New hangar at airport will house 10 additional planes
Published 3:05 pm Friday, September 6, 2013
The Chilton County Airport Authority voted during its meeting Thursday to finalize a second hangar that will house 10 additional airplanes at the Chilton County Airport.
Airport Authority Chairman Craig Cleckler said Friday that the hangar should be completed by the first part of 2014 and spots for the new hangar have already been sold.
“The hangar will house 10 more planes, and we have already gotten 12 people who have called and asked for a spot,” Cleckler said. “The spots have already been sold before we even got it built.”
Cleckler said this hangar will look identical to a previous hangar constructed at the airport from funds appointed by the Chilton County Commission for the use of new hangars.
The commission unanimously voted during the March 11 meeting to give the airport $25,000 for 12 years for the use of new hangars.
The money was taken from the Trade School and Industrial and Rural Development Fund, but Cleckler told commissioners during the March meeting that the money would be used at a lending institution as collateral to borrow more funds for the hangars.
Cleckler said Kevin Morgan, a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration in Jackson, Miss. visited the Chilton County Airport last week with complimentary feedback regarding the airport.
“He stopped by for a daily inspection and said the FAA holds Chilton County as a model airport on how an airport should be managed,” Cleckler said. “It was nice to hear.”
Cleckler said the commission requested an update from the airport during the upcoming commission meeting on Sept. 9.
“We will give updates about the land acquisition and grant money,” Cleckler said.
The Airport Authority is comprised of seven members, five of which are appointed by the Chilton County Commission and two of which are appointed by the Clanton City Council.