BATAVIA – Two more projects in the decade-long. multimillion-dollar expansion of the Genesee County Airport got the go-ahead during a meeting of the County Legislature on Wednesday.
A $490,415 contract for a taxiway apron to one of the T-hangars was awarded to Keeler Construction of Albion, and a $97,650 contract for administrative services for the project also won approval.
A third contract – $115,000 to C&S Engineers for preliminary planning of a proposed $6.5 million terminal and maintenance hangar – won the legislature’s support.
The county-owned airport’s transformation began a decade ago, when the runway was lengthened to 5,500 feet to handle corporate jets, which land there regularly.
Underscoring its importance in general aviation, the facility houses helicopters for the State Police, Mercy Flight and crop-dusting planes, and generates nearly $20 million in the economy through rents from more than 70 planes based there, along with fuel sales. The airport is responsible for 52 full- or part-time jobs and has shown a profit in nine of the last 10 years.
The Legislature generally has supported airport projects. The Federal Aviation Administration picks up 90 percent of the costs.
In other business, legislators:
• Honored James L. Vincent of Byron for his 31 years on the county’s Economic Development Center board. He is retiring this month.
• Approved a $200,000 contract with SMP of Henrietta for a system that stores data from county operations.
• Expanded health services shared with Orleans County by employing a public health emergency preparedness coordinator.