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After decades of neglect, Humboldt County’s aviation facilities will soon see some much-needed improvements thanks to an $18.2 million federal grant through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding Project Plan. 

The CARES Act funding is broken into three areas of focus: reimbursement of personnel costs for Department of Aviation staff to the tune of $7.1 million; general improvements of hangar infrastructure at Murray Field, Rohnerville and Garberville airports in the amount of $5 million; and $6.1 million for parking rehabilitation at the Humboldt County Airport (the main one north of McKinleyville). The funds must be spent by June 2024.

“We’ve had certain situations, primarily around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday last year in 2021, where we were way over on demand compared to our capacity [at the Humboldt County Airport],” Director of Aviation Cody Roggatz said during a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning. “…Between short and long-term there are approximately 375 spaces. This design here would bump that up to 575 spaces.”

The aviation department was unable to utilize the CARES Act grant funds when they were made available in April 2020 due to an ongoing lawsuit with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The lawsuit, which was spurred by multiple regulatory compliance issues related to past management practices of the county’s six-airport system, was dismissed in January. Since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was filed in 2018, the Department of Aviation has worked to get back into compliance with FAA rules to resume the county’s access to federal grant funds.

“The changes we had to make – specifically those around adjusting rents – were even more unpopular due to the lack of maintenance and infrastructure improvements implemented at the county’s six airports over the past several decades,” Roggatz said during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday. “However, these changes were made to ensure our compliance … and ensure our eligibility for tens of millions of dollars in federal funds today and moving forward.”

The county is also competing for approximately $12 million in federal funds to repave the main runway at the Humboldt County Airport and upgrade the airport’s antiquated electrical systems, he said. “These improvements will equate to approximately $30 million in investments in our airports over the next two years.”

“We’re trying to get additional federal funds on top of the $30 million…for completely reconfiguring, reconstructing and expanding our terminal facility,” he added. “…We intend to pursue as much federal funding as possible. …And when I say federal funds, I’m talking about the infrastructure [bill] that was just passed by Congress a few months ago.”

The grant funds will also go towards replacing the fuel system at Murray Field, one of the top priorities identified by the local aviation community, Roggatz said.

“We are working as quickly as we possibly can to get that infrastructure removed, replaced and moving forward to better serve that [general aviation] community,” he said. “…The records that I’ve found as it relates to the installation of that [tank], I believe it was done in 1978 and we have not maintained it between 1978 and now.”

Even with proper maintenance, the tank has surpassed its normal life due to the salty ocean air, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn noted.

Alex Stillman, a longtime member of the Aviation Advisory Committee, credited Roggatz for making progress on the much-needed improvements at the county’s airports. “I know that Cody had a lot of work to catch up on…but now it’s time for us to move and get things fixed in the other areas that our aviation community has been very, very patiently waiting for.”

While local airports are an important part of public safety, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said the aviation community will likely face some difficult discussions about maintaining these infrastructures due to the low population density relative to the number of local airports.

“I feel like a bit of a turd in the punchbowl in this conversation, but we really have to understand that even when we take monies for capital costs … there may be general funds, allocations and decisions that we’re going to have to make in the future that are relative to long-term maintenance,” he said. “…It’s a challenge for rural communities for sure.”

Wilson ultimately made a motion to receive and file the report which was seconded by Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone. The motion passed unanimously 5-0.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Huffman Announces More Than $18 Million in CARES Act Funding for Humboldt County Airports
• Why Is Humboldt County’s $17M Windfall in CARES Act Funding for COVID Relief Going to the Airport, Of All Places?