Design and construction ahead for Lake County Executive Airport
May 28—The Lake County Executive Airport in Willoughby will receive a series of grant funding this year to begin the design and engineering phase of several projects, according to airport manager Patty Fulop.
The construction phase for the projects is expected to come in another series of grants in 2023 and will include rehabbing the pavement for the airport's longest runway, some taxiway rehabilitation and new taxi lanes in another area intended for more hangars. In addition, a reconfiguration of a portion of the airport's main Taxiway A will be designed and engineered.
"Along with those designs will come new LED runway lighting, taxiway lighting and taxi lane lighting," Fulop said. "In order to upgrade the lighting, we will need to design a new electrical vault, reconstruct our airport beacon and provide the FAA with a plan to remove any unused pavement. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will also provide us with additional funding to make more related upgrades."
In the coming years, the airport will look to build additional hangars, an administration building, a snow removal equipment storage area and a driveway to reach the new hangar development. The ODOT Office of Aviation has offered the airport a grant for $91,137 this year to complete the removal of some obstructions — power poles — that protrude into the airspace of the airport's runway protection zone at the corner of Hodgson and Lost Nation Roads, Fulop said.
According to Fulop, there has been a shortage of aircraft storage space in the Greater Cleveland area for many years. Any new construction could not start until the airport master plan was completed and accepted by FAA in late 2019, she said.
"The airport board approved the building of a corporate hangar in March of 2021 by Mibec Air, LLC.," Fulop said. "Due to supply chain issues, material delivery did not take place until February of this year. Construction began late in April and is ongoing, and completion is expected by the end of summer.
"This hangar will house several aircraft, most of which is already on the field opening other hangar space for new arrivals," she added. It will be a big plus to the airport and the Fixed Base Operator to have additional hangar space to lease to new corporations."
In addition, the airport has since upgraded a 1989 snow plow truck to a 2005 one, a 1998 snow plow truck to a 2006 one, replaced a couple of old tractors used for mowing to a used 2019 John Deere with a mower and received a grant in 2017 from the FAA for a new John Deere front end loader that included a snow plow, blower and runway broom.
"There were no fundraisers," Fulop said. "We have been saving tirelessly, penny pinching and cost cutting to upgrade our 2000 Chevy pickup (also with a plow) and finally were able this year to purchase our first new truck since taking over the operation of the airport. We purchased a 2022 GMC K25 from Classic GMC in Painesville.
"The airport is nearly 300 acres of mowing and has multiple pavement areas, plus two runways that are each a mile long and 100 feet wide to plow," she added. "We need reliable equipment to maintain the airport."
In 2014, the sponsorship of the then Lost Nation Airport was relinquished by Willoughby to the Lake Development Authority and Lake County. The airport was renamed the Lake County Executive Airport in 2019.
"The board of directors chose this name because it reflects more on what we do here," Fulop said. "Lake County in the official name of the airport indicates and identifies that the airport is public infrastructure such that users of the airport — potential investors in Lake county and or businesses who may desire to develop business and a location in Lake County — will recognize that the airport is owned and managed by a stable government entity providing an appropriate facility for their aviation, investment and business development needs."
Executive Airport in the official name further displays and classifies the airport as one which is properly equipped, and focused on attracting businesses to the airport to advance economic development in Lake County, she said. The airport master plan that was completed in 2019 using FAA funds lays out the airport and shows all the developmental plans for the airport over the next 20 years.
"As the airport manager since the 2014 change in ownership, I am extremely passionate about the success of the airport," Fulop said.
