Airport board approves sign

Milo Hunter, a member of Boy Scout Troop 153, received approval from the airport board to move forward with building a new sign for Shively Filed as an Eagle Scout project.

The new sign will depict the airport logo of an airplane with a cloud over it. Milo had received approval from the airport board but wanted the go ahead from the new board since he has met Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) requirements with his design. This was a necessary step since the sign will be in the state highway right-of-way. Lance Grubb, chairman of the airport board, signed Hunter’s plan and said it would be presented before the town council for final approval.

The board is still refining their hangar inspection document as new questions were brought up by Kent Smith, part-time town engineer, after he inspected two hangars. The questions revolve around the necessary amount of fire suppression equipment, i.e fire extinguishers, and non-aviation related items stored in a hangar. Board member Bobby Chitwood said that he would contact the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Denver to seek clarification.

The board also decided to add an airplane tail number identification to the inspection form since the primary use of a hangar is supposed to be for airplane storage. An idea posed by town clerk Suzie Cox is that individual hangar leases not be renewed until an inspection has been passed.

The town may be on the hook for a slight increase in costs for a recent sealcoating project as well as sealcoating in front of the hangars. WYDOT has imposed a change order that means the sealcoating contractor must be paid 2015 wage rates dictated by the state rather than the 2014 rates specified in the contract. The additional cost is estimated to be $846.

According to Dave Schulz, sealcoating in front of the hangars cannot be covered with grant funds received from the state and has resulted in $346 that needs to be paid for by the town or the hangar owners.

The board discussed the use of the airport by the Conquistadores del Cielo, but the airport manager had to leave the meeting early and no numbers for fuel sales or other revenue were available.

The board will also seek direction from the FAA on whether they can decommission the non-directional beacon (NDB) which has been failing. A non-directional beacon is an older style of navigational aid for air traffic.