Aeronautics Commission Approves $427K Grant to Seminole Municipal Airport
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission recently awarded state grants to several Oklahoma communities for various airport infrastructure projects.
At its monthly meeting, the Commission awarded the grants through its five-year Airport Construction Program (ACP). The ACP is the method used by the Commission to determine where federal and state funds will be invested. These decisions for airport development are consistent with achieving the goals laid out in the Oklahoma Airport System Plan (OASP).
“Airports included in the OASP are functionally classified as regional business, district, or community. Although new to this position, I have worked for many years developing the OASP. Economic activity at the 108 airports in the Oklahoma Airport System are responsible for $10.6B of annual economic activity. Our mission is to meet the needs of the users of the system such as business aviation, aeromedical operations, flight training, and recreational flying. The Commission is pleased to provide Oklahoma communities with federal and state financial assistance to develop and maintain their local airports,” said State Director of Aeronautics, Grayson Ardies. “We maintain over 120 miles of runway in Oklahoma, and those runways, of which 45 are jet-capable, will connect people and products to just about anywhere in the world.”
The approved State Grant for the Seminole Municipal Airport consisted of installing LED runway lights and runway end identifier lights. Based on bids, the total project cost was $427,813 and was funded with $406,422 of state grant funds and $21,391 of sponsor matching funds.
The Statewide Aviation and Aerospace Economic Impact Study that the Commission published in 2017 showed the Seminole Municipal Airport has an annual economic activity of $4.5M.
“Regional business airports like Seminole are the backbone of our state’s air transportation system and are located at the economic centers across the state,” Ardies said. “The Commission continues to focus the majority of federal and state funding on regional business and other airports that make significant economic contributions to the system.”
Businesses that reported benefiting from the airport include Wrangler, Sigma Meat Processing Company, Wal-Mart, Cudd Oil Company, and Coates Roofing. Enviro Systems, a Safran Company, is an AS9100 registered supplier of environmental controls for many of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. The company is located adjacent to the Seminole Municipal Airport and is engaged in various types of aerospace/ aviation engineering and engineering testing, primary related to aircraft air exchange and air conditioning systems. The company has been in business since 1979 and has about 200 employees.
For more information about the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission programs and the Aviation Economic Impact Study results, visit oac.ok.gov/economic-impact.
— oac.ok.gov —
(Editors and News Directors: For questions, please call Sandra Shelton, Public and Government Affairs Coordinator for the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission at 405-464-8830.)
The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to promote aviation, which includes ensuring that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 108 publicly owned airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System, and helping ensure the viability of the state’s aerospace industry.
Aviation Industry Facts:
The Oklahoma Aviation & Aerospace Industry produces just under $44B in annual economic activity, making it the second largest economic engine in our state. The average salary in the industry is $73,300 making it one of the highest average salaries in the state. The state has 108 public airports in its system with over 96% of our population being within 30 minutes from one of the 44 airports with a 5,000-foot, jet-capable runway.