City airport updates slated
Officials await TxDOT go-ahead

The city of Lampasas is awaiting an official notice of approval from the Texas Department of Transportation for new hangar construction at Lampasas Municipal Airport.

The Texas Transportation Commission at its December meetings approved approximately $400,000 for the Lampasas Municipal Airport. The funding, provided through TxDOT's Aviation Facilities Grant Program, will apply to hangar design and construction. Lampasas will pay a 25 percent match, City Manager Michael Stoldt said.

Local staff are planning eight to 10 new hangars, which will be located near the middle of the airport off the east side of the runway. City workers already have cleared out trees to make room for the new facilities.

Stoldt expects a letter from TxDOT to award the project by January. Construction work cannot begin before receipt of the award notice. "If we do anything before that, we won't get reimbursed," Stoldt said.

A contract may be ready by January but should come no later than the end of the first quarter of the year, the city manager said.

TxDOT expects to provide about $60 million this year in funding for planning, construction and maintenance of community airports. Approximately 275 community airports across the state are eligible for funding.

Local funds for the hangar project were included in a bond issue early this year. The airport has a 24-name waiting list for airplane storage space.

"We have no doubt we can fill those hangars," Stoldt said.

Additional space for plane storage will translate not just to increased revenue from rent but also to greater fuel sales, said the city manager. Although Lampasas Municipal Airport is a small facility, additional hangars could create demand for an airport mechanic, as well.

"You get 10 more airplanes, and it starts to get more attractive for a mechanic to work out there," Stoldt said.