Business View Magazine | December 2018

154 155 percent of our passengers were driving to alterna- tive locations throughout the state in order to avoid that.We launched the FLYYKMmarketing program to make them aware that we do have a convenient flight service here at the Airport.” Peterson also took advantage of a $300,000, small community, air development grant, and some matching local funds, to add addition- al flights to Seattle, all of which has been very successful. At the beginning of the campaign, the Airport was averaging 52,000 enplanements an- nually; now, it is up to about 75,000 - a 30 percent increase. Regarding general aviation, Peterson says, “Typically it is very challenging to manage the ‘build it and they will come’ scenarios. But we try to keep our development on par to where we see ourselves growing.We do have a small waiting list for hangars at our Fixed Base Operator, Mc- Cormick Air Center, and they do have a variety of large corporate hangars and smaller GA hangars. And we are working with McCormick Air Center to develop additional hangars at the Airport to meet those demands.” “Our Airport Master Plan identifies approxi- mately 20-25 acres in various locations where we can expand hangar development,” he adds. “We are going to update our airport layout and that will identify future growth opportunities to acquire properties around the Airport. Specifically, we are going to identify a few pieces, about 86 acres to the west of the Airport that we would like to acquire, for future development, as well as one small spot on the south-east corner of the Airport that we are interested in.” Peterson stresses, though, that his number one priority is rebuilding and rehabilitating the Airport’s existing infrastructure. “That is one of www.mccormickaircenter.com n FLIGHT INSTRUCTION n FUEL n MAINTENANCE n SCENIC FLIGHTS CORPORATE HANGARS Flight Center 3210 Washington Ave. // 509.248.1680 Maintenance 2108 W. Washington Ave. // 509.249.1680 Photo by Long Bach Nguyen YAKIMA AIR TERMINAL our number one goals,” he states, “to make sure that we have the ability to accommodate air- craft of the size needed.” From 2009 to 2018 the Airport accepted approximately $18.5 million worth of federal grants, used for such projects as runway rehabilitation, purchasing new snow removal equipment, as well as rehabilitation of a large parallel taxiway to the primary runway. In the near future, he is looking at acquiring a new aircraft rescue and firefighting rig as well as up- dating the airfield’s runway lighting system. And, by 2024, he is planning to rehabilitate Yakima’s terminal building. As is the case with a number of regional air- ports around the county, Peterson is also inter- ested in transitioning from strictly aeronauti- cal development to a mix of aeronautical and non-aeronautical growth. “We have a restaurant on the Airport property, we have a medical facility, and we have a few other medical facilities that are interested in expanding and developing their businesses,” he says. “We also have a parcel of property north of us with all the infrastructure in place – roads, fiber, water, and sewer. It’s leased to an entity, a business developer for the property. That parcel does not have aeronautical access to the Airport but it is a part of the Airport’s foot- print.” Peterson adds that he is also intent on extend- ing the Airport’s educational agenda. “We are close partners with Central Washington Univer- sity, and a lot of professors are given the oppor- tunity to provide airport tours. They bring their aviation management and flight students to learn