HICHAM RAACHE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Springdale Municipal Airport Receives Facelift
September 16, 2016
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  • SPRINGDALE — City leaders on Thursday checked out how $200,000 helped transform the Springdale Municipal Airport.

    Adam White, project manager for Garver, speaks Thursday during a meeting of the Springdale Airport Commission at the Springda… (By: Andy Shupe) (Credit: NWA Democrat-Gazette)
    The renovation started around May and include new paint, flooring and fixtures in the terminal’s common areas and four restrooms. The terminal’s exterior also got a fresh coat of paint.

    Bill Schoonover, who has been an airport commissioner since 2008, said the work gives the terminal a modern, polished look. Renovation is about 85 percent complete, and will be finished once new furniture is brought in, he said.

    “(The terminal) is basically 30 years old and was due a renovation,” Schoonover said. “There was not much done in 30 years.”

    Commissioners discussed terminal improvement for three years, but couldn’t decide how much work to do, said Neil Johnson, who presides over the Airport Commission. The commission eventually voted to give the terminal a complete cosmetic overhaul, he said.

    “But now we’re here and done,” Johnson said following a presentation to city administrators and council members.

    A $40,000 grant helped the city foot the bill on the $200,000 facelift. The terminal was built in 1980, said Adam White, an engineer with Garver, the engineering firm that has worked for the airport for the past 15 years. City staff and subcontractors completed the work, he said.

    Mayor Doug Sprouse said the airport is a boon to the city.

    “I see this as a great asset for out downtown revitalization,” Sprouse said. “You won’t often find an airport so convenient to a downtown area.”

    The city-owned, general aviation airport sits on 221 acres one mile southeast of the center of Springdale at 802 Spring St.

    White said the airport has an estimated $18 million economic impact regionally and among general aviation in the state is ranked the second busiest airport in takeoffs and landings, with 62,000 operations last year.

    Several Northwest Arkansas companies, such as Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport and George’s, use the airport, said Susanne Beckett, fixed based operations manager at the airport.

    Charter flights and and single-engine plane owners also use the airport, Beckett said.

    Since 2002, the airport has benefited from a combined $6.6 million in various improvements, including airfield and lighting projects, terminal and hangar development and miscellaneous projects. Of the $6.6 million, $5.7 million came from grant money, White said.

    http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2016/sep/16/springdale-municipal-airport-receives-f/