LEWISBURG (WVDN) – The Greenbrier County Airport Authority approved seeking bids on a terminal expansion and confirmed an upcoming gift shop during a special meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 2.
Airport Director Brian Belcher will soon be seeking bids on both a temporary expansion of the passenger holding area and more permanent terminal facility expansion of passenger holding area, including adding a bathroom facility.
“[First], our current code room will only hold 75 people,” explained Belcher. “When you have more than 50 in there, it’s very crowded. Because of COVID restrictions , … we really need a larger space for the hold room. The second thing is [that] we only have one restroom in that area. … We would like to get proposals to expand that in a temporary manner. If we grow bigger, we could go to a permanent fix, but to do it faster, we can have an architect look at it. I would like to get proposals and pricing on doing that.”
Airport authority member Mike Rose asked if passenger facility charges could be used for these expenses, and chief financial officer Martha Livesay confirmed they could. Belcher also said funds from the American Rescue Plan could also be used for this expansion.
Rose also noted he wanted “no ugly temporary expansions, including “blue tarp paper.” Belcher said this would not be the case, and airport authority chair Debbie Phillips said, with a laugh, that they would have to keep the terminal secure, so “paper is not going to work.”
In new business, a gift shop is coming to the airport.
The airport authority held a vote approving the Ground Stop Gift Shop to open up for business.
“We actually met with … the individuals who are interested in opening the gift shop last week,” said Greenbrier County Commissioner Tammy Shifflett-Tincher. “It was a very good meeting. I believe we were all in agreement that it will work out very nicely.”
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State, the Ground Shop Gift Stop is a “miscellaneous” retailer, offering office supplies, stationery, and general gifts. It is owned by Jessica Gibson of Lewisburg.
Airport authority member Greg Furlong also voiced support for the new business.
“I think it’ll be a very nice addition for our passengers, and that will serve a need that’s currently not being served,” said Furlong.
In other business:
– The authority accepted a bid from Electric Services Inc. totaling $16,523, for the purchase of radio communications for their Fixed Base Operator (FBO). The previous radios were purchased over five years ago. Livesay said it was her understanding that the previous radios were “not really very good to begin with,” and that they did last longer than they were expected to.
– An emergency repair for the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) was authorized, totaling $5,500. Belcher noted, “ours is an old system, but we have to have it … There are only a couple people that can even work on it. It broke down, we didn’t have it for I think maybe for three or four days, and we had to have it fixed as soon as possible.” He also noted the airport will need to replace the AWOS in the near future.
– The authority approved “the lowest qualified bid,” totaling $5,506, for roof
repairs and maintenance on the FBO and terminal Facilities.
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