Whether it’s extra room to accommodate passengers and personnel, more space for parking or the resources to handle the traffic on the tarmac, the Durango-La Plata County Airport as it sits today simply cannot keep up with growth./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Flight plan

Airport commission points way forward; city, county up next

by Tracy Chamberlin

It’s certainly not time to break out the shovels, but talks about updating the Durango-La Plata County Airport have moved from “everything’s on the table” to recommending a specific plan.

Recently, the Durango-La Plata County Airport Commission approved, 6-2, to recommend a way forward. Referred to as the “preferred alternative,” the plan involves building a new airport terminal on the other side of the runway, or the east side, as well as parking, a new taxiway and other facilities.

The recommendation now heads from the Airport Commission to elected leaders. The Durango City Council and La Plata County Board of Commissioners will meet Feb. 10 to discuss the recommendation, plan and the next step.

The two Airport Commission members who voted against the recommendation, Gary Derck and Richard Bechtolt, essentially thought it best to keep the terminal on the west side, where it sits now.

“All the commission members are unanimously in favor of a new terminal,” explained Derck, who’s serving a second term on the commission.

The difference between the six voting to approve the recommended alternative and the two voting against was simply a matter of location.

Both the west side and the east side, which would be the site of a new terminal under the recommended plan, offer enough room to meet current needs.

The hardest question for the commission members to answer, according to Derck, was which side of the tarmac offers the best option for future growth.

The Durango Mountain Resort CEO said the community has been blessed. With the airlines offering new flights and more seats, the Durango-La Plata County Airport saw a record number of passengers last year. “We have to get them the facilities they need,” he said.

It’s a sentiment echoed by everyone involved in the process.

Whether it’s extra room to accommodate the passengers and personnel, more space for parking, or the resources to handle all the traffic on the tarmac, the airport as it sits today simply cannot keep up with growth.

Using industry calculations for serving the approximately 400,000 passengers who traveled through the terminal last year, the current 41,500-square-foot space needs to be twice as big.

“I strongly believe the (Airport Commission’s) recommendation is the one that most fits what we need to do,” Director of Aviation Kip Turner said.

That recommendation breaks down into three phases of construction. The first phase involves developing a terminal to meet today’s needs, which means doubling the square footage to 82,000 square feet. This would also include 1,500 parking spots, four gates, overnight parking and a new airport loop road coming off County Road 309A.

Turner said the east side offers acreage to expand, where the west side has a limited footprint. According to him, it’s a big reason he supports the recommended plan - it would be easier and cheaper for future development.

Some of the plan’s details are flexible, like the number of gates and the terminal size. Others cannot be adjusted, like permitting requirements and basic utilities.

The second phase of construction involves terminal, taxiway and other expansions to meet the needs expected by 2025, and the third phase prepares the facilities for 2035.

Turner said the old terminal would become a source of revenue. It could be used for cargo storage, expanded general aviation facilities, or a number of other things.

The facilities will likely be split with general aviation, or private services, and other non-commercial uses, like the U.S. Forest Service, on one side of the tarmac and commercial uses, including the new terminal, on the other. Turner said it’s actually a very expensive and complicated process to move general aviation, another reason he supports the commission’s recommendation.

Funding for the new terminal would come from two main sources initially, outside and local.

Outside sources of funding include federal monies and grants, like those coming from the Federal Aviation Administration. The chance of successfully securing those funds increases when they are matched by other funding, and Turner said they could expect about $40 million from those outside sources.

Local sources of funding include things like property taxes and airport revenues. This is where the rubber really meets the tarmac.

In order to raise the monies needed for the initial phase of construction, with a price tag of about $80 million, the county might look at an increase in property taxes, which is its biggest source of revenue.

Under this scenario, the property tax increase would be between $35 to $45, based on an average home price of $350,000. That rate could bring in $40 to $50 million, as well as help secure federal monies and grants.

Turner said they would only need to go to voters once because funding would only be needed for that first phase. After the first phase, airport revenues would be enough to cover the costs of phases two and three.

With the airport generating about $300 million for the local community, Turner said, “You get a lot of bang for your buck.”

The process leading up to the recommendation began in May 2014 when Jviation, a Denver-based planning, design and construction firm specializing in aviation projects, was brought on to help create an updated Airport Master Plan.

The firm took inventory, talked to passengers, examined facilities and compared those findings with industry standards.

Then, the firm put together options, offering several alternatives to bring the current facility up-to-date and prepare it for the future.

Now, with all the surveys and number-crunching behind them, Turner takes Jviation’s analysis and the commission’s recommendation to elected officials for guidance.

A vote over property taxes could be on the ballot this November, and groundbreaking is likely take place in the next few years. That’s when everyone can break out their shovels.