CAA: GA News, "Don't Start Shoveling Dirt on Utah's Morgan County Airport Just Yet"

["Stephen Irwin" <Stephen.Irwin@pmail.net>]

Friday, April 14, 2000

DON’T START SHOVELING DIRT ON MORGAN COUNTY AIRPORT JUST YET
GA News


MORGAN, Utah — Politics and pilots can be a ghastly combination. When local
politicians don’t understand the needs of an airport, both parties can get
crosswise with one another, and the airport and surrounding community end up
paying the price.

That’s been the case in recent years at Morgan County Airport (42U), which
has become a chew toy in the dog-eat-dog world of local politics.

Located in the Wasatch Mountain range, Morgan County Airport is little more
than an asphalt strip with a dozen private hangars. There is no restaurant
and no FBO. With the exception of a mechanics shop that operates out of a
hangar, there are no aviation-related businesses.

“The airport’s been dying,” said Stan McGrew, a local pilot and airport
activist who lays blame with the former county council. “They (the council)
paid lip service to people who wanted to come to the airport and set up
businesses, then threw one log after another in their way.”

With a recent election that brought in a new county council, however, the
airport may bounce back. McGrew has been a tenant at the airport for 15
years. Since 1992 he has been involved with airport planning and use
projects. He even helped draft the airport master plan.

County officials recently decided that it would be in the county’s best
interest to find someone who would take over the airport via a lease. The
idea of selling the airport was discussed, but rejected as too extreme.
Managed properly, an airport like Morgan County is a money maker for
municipalities.

“There is a public perception that the airport is a financial drain on the
county, which it isn’t,” McGrew said. “The airport supports itself off
hangar rentals and property taxes. The airport was built on land donated by
a family. During the 42 years that it’s been in operation, more money has
flowed out of the gate than in. I’d say the county has put in a total of
$20,000 to $25,000 total. I suggested that if they really wanted to be out
from under the airport in terms of management, they should make the lease
for a dollar a year.”

Ideally, McGrew said, the county should find someone who would be willing to
manage, develop and insure the field. The lessee needs to be someone with a
background in aviation, such as a fixed base operator. There are some
stipulations that go with the job. The lessee would have to obey airport
zoning laws and keep the field open and accessible to general aviation until
at least 2006 in order to comply with provisions of an airport improvement
project.

Morgan County Airport is located eight miles northwest of the city of
Morgan, just southeast of Ogden, in a mountain valley. The airport was built
in 1958 to give pilots a place to land when the Salt Lake Valley is fogged
in, which happens a lot in the winter. The field sits on 52 acres, about 27
of which are undeveloped and zoned for light industrial use.

“The right deal between county and lease holder could turn this little
airport into a permanent entity and a cash cow over time,” McGrew said.

One suggestion under consideration by the council is that the lessee and the
county would share maintenance costs and revenues that the field generates,
but the lessee would have to assume liability. In the meantime, the search
for a lessee is on.

“We’re still groping our way along in the dark on this one,” said council
member Joseph Scott Rees.

Rees said Morgan County officials hope the airport will be used as a staging
area for the 2002 Winter Olympics. From the airport you can see the slopes
where the giant slalom races will be held.

“The Olympic committee thought about basing its helicopters at Morgan County
Airport, but then decided they’d rather base them at Hill Air Force Base
because of security issues,” Rees said.

McGrew predicts that any role Morgan County Airport plays in the Winter
Games will probably be as a parking lot. With limited parking at the event
sites, 42U will be ideal for park-and-ride services.

“That would be fine with me,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind the airport closing
down for a few weeks in February since no one really makes a living there
then, but there would have to be some provision for snow removal.”

Rees and McGrew are anxious to have someone lease the airport. Both say it’s
a great opportunity for the right person.

“It’s a beautiful area with a lot of potential,” McGrew said. “We’ve got a
really good group of commissioners in office now. We’re close to Salt Lake,
close to Ogden, but in a low-rent district. There are 27 acres just waiting
for something to happen.”

Anyone interested in leasing the airport should contact Joseph Scott Rees at
801-829-3374.


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