Sweetwater County commissioners will host a public hearing to gather public input on a request from Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport Director Devon Brubaker for the county to amend its budget and provide $133,333 for the first phase of the commercial terminal modernization project.
In March 2018, the federal government passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which designates $1 billion for airport infrastructure improvement projects. It prioritizes projects at non-primary airports that are classified as regional or local and are not located in a metropolitan area, or classified as small or non-hub, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Sept. 27, the FAA announced it awarded $205 million in the first round of supplementary funding. The airport met the Oct. 31 deadline to apply for the final round of supplemental funding for fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Discretionary funds are highly competitive, and projects that are “shovel ready” are more likely to receive funding, according to Brubaker.
Initially, the costs of the design plan was intended to be split between the county, which would pay two-thirds, and the city of Rock Springs, which would cover one-third.
With the request before the county commissioners still tabled and the deadline approaching, Rock Springs provided $200,000. The application was submitted, and now Brubaker says he is continuing to work with the commissioners to restore the two-thirds and one-third split and “bring the county to the table.”
https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_2cc6fc90-1e2c-5dfd-94ba-24daeee88c50.html