 Welcome to Sheboygan County government working for you my name is Adam Payne Sheboygan County administrator and co-host of this program with chairman Mike Banderstein and as you know every month we try to highlight a different department one of our 22 and this month we're very pleased to have our airport director with us Chuck mayor welcome Chuck thank you Chuck has the very important task of being the airport manager and overseeing a pretty good size complex and a lot of good things happening out there so we're pleased to have him with us today to talk a little bit about the roles and responsibilities of the airport Chuck please begin by sharing with our viewers a little bit about yourself and when you first started working for Sheboygan County. Thank you Adam I've had the privilege of working for Sheboygan County believe it or not going on 39 years I think I am probably the senior department head out of the 22 departments right now first 16 years I was with County Planning Department and past 23 is the airport it worked out you know so well for me that the transition for a few years I was kind of juggling both Planning Department work and Airport and then once we really got into the meat of things at the County Airport and five-year capital plan infrastructure improvements and whatnot it was just a natural to transition you know to the airport full-time and history you know speaks for itself the last 23 years we've got a lot accomplished I imagine a lot of our viewers have not been out to the airport recently and perhaps heard about a number of the improvements you've made and some of our viewers may not even be aware that Sheboygan County actually owns and operates an airport it's one of our gems as you certainly know please set the stage a little bit tell our viewers a little bit about the airport how long has Sheboygan County owned and operated it how large is it a little background Sheboygan County got in the business of owning and operating an airport back in the early I think it was 1950s thanks in part to a public referendum that the County Board initiated it was in November of 1956 as far as deciding whether you know the the city or the county should own and operate a municipal airport that's pretty much what started us down the road as far as the county owning and operating a municipal airport I think it was in 1958 the county board then applied for state and federal funding construction began on the airport it was completed in 1960 and July of 1962 the airport was officially dedicated since that time that facility has grown to over 1100 acres and we have two runways at the airport one is being extended as we speak now a primary runway will be extended out to a length of 6,800 feet secondary runway is at 5,000 feet you know just a great facility you know we've got over you know the past 23 years facilities grown to include about 51 private industrial corporate hangers 115 aircraft are based at that facility with a estimated value of in excess of 150 million dollars the hangers that are out there right now are privately owned by business and industry and the hangers are worth in excess of 5.6 million dollars so the local community has really made an investment out at at Sheboygan County Airport tremendous growth at the airport tremendous infrastructure improvements thanks to the good work you've done raising federal and state funds and working with the county board but one thing that really hasn't grown too much is your staff as you all know you're one of the smallest departments in the county how many staff do you have and what are your roles and responsibilities the staff our current table of organization basically defines one airport manager full-time and two full-time airport maintenance maintenance technicians when things really get tight out there especially in the winter for snow removal you know then we'll bring a limited term employee on board airport departments operating budgets about 450,000 a year and I'm proud to say that better than 40% of that cost is offset by revenues that we generate on the field so it's not 100% totally you know a taxpayer subsidized and this the work that you do obviously keeping the grounds looking good in the snow removal and all those important tasks but you're not alone you have a fixed-based operator out there and I know there's recently been a change in that regard who is the fixed-based operator and what's their role and responsibility at the airport yeah the fixed-based operators have the past 23 years we've seen that change four times as far as private sector fixed-based operations it went from chaplain aviation to Magnus aviation western shore aviation and just within the last two months burrows aviation and that the fixed-based operator basically is kind of a full-service provider for aviation needs whether it be you know coordinating the rental of you know cars transportation fueling of aircraft you know just full full-service type things in addition they'll do flight instruction air charter rent airplanes you know everything you know for folks who are in aviation or are using aviation to traverse from you know one part of the country to the next they give people a little better feel for the the size of our airport you mentioned how many acres associated with it I think you said 1100 right how about actual use how many airplanes do we have coming and going year-round well due to the you know economic down turn we've seen our numbers you know come down considerably in the last year we're probably in the neighborhood right now about 50,000 operations a year as far as takeoffs landings things like that sheboygan as far as ranking with other state airports is very interesting we are still in the probably the top 10 out of over 100 you know public airports in in Wisconsin as far as the number of based aircraft and aircraft operations per year and I think that's what surprises a lot of people if they haven't heard that before to be in the top 10 out of over a hundred public airports says a lot about the airport and the activity there and speaking of activity though it's not a commercial airport like we have in Milwaukee from a standpoint