Latest draft master plan for Eagle County airport makes rental car companies happy
Public weighs in at listening session with team of consultants working on plan for airport's next 20 years
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How the Eagle County Regional Airport accommodates growth while still preserving a good customer experience is one core element of plotting the facility’s future.
A team of consultants is now finishing up work on a 20-year master plan for the airport. The team Monday held a public input session, via a livestream, to see what the public thinks of the plan so far.
As many as 10 people linked into the feed, which included a presentation of the work done so far.
Hillary Fletcher of Jviation, one of the firms working on the plan, told the online audience that the plan has been coming together over the past year or so.
Here’s a look at some of the projects envisioned for the first five years of the Eagle County Regional Airport master plan.
- Taxiway A rehabilitation and sign improvement: $14.5 million.
- Federal Inspection Services facilities construction: $15 million
- Designing Taxiway B north of the runway: $1 million.
- Commercial terminal access and parking: $17 million.
When complete, the plan will go for final approval by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
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Federal approval is critical, particularly when it comes to funding. Agency grants can cover up to 90% of the cost of projects on the “air side” of the facility. For instance, if grants come through, the feds would cover $13 million of an estimated $14.5 million project for rehabilitation, lighting, and sign improvement on the airport’s main taxiway, between the main runway and the commercial terminal and other facilities.
Local funding
Other projects, including the $2 million design for rehabilitating and expanding the commercial terminal, would be borne by local funds. Those funds are generated at the airport, not from the county’s general fund. Airport-specific funds include a $4.50 per passenger fee for both arriving and departing guests. Funds also come from fuel sales, vendor fees, and other charges.
Rental car firms provide a significant amount of revenue to the airport, and the current plan attempts to accommodate those companies. The current plan leaves rental cars near the terminal, a change from a previous proposal to move rental cars off-site to a county-owned parcel on the south side of Cooley Mesa Road just east of the east end of the runway.
Chris Baddick owns Cooley Mesa Detailing, which washes and services cars between uses. He also owns the Thrifty and Dollar car rental franchises. Baddick had opposed the previous idea, which in his view wasn’t customer friendly.
In a phone conversation before Monday’s meeting, Baddick said “the customer experience has been preserved” by keeping cars on site. “I’m pretty happy they listened to that feedback,” he added.
Still, Baddick said, putting other parking on the south side of Cooley Mesa Road could lead to future traffic congestion, even with roundabouts at both the east and west ends of the airport’s main internal road.
Northside developments
Longtime Vail resident Merv Lapin has long owned property near the airport. Lapin asked several questions about potential development on the north side of the property, particularly the possibility of adding a second fixed base operator. Those businesses cater to private aviation, particularly corporate jets. The airport’s current fixed base operator is Signature Aviation, which purchased the Vail Valley Jet Center a few years ago.
The north part of the airport is now home to the facility’s control tower, general aviation hangars, and the Colorado National Guard’s High Altitude Aviation Training site.
Miklas said if a new fixed base operator does come, it will likely be near the control tower, but not until the second taxiway is built, which won’t happen until 2025 at the earliest.
Miklas said the new taxiway would be the “catalyst for development in that area.
While Lapin said he’d like to see more specificity in the plan regarding the prospects for a new fixed base operator, he complimented the team for its work.
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“It shows a lot of thought and a lot of planning,” Lapin said.
Resident Don Chappel asked about local funding, and whether the airport might have to take on debt to come up with that money.
That isn’t the preference, Miklas said.
Fletcher noted that public input is still being taken at the master plan’s website, EGEMasterPlan.com. Comments are being accepted until Oct. 18.
