Business View Magazine - May 2024

FUELING GROWTH AND PROGRESS With a progressive growth plan,Airport Manager, Kyle Rainwater, describes the airport’s current situation. He says, “We get GA (General Aviation), corporate, and a small amount of military traffic who come here to do some maneuvers and different training. But mostly, as of now, we are more like a gas station. We’ve got some pretty cheap fuel here, and it is mostly GA that comes in for that. I get a handful of business jets that come in throughout the year for different types of meetings at a couple of the industries close to the airport here.” With an eye to the future, he outlines a few initiatives aimed at fueling the airport’s forward-thinking vision. One is the development of a new land lease program, opening up the area for private investment, and generating revenue for the facility. “There’s plenty of opportunity for people to get pieces of property here if they want to build their hangar to store their aircraft,” Rainwater acknowledges. “We don’t have those means at the city and the airport. So, if we can open up that opportunity for people to do that themselves, it benefits them in the long run. They’ve got a hangar for a lot cheaper. After the initial investment, they don’t have to put up as much money every month to keep that property.” Other initiatives include the application of a seal coat on the airfield, bringing new life to the airport. “That seal coat project makes it look brand new,” boasts Rainwater. “As asphalt ages it kind of shrinks and cracks and just looks bad. So, every so many years you can come in and do a crack seal and sealcoat.” In addition, he says lighting will be replaced on the taxiway, contributing to the airport’s renewal. Despite encountering some setbacks with initial plans,DeQuincy Industrial Airpark remains committed to improving its terminal and other offerings for clients. Although the original concept involving an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) partnership with the sheriff’s office did not materialize, Rainwater notes that funds are still available for the construction of a fully functional terminal. “It’s going to be smaller than the EOC, but it is going to be a nice normal terminal for a GA airport like this. We’re trying to bring that to the session with the capital outlay with the state,” he explains. “Then we 203 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 05 DEQUINCY INDUSTRIAL AIRPARK