 Welcome to Sheboygan County government working for you. I'm Dan Lemihue, County Board Chairman. I'm co-host of this show that we put on every month co-host along with Adam Payne our administrative coordinator. On a monthly basis, we try to bring information about the different departments of Sheboygan County and the different services we provide the residents of Sheboygan County. In some of the past months we've talked about our Sheriff's Department, Health and Human Services, Highway Department, today we have with us Chuck Muir, our airport manager and we're going to be talking a little bit about the airport and an area of county government that maybe a lot of people aren't familiar with as far as county involvement and it's called Sheboygan County Airport, but that maybe a lot of people aren't aware that county government is actually involved in this quite heavily. But before we get into that Chuck, maybe you could just tell us a little bit about yourself and when you started working for the airport. Be happy to Dan. Thank you. Well, I've had the privilege for the past 14 years of managing the County Airport Department. It's been an incredible challenge, kind of frightening at times. Prior to that I've been employed with Sheboygan County in the role of a zoning and planning with the Sheboygan County Planning Department. I spent 17 years in that department kind of learning the ropes, so to speak, of county government and just how things work and whatnot and in 1987 I had the privilege and the opportunity of making a transition over to the airport. And getting to the airport now, you've been there that number of years, but how long has the airport been there as far as the county operation? Interesting history that goes along with the airport. Back in the 40s and 50s there was a lot of debate as far as if the Sheboygan County should have a, you know, municipally owned airport. Back then it was private airstrips located in Plymouth, Kohler, they're just all over the county and nothing as far as a true municipal public airport. There was discussions about the concept of even a tri-county airport where they were looking at a location possibly in the northwest quadrant of Sheboygan County, up around the marsh, and that would serve Calumet, Manitowoc, Sheboygan counties. So this thing's really just, you know, been all over the board over the years. And finally in 1956, the county board felt that in fairness to the taxpayers, the question should be put to the public in the form of a referendum. And it was the November 1956 election that the airport referendum, you know, was put on the docket and the voter's choice was very, very supportive. So at that point, I think it was then in 1958 the Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors allocated I think about $300,000 for an airport to be built. I think the county at that time was able to get some money from the state government and also from the FAA federal. And for $500,000, the Sheboygan County airport was built. I think it started in 1959. The airport opened sometime, I think late in 1960. And then in 1962, July 20th, 1962, because I was there, I remember, as a spectator, not a manager, the airport was dedicated. So it was really, really quite the event. It was dedicated with one runway? No, we had two runways. Two runways? Back then. We opened a big, very, very Spartan facility. There might have been all of two or three hangers there at that time compared to what we see there today. So you started with two runways. Maybe you could just fill us in a little bit as to the status of the airport today, the size of the airport and some of the mission and responsibilities of the airport. Sure. Today, Sheboygan County holds ownership to 655 acres, ground acres of airport land. We also have about another 200 acres of air rights, so to speak, above the airport that extend out to protect our runway approaches. So with good almost 900 acres that we oversee now and with our capital projects coming up, we're about to increase that by, I would say, another 200. Ultimately, when we're finished, Sheboygan County will have over 1,100 acres ground and air at that facility, just to keep up with the way things are evolving and the demands placed on that facility. And still the two runways? Two runways. Over the years, they have been extended, slow, but sure, to keep up with the newer jet aircraft and whatnot requirements. Now, when most people think of an airport to think of General Mitchell Field in Milwaukee or something like that, where you've got the Carolina Airlines in Northwest flying in an hour and you see all the commuter flights, what is the responsibility of Sheboygan County Airport? We don't have those companies coming in. So what is your responsibility? Right. Back in the 1970s, we had three different airlines that attempted to make a goal of it at Sheboygan as far as local commuters and that just the numbers weren't there. And once the federal subsidy dollars dried up, we lost those services. At this point, basically, Sheboygan County Airport, the backbone to this facility is industrial and corporate flight operations. We are probably one of the busiest airports in Wisconsin that has that type of corporate activity. It's really wonderful that it's here. The ranking of our airport, too, another interesting thing that out of well over 100 airports in the state of Wisconsin, Sheboygan is ranked as probably the seventh largest as far as based aircraft and we're ranked around number 10 as far as the number of aircraft operations per year. So we're not a Mitchell Field or a Green Bay Austin Strable, but we are getting right up there. That second number that you gave us, or the ranking, that was the number of flights that are in and out? Is that without that? Yeah, we're