of the economic development you've got some very important base tenants there what gives a flavor of who's predominantly utilizing the airport out of the the 51 hangers that I had referenced before we've got some major industrial tenants you know that are based at that facility that have their own corporate flight departments such industrial companies as Collar, Aerometric Engineering, Richardson Industries, Plastics, Bemis Manufacturing, those are the you know the real big the majors and then we have a number of smaller up-and-coming businesses that are based at Edge Boynt County Airport the business is located in Sheboygan County and again something interesting is other businesses that are located as far out as West Bend and also Madelaw County that chose to base at Sheboygan County Airport because of the infrastructure that we have in place at that airport. Final question before I turn it over to Mike Van der Steen it always amazes me I'm not a you know a person who knows a heck of a lot about airplanes and I know you certainly do but every now and then you'll point to an airplane at the airport and say that's worth this many million dollars what what kind of airplanes do we have out there give us a sense of what they can cost and then also what kind of airplane can our runway handle just what types of airplanes can actually come and go from Sheboygan County. Well just backing up a little bit as far as you know the infrastructure improvements that we've made at the facility has has caused that facility to be pushed into a different airport category according to the the federal aviation master airport plan across the United States. We're now one of I think maybe about six airports in the state of Wisconsin that is a corporate transport category rather than just general aviation that's one level below the commercial airline type airports and with that gives us the opportunity to you know qualify for funding for additional runway lengths and other type of infrastructure that goes you know that supports that type of corporate transport category operation of our airport that brings into the picture then the larger type of private corporate jets and that pretty much is our backbone at Sheboygan over the years it's the the chartered whether it be turbine aircraft or jet aircraft rather than just the small single engine four-place you know general aviation type aircraft and I guess a lot of that again you know we have to thank be thankful for some of the world class golf courses that we have in Sheboygan County that attract you know clientele into this area and basically their first stop is Sheboygan County Airport and we want to make very sure that that first impression of Sheboygan County when those folks get off the airplane it's going to be Sheboygan Airport and that has a big influence on you know that first impression of the area proud of you know what what that facility looks like now and we sure see the folks you know just keep coming back year after year and as the events get larger again we're trying to you know accommodate handling those numbers and especially the larger aircraft as I mentioned before as we're speaking right now that runway the primary runway is being extended there's another 800 foot extension being placed on the north end of our primary runway which is runway 321 and ultimately when that's completed the end of the summer we will be at an overall length of 6,800 feet and that will accommodate aircraft up to like a DC 9 category the range of aircraft of that category and other aircraft that we have based at Sheboygan County Airport basically is you know the capability of reaching into you know the Pacific Rim case in point last winter we had a global Express leave Sheboygan County Airport fly non-stop eight and a half hours later landed in Moscow and you mentioned a DC 10 and again give folks a flavor for the size of these airplanes some of them certainly look like they're they could be commercial airplanes because of the size and and what what can these run what how expensive are these on the corporate side the latest machine that came to Sheboygan County Airport was about 64 million dollars that's for for one corporate jet very good thank you Chuck sure Chuck you just talked about that airport runway extension and there's a lot of work that's gone into that for several years to get that project ready could you tell us a little bit about the long-range planning process that is ongoing out at the airport right that started the long-range planning started many years ago as far as doing you know the appropriate economic studies of the airport the capacity demand needs and whatnot and then taking that information and basically petitioning the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics and the FAA for funding assistance along with that we also took that petition to the full Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors for their blessing because basically they're the ones that you know have to acknowledge that you know taxpayer dollars are going to be spent at Sheboygan County Airport we've had airport capital improvement projects in in the county five-year plan for the past 20 years it's been a very slow and articulate you know process as far as improving infrastructure at the facility the qualification again for the funding we've been so fortunate I can't recall petition being denied on the state or federal level for projects that we deemed were necessary at Sheboygan Airport funding is so important you know from those sources as an example the runway extension the federal aviation trust basically is where a lot of the dollars come from for these airport improvements we're looking at 95% funding from this federal aviation fund two and a half percent from the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics and two and a half percent from local taxpayers and that I'm proud of that you know as far as being able to aggressively go out pursue that type of money it's almost you know 100% so to speak a one million dollar capital improvement project at the airport under that cost sharing scenario basically you know cost local taxpayers $25,000 