By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Over the past couple of weeks, Darke County has received over $520,000 back for work completed at the Darke County Airport. The funds are from grants the county has received for work on the runway and a new terminal currently being built. The county pays the cost upfront and the money is returned after the bill is paid.

According to Darke County Commissioner Matt Aultman, over the past few years the county has benefited from several grants to keep the cost low for county residents. The taxiway construction project was 100 percent funded by grants and runway resurfacing/crack sealing that will be taking place over the next couple of weeks is 90-10 percent split from an ODOT Aviation grant. Ninety percent of the current terminal construction project is being funded by a grant.

The only project that is not being funded by grant money is a new fuel farm. The county is in the process of putting in two 12,000-gallon fuel tanks and pumps. The approximate cost for this project is $500,000. Aultman said the project is in the process of being sited. They are also laying the electrical conduit and lines. He expects it to be completed over the next couple of months.

The new terminal was originally expected to be complete in July, but the county is now looking at mid-August before it is done with the hope of having a ribbon cutting during the Fly-In Day in September.

Aultman estimated that grants paid for $5.5 million of the $6 million spent at the airport over the past two or three years. In addition to the ODOT Aviation grant, the county has also received the FAA Airport Improvement Program grant, 2022 Rotating Beacon grant and others.

During the commission’s regular meeting on Tuesday, June 20, commissioners approved a resolution to advance $9,862 to cover work done in May on the terminal. The funds will be returned through the 2022 FAA Terminal Construction Grant.

To contact Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].