Sen. Moran announces AIP Grant for Newton City-County Airport
For Newton Now
The Newton City-County Airport will receive a $7.178 million airport improvement grant through the Federal Aviation Administration.
The grant will fund reconstruction of a taxiway at the airport and was announced by Sen. Jerry Moran’s office Tuesday.
“We’re very grateful,” Newton City Communications Director Erin McDaniel said. “It’s nothing too sexy; it’s reconstruction of a concrete slab, but it’s work that needed to be done.”
McDaniel said the city applied for the grant in 2018 but didn’t receive it and heard mixed messages on whether or not the repairs it wanted to make on the taxiway qualified for the grant. It did apply again for the grant this year.
“We were pleasantly surprised by this announcement,” she said, adding that the city had looked at the project for some time.
Sen. Jerry Moran, who is member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, stated in the announcement that the federal dollars should help Harvey County.
“This grant from the FAA to the Newton City-County Airport will allow for much-needed infrastructure improvements, enabling the airport to support the area’s aviation needs for years to come,” Moran said. “Local airports are vital to the regional economies across Kansas, and I’m pleased to see this award go to Newton and Harvey County, allowing for continued development in the area.”
The FAA often provides cost sharing assistance on infrastructure improvements at the airport. Much of that sharing involves a 90-percent match from the FAA.
Harvey County Commissioner George “Chip” Westfall noted the importance of the airport to the county in the circulated announcement.
“The benefit to the community is the airfield has over 400 employees in 21 different businesses,” Westfall said. “It supplies employment for local counties, which impacts our economy, period. We have several aircraft mechanical companies out there that bring in maintenance work not just for Newton but for all over the region, which boosts our economy.”
The $7.2 million grant will be used to reconstruct the taxiway that runs adjacent to the primary runway, allowing for the continued and expanded use of the runway by larger, heavier aircraft. According to the Kansas Department of Commerce, the airport generates $157 million in economic impact to the local economy each year. More information on this and other AIP grants can be found here.