that's great we really appreciate the work you do to pursue those funds and use those funds to improve our airport for the benefit of the citizens and the users to go on a little bit about the other groups that you work with who provides the input and guidance to your department as you go through your operations and your capital plans right I'm really proud to say that it's it's quite a team effort as far as other you know groups in in the Sheboygan County government and other departments in the county government working very close with with Adam keeping him apprised of you know long-range planning and and how that is going to fit in or impact the the county's capital improvement plan you know from year to year working with the finance department and especially the county highway department so often we can take projects qualify for funding and then award that project to our county highway department and they actually will do the construction of many of the projects out at the county airport that's great now we just recently heard about the lease signing that we had with Morgan aircraft could you tell us a little bit about what the county and the state have done to encourage this development out at the airport as well as what it might ultimately mean for the airport in the community sure I think it was back in 2007 when Morgan aircraft first approached the county county transportation committee as far as reserving a spot on the airport to build from there it kind of built into a number of steps that we had to go through as far as looking where what the project was going to cost where it would fit in our capital plan and then again where are we going to find funding to make this happen and again through the process I explained before we petitioned the Bureau of Aeronautics for infrastructure development up on the north central quadrant area about a 50 acre parcel on the airport to develop the Bureau of Aeronautics is cost-sharing a 1.6 million dollar infrastructure development of that area with us it's a 80% 20% cost share not quite as good as some of the federal programs that we can get into but this is a state aid program and it's still a good deal you know they're paying 80% of that infrastructure development we're paying 20% so that worked out well the Wisconsin Department of Commerce also stepped up to the plate and provided Morgan aircraft with a 30 million dollar tax incentive offer or program I'm not really all that familiar with it but it was something that Morgan officials were very very pleased with and you know thank goodness we were able to keep this hopefully future aircraft manufacturer in Wisconsin rather than having them see them you know leave the state and go elsewhere as far as our commitment to them you talked about the development of the northwest quadrant we also made some commitments for some other infrastructure I believe some site preparation and water reservoir and some wells what what is that amount to dollar wise for us ultimately when the entire development of that north central quadrant is completed I think we're looking at about six million dollars overall cost that would be for the extension of municipal sewer the well system water reservoir for fire suppression of the huge manufacturing plant road improvements that are necessary down down the line as far as you know fixing up our road infrastructure network you know we've got these 2,000 employees traversing to and from work it's about six six million dollars county's investment in that will be about two million and the other dollar amount will be coming from you know other funding sources now we're going to be staging our investment along with their building they're going to start out with a small hangar and office space first and then as they prove and test and get approvals for their aircraft then we'll be taking the next step in making that larger investment as they put the 13 acre factory and is that correct that's correct and it took us many many months to work through a comprehensive lease agreement and that pretty well you know sets sets things out in stages for us we'll you know we're not making infrastructure improvements until we have certain assurances from Morgan you know that they're indeed going to be building the manufacturing plant you know then we'll bring out the municipal sewer right now infrastructure will be for access roads of security gate a taxi way off the secondary runway ramp area street lighting things like that at the airport this is just a tremendous opportunity for our community and really appreciate the work that you've done to bring us to at least this first milestone and in this development of hopefully a new world-class manufacturer right here in Sheboygan County to go on a little bit you know this is kind of a big and special item but what else are you working on at the airport over and above the the runway extension and and working with Morgan for their factory out at the airport right we've got one other major project going on right now and that that's occurring in the southwest corner of the airport where we're rebuilding some of the taxi ways that come off the primary runway and also feed into the industrial and corporate areas some of those surfaces are 40 years old structurally they've exceeded their service life and you know it's time to get back and get into those areas of the airport infrastructure for reconstruction so that that's another 1.2 million dollar project that we're handling in addition to the 3.2 million dollar runway extension and the 1.6 million dollar Morgan aircraft infrastructure that's going on so we I've got quite a bit on my plate this summer. I know as I looked at our capital improvements program you've got these big dollars in there the nice thing about it it's very little money needed from the taxpayer to fund many of these things and we that's fantastic now are these other projects you mentioned also going to be funded through some assistance from the Bureau of Aeronautics and the federal government as well. Everyone okay is funded at the 97.5 percent 2.5 percent cost ratio. Could you tell us a little bit about what you perceive as the economic