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The Baxter County Quorum Court will meet for its regular monthly session on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Baxter County Courthouse.
This month’s meeting will see votes on $4 million for the land purchase and construction of a new Health Department Building, as well as votes on an additional $300,000 to be appropriated for the Denton Ferry Road Bridge project.
The Quorum Court will hold a vote to pay off $199,396.19 in bonds for the Baxter County Airport in order to allow further expenditures.
The Baxter County Airport asked members of the Baxter County Quorum Court to begin thinking about setting aside money for their share of the costs to expand the airport’s runways after receiving a promise of financial support from the Federal Aviation Administration during July’s court session.
The upgrade project would see the airport’s runway receive a 1000-foot extension and a 1500-foot displacement, allowing the airport to receive commercial flights again.
The cost of the expansion project will run between $24-26 million, with roughly 90% of the costs being covered by the federal government. The remaining costs will be split between the state, the county, and various grant programs.
If the Baxter County Quorum Court agrees to invest in the airport’s expansion, taxpayers can expect to pay anywhere between $1.2-1.8 million, or roughly 5% of the project’s cost.
The Baxter County Airport currently has 74 aircraft registered with the airport, with an additional 35 waiting for hangar space, and up to 30-40 students waiting in the wings to be trained at the airport.
The airport’s current manager is set to leave in October and receives a salary of $29,000. The airport has asked for the county’s help in finding a quality replacement for the position that can handle the expansion project. The salary for the replacement is expected to be around $90,000 in annually.
A vote to appoint Gwen Khayak to the board of the Baxter County Library will also be held on Tuesday evening.