tenth overall in the state as far as operations and those operations equate to about 80,000 per year. And our based aircraft, I mean just backing up to that again, we're at probably in the neighborhood of about 120 aircraft that are based at Sheboygan alone. The investment that local business and industry, and even general aviation, the small person who has a private airplane, the investment that equates out to Sheboygan Airport is nearly, we're estimating close to 80 million dollars in aircraft worth. So aircraft and hangers or just aircraft alone? The privately owned and constructed hangers at that facility are assessed at over four million dollars. And these are on the tax base? Yes, they are taxed and that's money that is coming back into under the tax rolls. So to run those tenth most active airport in the state, what kind of a staff do you have? Oh, I've got a huge staff. Very proud of the fact that we run very lean. It's grown incrementally from 1962, though. And very efficient. Besides myself as a full-time airport manager, I have two full-time airport maintenance technicians. And then certain times of the year we also bring on a limited term employee that helps us out through the really busy times in the summer and especially in the winter as far as snow operations. Because our department is pretty much self-sufficient. We take care of that entire 900 acre facility, just the three man department. And basically what, like the two full-time, did you say? Airport maintenance. What is their primary job responsibility? Keep that facility as safe as possible as far as operations. Safety is a big factor. Safety is ultimate. The aviation environment is inherently dangerous and very unforgiving. So we need to keep a real tight ship, so to speak, as far as runways need to be safe as possible. The navigational aids that are at that facility, visual aids, all has to be up to certain FAA standards. And they have to be maintained at airports open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So we don't have room for much error as far as keeping it safe. So there and your function is basically the upkeep of the airport, the runways, the infrastructure. And all the private operators, their hangers, their maintenance, their work on their plans would all be there. That's correct. We would also oversee and enforce the Sheboygan County Code of Ordinances, our airport minimum standards. And again that is pretty much dictated by FAA criteria as far as what these tenants can and cannot do on a municipally owned airport. When I first became chairman a little over a year ago, I was fortunate to be invited out there and to tour the facility and also to get a few minutes up in the air. And I was really surprised having not been out there for some time the number of tenants you had out there and the size of some of their facilities that they had out there. Maybe you could just let our viewers know a little bit about who some of these tenants, corporate tenants are and the type of equipment they have out there and the size of these hangers. Okay. We have presently 14 major corporations that have flight departments at Sheboygan County Airport. Many of those corporations have chose to, you know, create their own flight departments and have their own hangers. Some are based under the fixed-base operator, that would be Magnus Aviation. Under Magnus Aviation's roof and Magnus Aviation would provide services for the smaller flight departments. They would have to get their airplanes ready when they needed to, you know, depart. And when the airplanes came back, they would hangar the aircraft. The bigger industrials, corporates who have their own hangers and flight departments basically do that type of operation themselves. They maintain their aircraft to a certain level. Any major engine repairs on these larger jets and whatnot naturally have to go to a certified, you know, facility or whatever. That's something that we can't or they can't do at Sheboygan. But overall, I think the, you know, we've got a very sophisticated operation in place out there. Can we give some advertising time to some of these companies or aren't you allowed to give out names of the people that are out there? The Kohler Company Flight Department, Richardson Industries, Windway Capital Corp, Aerometric Engineering, Bemis Manufacturing, Eclipse, Plymouth Foam, you know, the list goes on and on. And it's not just their own equipment that's out there, but they have people coming into them to see them from outside the area too. They're using the airport also. Yes. Yeah, very. That affects the use of the airport. It sure does. Very good point. As a matter of fact, the type of people, locations, you know, where people are coming from into Sheboygan Airport and even our outbound flights, leaving Sheboygan, excuse me, really is incredible because we are basically, you know, working a global market or our industry and corporate tenants are. It's nothing at all to see the jet aircraft leave early in the morning. And a lot of folks I think in Sheboygan probably hear those jets fly overhead six or seven o'clock, you know, and they're going out to do business. Typically they'll be going to Mexico, Canada, Europe. Now we have aircraft that have capability of reaching into the Pacific Rim based at Sheboygan. That is based in Sheboygan. Based in Sheboygan, yes. And what are some of the, I know you and I have talked about this before, but what are some of the local events that bring in a lot of activity as far as not at the airport itself, but throughout the community and surrounding area? So fortunate to have a very active community as far as the Gulf events that occur, the road racing at Road America, those type of events just have a major impact on Sheboygan County Airport as