By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Kosciusko County has agreed to provide $500,000 to the city of Warsaw for several specific projects at the municipal airport.
The agreement comes after the city unsuccessfully sought in 2023 to establish an airport authority in which the county would have a bigger role in airport decisions while also establishing a county-wide tax levy.
The idea was shelved in April of 2023 and did not surface in public this year.
Of the $500,000, the county agreed to provide $400,000 for the long-planned lowering of power lines near the airport. Fifthy thousand will be used to help pay for a new fuel system that will allow for overnight refueling, while the remaining will be used for an overlay project that has to do with zoning issues.
Whether the $500,000 agreement puts aside future consideration of the airport authority appears to be a matter of opinion.
The commissioner approved the plan Tuesday and the aviation board brought up they matter late Tuesday afternoon.
Commissioner Bob Conley talked about the issue later in the day and said he sees money for specific projects is a better choice than a new tax.
“They came up with several projects they needed assistance with so we decided to furnish them with $500,000 a year but the county commissioners would OK the projects that they wanted to use that money for,” Conley said.
Conley said he sees it as an open-ended agreement to provide money to the city for airport purposes.
Airport manager Nick King sees it differently. He was asked if it was a compromise of sorts.
“I don’t know if it’s a compromise. I would call it a partnership with the airport. It’s not guaranteed every year,” King said, casting it as a “one-time” arrangement.
The issue came up at Tuesday’s aviation board meeting and King talked about the agreement after the meeting.
On the other hand, King said he likes the idea of annual support.
“That would be great. We would love that,” King said.
On the other hand, King thinks establishing an airport authority should still be considered at some point.
“I still think it’s a good topic that we keep at the forefront, keep educating and keep having discussions,” he added.
