ARLINGTON AIRPORT

KAWO Quarterly Update

June 1, 2023

Message from the Arlington Airport Director

There’s an old saying among people who work at airports, “If you have been to one airport, you have been to one airport.” Meaning, every single airport is different. Each airport has its own personality, infrastructure, form of government, and how it is financed. For this reason, I’d like to talk a little today about how Arlington Airport makes its money and pays its bills.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires airports to do their best to be financially self-sustaining. While some smaller airports can meet this challenge, others require help from their municipalities, port districts, or other local government. I’m pleased to report that Arlington Municipal Airport is 100% self-sustaining. We take zero tax money to operate or make improvements to the airport. All salaries, operating costs, maintenance costs, and support services such as police, fire, administration, and maintenance are covered by the money we bring in. Our annual operating budget is about $4.3 million. While about half of that is generated by land leases and hangars on the airfield, the rest is generated by the Airport Industrial Park and the new Airport Business Park.

Additionally, we have a capital budget that we use to make major improvements and a reserve budget we keep as a “savings account.” All are healthy, and the airport has always operated “in the black” during my tenure. In fact, we will pay off the revenue bond on the airport office building this year.

Other sources of revenue are grants. We receive grants through the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants, Discretionary grants and Entitlement grants, as well as some smaller grants through WSDOT Aviation. We also received some COVID grant money (also through the FAA). During my time here, we have received approximately $12 million in grant funding. These grants come from user fees, and not taxes.

With new leases being negotiated in the Business Park, Arlington Municipal Airport should have the revenue needed to continue to not only be self-sufficient, but to grow and improve even more! If you would ever like to discuss this further or have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.

Blue Skies,

Dave Ryan

If you have items for this newsletter, please send an email to LeAlyce Miller at lmiller@arlingtonwa.gov.

HANGAR CLEAN-OUT

Northwest Regional Aviation to Conduct Disaster Response Drill June 6 at the Arlington Airport

The Northwest Regional Aviation consortium will be conducting a disaster response exercise at KAWO on June 6, 2023. Aircraft from Snohomish, King, Pierce and Spokane County Sheriff’s Departments along with Washington State Patrol, U.S. Navy, FBI, Customs Border Patrol Air-Marine, Airlift Northwest, and Life Flight Network will be coordinating joint response efforts. In the event of inclement weather on June 6 the drill will take place on June 8.

Overall Scenario: The earthquake/tsunami scenario is used for the exercise. For example, major damage has taken place in many high-rise buildings, older buildings, and elevated highways. Ground transportation is severely restricted in the region. Supporting scenarios for the exercise include water rescues, high-rise rescues, K-9 building searches, aerial surveys of impacted areas, live video operations, rescue team and equipment transport to support structural collapse.

Northwest Regional Aviation has learned from real-world emergency response that knowing the capabilities of partner agencies, and who to call for assistance, is critical when disaster happens. Having pre-plans in place and the knowledge of how to execute the pre-plans help greatly in an organized response to a large scale emergency.

Mac Hangars In Construction

McIlrath Properties 1 LLC are currently in the construction phase of building three separate hangars at the Arlington Airport, and are hoping for a completion date of the first hangar around the first part of July. It’s been a rough few years with Covid, supply chain issues, permits and finding qualified and skilled labor, however, they are making progress!

Each of the three hangar rows will house 18 planes, with features to include: heavy insulation, electric bi-fold doors, and about two feet taller than normal, allowing upper storage for builders to store parts, supplies, etc. The middle row will have a comfortable lounge in hopes that spouses and pilot guests will have a more comfortable environment. Stay tuned and call 360-657-8600 with questions.

Staff Attend Washington Airport Management Association

(WAMA) Conference

Airport Director David Ryan, Operations Specialist Lorene Robinson, and Airport Management Intern Silvana Vasquez attended the Washington Airport Management Association Conference in Spokane from May 8 through May 10.

This was a great opportunity to learn from the Association members and other airports in the state about topics like the importance of aviation and aerospace in Washington, equity and social justice initiatives, the transition to unleaded fuel, legislative updates, managing drones around airports, hydrogen fuel and more.

Lorene Robinson presented about the different events and activities Arlington Airport does to engage with the community. Silvana Vasquez spoke about her internship experience with Auburn and Arlington airports. These kinds of events are crucial for the airport to continue building relationships with governmental agencies and other airports.