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage commissioners to interview two airport consultants