County plans runway expansion at airport
The Washington County Redevelopment Authority notified the county commissioners late Tuesday of the pending purchase of an acre of land for $170,000 for runway expansion at the county airport.
The county expects to close on the purchase of the property at 816 Mounts Road within 30 days. The current owners of the split-entry home and lot are Joshua and Jennifer Bergles.
The airport master plan identifies the property as a parcel necessary for the runway extension.
At their agenda meeting Wednesday morning, the commissioners discussed the pending sale and closing with county solicitor J. Lynn DeHaven, who said the board did not need to act on the matter at its business meeting Wednesday afternoon. The commissioners moved up their usual Thursday morning meeting because it would have conflicted with this morning’s Senior Expo at Washington Crown Center.
Last month, the commissioners approved another major land acquisition in South Franklin Township as part of eventual expansion of the county airport runway and safety zone from the Kenneth Varner Sr. estate for $588,000.
The state Bureau of Aviation has approved both transactions, according to the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, which oversees and operates the airport on the county’s behalf.
The county airport runway is 5,004 feet, but eventually, the runway will be lengthened to a total of 6,500 feet to accommodate larger planes. The master plan for the airport, presented in 2008, includes, in addition to the longer runway, a new terminal and hangars, parallel taxiways and an “arresting” system to stop planes that may roll out of control.