Luzerne County seeking bids for two major Wyoming Valley Airport improvements

Luzerne County is seeking bids for two major improvements at the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport as the administration seeks funds to cover projected cost increases.

Council had earmarked $7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for capital improvements at the 110-acre airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming, including the new hangars and fuel tanks now out for bid.

This was the first significant capital investment made at the complex in decades, council members have said.

However, county grants writer Michele Sparich, who has served as acting operational services division head, recently told council estimates indicate an additional $2 million could be needed to complete the project as designed.

Council has been asked to earmark an additional $451,089 in American Rescue funding toward the airport project.

This American Rescue funding is available because a $200,000 earmark for a Children, Youth and Families emergency shelter for children was halted for further research, and the county decided to cover $227,038 in repairs at the Penn Place Building through other sources.

Council is expected to vote on the additional airport allocation at its next meeting on Oct. 14.

During a recent work session discussion, county Councilman Jimmy Sabatino asked Sparich how the county will come up with the remaining $1.5 million.

Sparich said the administration expects to receive approximately $1 million through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Bureau of Aviation.

If that funding comes through, Sabatino said the county would still be “about a half a million apart,” and Sparich concurred.

Sparich said Monday the projection provided at the meeting is not set in stone because the bid responses will determine actual costs.

Bids for the hangar buildings and aviation fuel facility are due by Oct. 29.

Plans and specifications can be purchased at www.deltaairport.com, the bid postings said. Delta Airport Consultants Inc. is handling engineering and planning for the projects.

American Rescue projects must be completed by the end of 2026 to comply with federal regulations.

Sparich told council the administration is working with Delta to ensure that deadline is met.

“Believe me, we are trying to keep as much to the original cost as we can,” Sparich said.

County officials have said more funding was needed because Delta identified additional costs associated with the projects.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo reiterated the work is more involved because the airport is near the flood plain and contains wetlands.

“We want to make sure the project is done right the first time,” she said Monday.

The airport project is part of a countywide push to invest in capital projects as funds are identified, Crocamo said.

“We want infrastructure that is compatible and welcoming to future development,” Crocamo said.

New hangars were included in the project because the 1930s ones are deteriorating and too small for today’s airplanes, officials have said.

Valley Aviation Inc., the airport’s longtime fixed base operator, has said it routinely receives inquiries from pilots and companies interested in parking their planes there if space becomes available.

A new above-ground jet fuel tank and dispensing area, known as a “Jet-A” facility, is needed to comply with aviation requirements, a Valley Aviation representative said. The underground tank must be removed as part of the project.

In addition to serving commercial and recreational pilots, the airport is used by medevac helicopters and state police aircraft that regularly land there to fuel up without delays they encounter elsewhere. The airport also has a busy pilot training program that addresses a pilot shortage, officials have said.

The county acquired the airport in the 1940s.