far as people, you know, that come in for those events. It's wonderful, you know, when we see how full up we get at the airport as far as jet aircraft, corporate aircraft for just, you know, those two type of events alone. And I know you mentioned just before we came on the air this morning, this, as we're taping this, this is during the time of the flying in Ashkosh. And you mentioned that you're getting quite full out there too with Kraft final room over in Ashkosh or there's the nearest airports there. So they land and keep their planes here. Right. That's true. And we have our fixed space operator, Magnus Aviation to thank a lot for that. Service is so important in aviation industry at first impression and how customers are treated because these customers are so mobile. You know, if they don't like Sheboygan, it's just as easy for them to go to West Bend with their airplane and it only takes them 15 minutes to get there. So we're competing with with a number of airports in this area. And again, thanks to the effort of Magnus Aviation, we've really have attracted a lot of folks in here from four events like the EAA convention at Ashkosh. Today, the airport is practically full as far as tie down area of general aviation aircraft that, you know, from people who have flown in here from all over the country. I know I've got a number of people out there who've flown in from Canada. They made pre arrangements with Magnus. We provided them with rental cars and some folks have even camped out overnight at the airport, you know, and then they make their pilgrimage to EAA Ashkosh and, you know, they just have a wonderful time. My grandmother, Bernice Tagge, as you know, has a century farm south of the airport there. And one of my fond memories, working summers there was at night after a long hard day's works, seeing that airport light going around. It was just always part of spending summers there. And when you talk about the numbers, I always find it kind of staggering. And I'm sure our viewers are surprised as well, not only the county involvement with operating an airport, but just how large it has grown. You said the seventh largest, the 10th busiest, 80 million dollars worth of airplanes out there. And you've been there the past 14 years and have really taken a very modest airport to one of the best in the state, where the 12th largest county yet have the seventh largest airport. That doesn't happen overnight. And I know the leadership that you've brought working with the Resources Committee and the county board, tell us a little bit about the long-term planning process, the capital projects that you've been involved with planning. Okay. Well, as you had mentioned, Adam, 14 years at the airport now, the infrastructure improvements out there have taken that long. It's been, you know, one project after another, just to get infrastructure to the point now where we can be looking at major runway expansions, road relocations and things like that. During that 14-year period, we spent seven years of going through a very methodical, thorough airport master plan update. And we've done that update in stages, along with that, we've also initiated a number of economic impact studies as far as, you know, establishing a credible base, you know, for which, you know, these expansions that we're looking at today into the future, you know, will occur. And then we've also done environmental assessment studies so that, you know, we know exactly what these impacts are going to be on woodlands, wetlands, things like that. So that was seven years of, you know, it was a long-drawn-off process, but it was very important, again, for credibility, so that we, you know, could kind of get on that springboard now and, you know, launch into, you know, some of these major capital projects that we're proposing. So when you lead these planning processes, I know you don't do it alone. Who generally provides you with the input and the guidance that you need as you go forward? We have the, I'm very fortunate to have a resources committee. It's five members from the County Board of Supervisors. And that committee has just done a wonderful role the last 14 years in helping me, you know, make the changes necessary out at the airport. Whenever the resources committee runs into any technical difficulties or something with aviation that's a little unclear to them, we have a another committee in place that's appointed by the County Board. It's an airport advisory committee. And it's made up of nine members. It's a very nice cross-section of the community, aviation, corporate, you know, average person off the street, Chamber of Commerce. And that committee has proved to be a valuable safety net for a resources committee in working through some of these, you know, questions that may be, you know, very debatable. So with your continuous improvement the last couple of years with the perimeter fence and some of the other projects you've been involved in, give our viewers a sense of what you're, what you've accomplished of late and what you're currently working on? Well, the last 14 years capital projects have totaled probably close to $5 million and not to get upset. The funding sources on that $5 million I'm very proud of. Back in the late 1980s when I started at the airport, we were still able to tap into a fund that's known as a Federal Aviation Trust. And on some of the projects I was, Russia Boyden County was able to actually secure 90% of the project costs from this Federal Aviation Trust Fund. 5% would come from the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics and then the Resource Committee and I would only have to go before County Board for 5%. And the last big ticket project at the airport was about $2.3 million when we did a concrete overlay on