Luzerne County Council voted Tuesday to allocate an additional $850,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for capital projects at the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming, including replacement of these 1930s hangars.
Times Leader file photo
Luzerne County Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to allocate an additional $850,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming, increasing the total earmark to $8.3 million.
Councilwoman Denise Williams had unsuccessfully proposed delaying a decision until the administration provides information she requested explaining why additional funding is needed.
Several of her council colleagues said they don’t want to unnecessarily slow down the process because American Rescue projects must be completed by the end of this year to comply with federal regulations.
Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith referenced the “tight turnaround” and said council can reconsider the allocation at the next meeting in two weeks if it is still awaiting documentation from the administration justifying the expense, noting she is confident the information will be supplied.
County Operational Services Division Head Michele Sparich said she is compiling the requested information.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo said she also will plan an update from Delta Airport Consultants Inc., which is handling engineering and planning for the project. Delta is “doing an extraordinary job” on a “very complex project” that involves multiple regulatory approvals, she said.
Crocamo said last year that additional funding would be needed based on Delta’s assessment of the projects. The work is more involved, in part because the airport is near the flood plain and contains wetlands, she has said.
The funding will cover new hangars and an aviation fuel facility at the 110-acre airport — the first significant capital investment made at the complex in decades.
Councilman John Lombardo said during Tuesday’s meeting that he has supported American Rescue funding for airport capital projects from the start because the complex is “one of those diamonds in the rough,” and the county has an obligation to take care of it.
The poor condition of the hangars is clearly visible to passersby, and new hangars will generate revenue, Lombardo 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 has 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 the 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.
The surplus $850,000 in American Rescue funding is available because the county withdrew allocations for two county bridge projects that cannot be completed by the end of this year due to the discovery of bat populations in the vicinity that must be assessed.
Board seats
Council appointed or reappointed the following citizens to vacant seats on county boards on Tuesday: Planning Commission, David Wychock; Redevelopment Authority, Kelly Mulhern; Transportation Authority, Gary Polakoski and Joseph Zeller; Zoning Hearing Board, Dave Williams; Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission, Christine Wysocky; and Forty Fort Airport Advisory Board, Amy Carroza.
Opioid earmarks
Council unanimously approved four opioid litigation settlement fund awards on Tuesday.
Three were for county government programs: $570,000 to Drug and Alcohol for medication-assisted treatment and recovery support services; $363,693 for the District Attorney’s Office to purchase portable drug detection kits for law enforcement and first responders; and $200,000 for the Adult Treatment Court to help cover the cost of random drug testing and other expenses.
The remaining $250,000 award was for the Luzerne County Community College AllOne Recovery Educational Institute expansion project, which serves students in recovery from substance use disorder.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
