Haleyville to receive $800,000 grant for airport improvements

HALEYVILLE - Renovation work at the pilot’s lounge area at the Haleyville Municipal Airport is currently being done as just the first step ahead of a major overhaul project coming later, thanks to the approval of an $800,000 grant through the Airport Terminal Program, a branch of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.
The funding, which will require a five percent city match, or $40,000, is  an ongoing effort by the city to make needed airport improvements, which are directly linked to better economic development, stated Mayor Dr. Ray Boshell.
“We have a lot of corporate pilots who fly in,” Boshell stated. “If we want to keep industry in here and get new industry in, we need to have a way for them to come.  We have received a complaint from one of the companies because of the condition of the facilities.
“That is one of the reasons we are acting on it,” Boshell pointed out.   “We are also growing.” 
The mayor also cited a drone program operated by the U.S. Forest Service contracts with the City of Haleyville for use of the airport.
“If you don’t take care of your facility, you are not going to be able to do these things, and it will die.  We don’t want that,” Boshell pointed out.
The city has transitioned over to pay-at-the-pump fuel pumps for planes at the airport replacing the problem of needing an attendant at the airport 24 hours a day, the mayor stressed.
“If a pilot lands and is needing fuel or if an emergency helicopter comes out and needs fuel, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got that,” Boshell said. 
“We’re trying to make sure that facility is fully functional and available, if somebody wants to use it,” he added.
The pilot’s lounge is utilized by pilots in planning their flight or filing a flight plan, as well as a place for pilots to rest while their clients are conducting business, the mayor explained.
“We are needing a place where they can rest and recharge,” said Boshell.
“We are starting with the pilot’s lounge first,” explained Clerk Caroline Thompson, who is overseeing the renovation project. “We didn’t need for it to stay in the shape it was in while we are waiting on our new building.
“It was in such bad shape that pilots were wanting to land in other places so they didn’t have to stop here,” Thompson stressed.   “The ceiling was falling in.  
“We want to make it where we can keep our pilots flying in until we get our new building,” Thompson added. 
“Our hangars are completely full right now,” she continued. “We are thriving, but we don’t want to lose that.
“We’d rather put a small amount of money into it (now) and make it nice and inviting,” Thompson stated. “We don’t want it to be embarrassing. That’s how it was.”