ng up things instead of replacing them has become very popular all over and for the Plymouth Municipal Airport that holds true as well.
“We are here today thanking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for finally listening to what we’ve been saying all along,” began Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter. “Plymouth is the place to be.”
The Aviation Commission began reconditioning the airport several years ago with a fresh coat of paint here and some remodeling. The projects started small and moved forward at a steady pace.
Phil Bockman, Board of Aviation Commissioners said, “Six years ago when the mayor asked us to start this adventure really the biggest instruction was just do what is best for the City of Plymouth and take care of our citizens.”
The idea to refurbish and widen the runway came early but other projects needed to be completed first. Some of these included new roofs on most of the buildings, heating and cooling systems, signage, landscaping, sidewalk, pilot’s quarters and lobby.
The addition of Plymouth Sky Sports also had a positive impact on the airport. The early work ended up equaling nearly $500,000 worth of improvements in less than five years.
“If it were not for those improvements we probably would not be sitting here today talking about the FAA grant of $2,282,494 for our runway widening and improvements,” said Senter.
There were matching funds from both the City and the state for the project. Each entity contributed $126,805 making the total funds for the project $2,536,104.