Grants awarded for airport construction

SOUTH BASS ISLAND — The Put-in-Bay Township Port Authority has received Federal Aviation Administration grants of about $3 million for work on two island airports: on South Bass Island and Middle Bass Island. In addition, grants were awarded for work on airports at Kelleys Island and at Seneca County Airport in Tiffin. Also, Erie-Ottawa International Airport has hired a new airport manager. "Ohio airports are vital infrastructure supporting travel and commerce in our state," said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who announced the grants in a news release from his office. The two grants to the Put-in-Bay Port Authority total $2,888,618 to rehabilitate a general aviation apron, a runway and a taxiway to maintain structural integrity at Middle Bass Island Airport. In addition, the port authority received a $147,381 grant to pay for the first design phase to rebuild the existing terminal building at Put-in-Bay Airport. Rosann Keiser, secretary of the port authority, said construction at the Middle Bass Island Airport will start Sept. 7 and that it's expected work will be done by November although weather could affect the timetable. The airport was built about 20 years ago. "That's kind of the life of an airport, the surfaces, about 20 years," she said. Work was done last year on North Bass Island's airport. The airports on all three of the Bass islands are important lifelines, particularly in the winter. For example, children on Middle Bass Island are flown to school every day, Keiser said. As for the airport terminal at Put-in-Bay, the foundation under the existing building is very bad so a new terminal is needed. Airport officials hope that, by next year, they can seek an FAA grant to build the terminal, Keiser said. Here are details of the other airport news announcements: • The Village of Kelleys Island received about $506,000. It was awarded $359,605 to carry out an assessment on any potential environmental impacts related to a proposed road relocation at Kelleys Island Land Field Airport and $146,173 to pay for the design phase of reconstructing runway lighting and rehabilitate runway pavement markings at Kelleys Island Land Field Airport. The mayor of Kelleys Island, Ron Ehrbar, could not be reached for comment. • The Seneca County board of commissioners were awarded $1,230,416 for Seneca County Airport to rehabilitate the existing taxiway to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and install drainage to protect the pavement from deterioration. • The airport board for Erie-Ottawa International Airport near Port Clinton recently hired Clayton Finken to serve as the airport manager. Finken replaces Stan Gebhardt, who retired in June after 10 years as the airport director. Finken previously worked at Sandusky County EMS. He did not respond to multiple messages left on his office phone seeking more information.