Polson, Ronan airports to receive upgrades

The Polson and Ronan airports are slated to receive some essential upgrades after acquiring more than $400,000 in federal grant money.

Part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, the funds will go toward installing advanced weather reporting equipment in Ronan and a new operations center in Polson. A total of $9 million was allocated to 20 airports across Montana, according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, who sits on the senate committee which funded the program.

“Responsibly investing in Montana’s airports is so important,” Tester said in the release. “Air travel supports good-paying jobs, our tourism economy, our businesses and our Big Sky way of life.”

Rick Newman, chairman of the Lake County Joint Airport Board, said the improvement projects come at a crucial time, particularly for the Ronan facility. He said the new weather reporting equipment will allow planes to land in low visibility situations. The airport’s current system failed to meet certain FAA recertification requirements shortly after it was installed 10 years ago, Newman said, limiting the type of conditions planes are permitted to land in.

“We lost a lot of medical flights,” Newman said. “Hopefully we’ll start picking those up again.”

The Polson Airport was also awarded about $240,000 to rebuild its central operations facility and repair preflight staging areas. Newman said the airport will tear down the existing office building and convert a hangar into a new command center complete with a pilots’ lounge.

“It’s better money spent than trying to fix old one,” Newman said.

The grants require a 10 percent local contribution, which Newman said Lake County has already budgeted for.

He said the projects come as part of an ongoing effort to maintain the county’s three airports in Polson, Ronan and St. Ignatius.

“We’re very fortunate to have three functioning airports in Lake County,” Newman said, adding that the facilities are crucial for services like medical transportation and fire fighting.

Funded primarily through a combination of grants and a local mill levy, Newman said Lake County’s airports are in relatively good condition compared to other areas.

“You’ll see a lot of places with cracks and weeds growing in runways,” he said. “We’re able to budget everything and keep them operating.”

Although politicians often take credit for allocating funding, Newman said most grants are secured through the efforts of the local aviation community. He said volunteers contribute immensely to upkeep and maintenance at the facilities.

“If it wasn’t for volunteers all of us, these airports wouldn’t function like they do,” Newman said.