our primary runway. So, you know, going back to the County Board asking for 5% of $2.3 million was comfortable, very comfortable to say the least. Funding sources now have changed quite a bit because of the present, the presidential situation in Washington that tends to change the formulas as far as Federal programs. Now the best we hope for out of Federal Aviation Trust Fund dollars is 80%, so then we are looking at local taxpayers, you know, to come up with the other 20% on airport improvement projects. And some of the projects that you've recently put into place that you're currently working on? That we're working on right now are six-year airport improvement capital projects which would entail the extension of runway 13 and 31. That will, that's programmed to occur later this summer on the west end of the runway and then east end of the runway will occur next summer. In the year 2003, we're looking at the relocation of County trunk O and we'll be pushing that road about a quarter mile south of its present location. After that, 2004, we'll be getting into the terminal area of the airport to extend taxi lanes for future development of general aviation, private hangers, and also for the industrial and corporate hangar areas. 2005, 2006, then we're looking at land acquisitions and getting into the plans and specs for the primary runway extension which is runway 321 that runs to the north and south. So it's a, I think a very well laid out, you know, long-range plan and with the help of the County Board, you know, we'll get there slow but sure. Now one of the projects you mentioned was moving County trunk O out and I'm sure folks would drive along the airport who may go out and take a look. The main reason for that is... Okay, a number of reasons. We had talked about earlier the number of aircraft hangars that we have seen built out there in the last 14 years has just been incredible. I've run out of real estate basically until we can move County trunk O further south. We no longer have room in that southern quadrant for private hangars to be built. That's located on the east side of the airport. On the west side of the airport we have a very limited number of industrial hangar lots available yet for development. We should be seeing a industrial hangar built sometime later this year if not early next year. County Board already authorized that development. Resource Committee, when they meet next week, will be reviewing another request for an industrial hangar to be built sometime next year. So that leaves me with only two industrial hangar lots on that side of the field until the year 2003 or 2004. It's just, you know, when I think I got this thing up ahead of the power curve is when we start sliding back. It's a nice problem to have, you know, that type of development that we're seeing occur out there. The last question I have for you is right now we're in the, as you know, the midst of the budget process and the County Board Chairman and County Board Supervisors are looking at department's budgets and justifying their current operational expenditures and more. And again, most of our viewers may not be aware that this is one of our 23 departments providing an important service to the community, but just how important? What is the economic benefit of having an airport in Sheboygan County? Well, just looking back in, I think it was 1993 we did our first economic study as far as what the benefits of that airport are to the community. And the format that was used in the study back in 1993, the result basically and just summarizing quickly, the economic benefit to cost of maintaining that airport was like 24 to 1. For every dollar that was put into the airport, you should see, you know, a $24 return. You know, very simplistic that that was the, you know, the conclusion of that study. We had done another study in 1997 and then May of year 2000 was the most recent economic study. The economic benefit, whether it's direct impact, indirect or induced, the numbers were quite impressive. Local economy, the airport impacts business sales in excess of $40 million, wages in excess of $20 million. The impact our airport has on things going on in the state of Wisconsin. I think that was a $45 million impact. So it's not just what's happening here. It's a ripple effect. You know, it does reach out all over, you know, the state of Wisconsin. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Chuck. We've talked about a lot of numbers today and a lot of figures and rankings and other things. But I don't think any of our viewers would get a true picture of what's going on out there until they see it. Yes. You put on an event once a year, I believe it's on Father's Day. Yes. Wings and wheels. That's right. And you bring in over 10,000 people to that event. But an event like that is a good way for the community to see what's out there. And we're running out of time, so we don't really have a lot of time to talk about it. And it's just passed us, so we'll try to remind them next spring. But that's a good chance to see what's out there. And the numbers don't mean a lot until you actually see some of these aircraft that are out there and see the facility out there. And then the people will know what we really have in Sheboyin County at the airport. So I would just recommend to our viewers that if you do get a chance, next Father's Day to go out there. Next month, the department that we're going to be featuring is our Clerk of Courts office. And we have Nan Todd, the newest elected official, a county-wide elected official in Sheboyin County. She'll be our guest. And discussing with us the functions and duties of the Clerk of Courts office. So thank you for watching again this month. And we'll look forward to seeing you next month. Thank you.