By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
At Thursday’s city commission work session, commissioners gave acting airport manager I.D. Creech the go-ahead to apply for a Passenger Facilitation Charge at the Hays Regional Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration allows airports to collect a maximum of $4.50 from originating ticket for specific airport improvement projects approved by the FAA. Projects that can be approved include those that increase safety, security or capacity, reduce noise, and/or increase air passenger carrier competition.
The city can use the funds collected through the PFC for the city’s match on a project.
According to Creech, if the PFC is approved for the airport, the city plans on using the funds for the airport renovations that are currently being constructed and the crosswind runway restoration scheduled for FY 2015. The city can recover $119,000 for the terminal renovation project and approximately $68,000 for the runway project.
“We can get the funding back for the terminal renovation. This was not available to us when we did not have a carrier, but we can go back and collect that money” Creech said.
Using SkyWest’s estimate of 13,000 passengers a year, the Hays Regional Airport will collect approximately $58,000 a year, Creech explained. With these estimates, it would take a little less than three years to collect the $119,000, depending on the amount of passenger traffic at the Hays Airport.
“We can only collect for the amount that is approved on the application.” Creech said. “Even though we establish a time period, we do not collect for the time period, we collect for the amount.”
“The more passengers, the shorter it will take. The less passengers, the longer it will take.”
The process for applying for a PFC is lengthy.
Creech said the city has met with the FAA ‘several times’ over the past couple of months to make sure that the projects were eligible for funding. Now that the airport administration team has been approved to apply, the city will notify the carrier and the public about their intent to apply for a PFC.
“Once that is sent out, there is a 30-45 day wait period between the notification we will send out and the consultation with (SkyWest), and a public hearing.” Creech said. “That meeting is followed by a 30-45 day comment period for people to make comments regarding the PFC before (the city) can actually apply.”
Creech also said that the FAA will ‘prioritize’ projects that are submitted on the basis of importance.
Creech plans to bring an application for formal approval to commissioners in approximately 70 days, and he said, in a ‘best case scenario’, the city will receive a check (from the FAA) next April.