benefit that the airport brings to the community and how do you make money to cover the revenues how do you bring the revenues in your budget to fund the portions of your operation that it does? Well that was one of the prerequisites as far as qualifying for the state and federal funds is that we had to prove to state and federal officials that you know the millions of dollars that they're pumping into Sheboyin County Airport is justified. Every few years we will have a airport economic impact study done and the most recent study was in 2007 and just a real high overview of that study summarized that the airport at that time basically supported about 223 jobs and that equated into about 9.2 million dollar in wages and payroll and also about a 23 and a half million dollar economic output and sales type initiative that having the airport you know in place caused. So the numbers are very positive every few years you know that economic impact study you know shows the numbers you know increasing and I hope we kind of turn the corner now as far as airport expansion you know we're getting back and focusing on infrastructure the rebuilding what we have taking care of it so that as the aircraft get larger and heavier and whatnot you know that we can accommodate them and and I guess one thing also to put the viewers at ease you know I'm talking you know heavier larger aircraft the newer aircraft it's really incredible to listen you know to these new machines that come into the airport because they're designed to be much quieter they have a shorter runway takeoff capability landing capabilities they're more user-friendly to the environment compared to the older generation of jets that just you know kind of gave you a headache when they take off you know they're so loud those things are you know finally going away now check where do you get the revenues that you bring into your department what parts of the operation does the county benefit from and operating the airport directly revenue stream generated by Sheboygan County airport basically comes from the hangar lots that that we create the county retains ownership of those lots we lease the lots to private corporate commercial sector you know to build on they will put their hangars up and then from there they pay us a yearly lease for that site where their building is located we also generate revenue from fuel that's sold by the fixed base operator I've got some agricultural land that's still within the airport perimeter fence and we maximize that the best we can you know as far as producing revenue okay thank you with that I'll turn it back to Adam to wrap up thanks Mike if you haven't had an opportunity to get out to the airport or you want to learn more about what's happening out there we have an annual event on Father's Day that has just been tremendous wings and wheels and Chuck of course has been a big part of helping that be successful and you work with a lot of other nonprofits to get it done but what if our viewers or if someone watching this program hasn't been out for that what is wings and wheels what's it all about okay this past Father's Day we celebrated our 19th annual wings and wheels event typically the airport will experience about 8 to 10,000 people that will you know come through the front gate at Sheboygan County Airport for the one-day event it's free to the public we have something for everybody at that facility as far as airplanes to look at or cars tractors boats things for young kids to do doesn't all have to fly to be out there exactly it's just something for the whole family and and it's free you don't have to spend any money unless you want to buy something as far as you know the concessions that are set up there by some of the civic groups and whatnot just a wonderful activity and you know we expect hopefully with the help of EAA chapter 766 they're the primary sponsor of the event that they will you know keep this going for many years ahead great family activity and you also have the new Heritage Museum now to have your pancake breakfast in and give people shelter if needed a beautiful facility is it not right that's believe 1.6 million dollar privately owned facility it's a nonprofit group that manages that aviation heritage center and it has been such a blessing for Sheboygan County Airport as far as hosting events major events or just small gatherings things like that case in point for the last two years now we've that because of the aviation heritage facility we've been able to accommodate a group of war birds that will come to Sheboygan County Airport and have a training safety clinic formation flying practice and everything it's a T28 group these are airplanes that come in from all over the United States to Sheboygan County Airport they're there for a week they go through their their safety clinic and then the day that the EAA convention starts in Oshkosh they will fly out of Sheboygan in formation to Oshkosh and you know they do their world renowned formation fly wharvers and aerobatic practice the neat thing for Sheboygan County is we we get to see all of that first and we don't have to fight the traffic at Oshkosh it's right at Sheboygan County we kind of get an airspace waiver from the FAA and allow the T28s to do their their practice on Saturday and Sunday afternoon the group just really enjoys Sheboygan Airport and they've kind of made it their home base now for the future well Chuck the time's flown by here our 30-minute program has come to an end and I just like to say to our viewers that you may have observed or just heard from one of our more mild mannered department heads but let me tell you you're not going to find a better airport manager in the state of Wisconsin and I'll bet he's one of the best in the nation we're so pleased to have you with us Chuck thanks for joining us today it was my pleasure thanks for the great work you're doing at the airport and thank you for joining us next week we'll have our next month rather we'll have Sherry Reininger our new finance director with us so until then on behalf of the Sheboygan County Board and County Board chairman Mike Van Der Stien thanks for joining us