Springdale Commission Considers Airport Renovation

Robert Carter, left, and Chris Stecklein eat lunch Thursday at Flaps Down Grill inside the Springdale Municipal Airport. The restaurant is looking in to expanding the size of their space. The restaurant’s capacity is 49 people.
Robert Carter, left, and Chris Stecklein eat lunch Thursday at Flaps Down Grill inside the Springdale Municipal Airport. The restaurant is looking in to expanding the size of their space. The restaurant’s capacity is 49 people.

— The city Airport Commission will try to cut a wish list of terminal improvements to reach a manageable cost.

“I think we should work on our list to see what we need to have done,” said Micah Thomason, commissioner, at a meeting Thursday.

“Our No. 1 priority should be our aviation community,” said Greg Willoughby, commission chairman.

The terminal building hasn’t been renovated since it was built in 1986. Miller Boskus Lack Architects reviewed suggested improvements to create a list with cost estimates.

The cost for a renovation is estimated at $1.04 million. The proposal includes bathrooms complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and filling in a hole in the second-story floor that creates an atrium between the first and second levels of the building.

Other items on the list include expanding the restaurant kitchen and seating area, adding an outside deck and renovating the pilot’s area and office space on the first floor.

Wyman Morgan, city director of administration and financial services, recommended the architectural firm be hired to design improvements. The firm created the improvement list, possible designs and estimates as part of its presentation to the commission.

Commissioners Neil Johnson, Bill Schoonover and Greg Collier will serve on a committee which will review the architect’s proposal and make a recommendation for a project.

Paying for the renovation would have to come from the city’s Capital Improvement Program fund and requires approval of the City Council, Morgan said.

The design proposed by the architects focused on the restaurant and the fixed-base operator, Johnson said.

“It looks like $550,000 would be for the restaurant,” Johnson said. “I thought we were an airport. When did we get into the restaurant business?”

“I understood the bathrooms and expanding the second floor space by filling in the hole were our priorities,” Collier said.

Bill Adams is owner of Flaps Down Grill, the restaurant in the terminal. Adams said restaurant expansion was discussed before he agreed to open the grill.

Bringing more people to the airport helps increase the interest in aviation and grow the airport community, Adams said. It also brings in more sales tax for the city and airport, he said.

The commission plans to hear from the committee at its March 21 meeting and make a recommendation for council approval. A vote to hire Miller Boskus Lack will also be on the agenda.

“We can get input from people that use the terminal to define what we do,” Willoughby said.

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