Airport flies forward

As the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport continues to work on a new terminal and plan for the future, Airport Director Devon Brubaker says that things are going "phenomenally well."

Brubaker gave an update on the airport to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners during their November 5 meeting, going over the progress being made on the new terminal project, the funding the airport has received to cover the project, and some considerations and plans for the future. 

"It is on schedule and on budget," Brubaker said of the terminal project. "Everything is happening exactly the way we had hoped it would. And things that don't go exactly as we had hoped, there's contingencies in place to overcome those issues." 

Brubaker shared pictures of the work being done at the airport, including the old terminal building being completely emptied out and ready for installing new floors, as well as things like plumbing, electric, water supply lines, and structural features being installed. 

"Don't set this in stone, but the current planned move-in date is July 15, 2025," Brubaker said of the new terminal, adding that contractual substantial completion is scheduled for August 26, 2024, with contractual final completion scheduled for October 2, 2025. "There are currently no schedule delays," he said. 

The terminal project has also had no additional cost increases under the new contract, according to Brubaker, and is staying at the project cost of $41,469,110. Brubaker added that the county would probably be the most excited about his update on the funding for the project. 

"I stood before you all in May and basically asked you to take a leap of faith with me and the airport board and commit to backing the financials of this project to the tune of as much as $20 million," Brubaker told the commissioners. "Since I stood before you and asked for that and you graciously said yes, I have since gone out and secured $22.2 million of funding for this project, with more funding potentially on the way." 

Breaking down the new funding for the terminal project, Brubaker explained that the airport secured a $5 million loan from the Wyoming Business Council for 30 years at 1% interest. The first payment on the loan will not be due until around October 2027, after which it will be an annual payment, and the airport will not be billed until a year after the last draw on the loan. Another $2 million will be available as a grant from the Business Council after the loan is fully drawn. The airport was also recently awarded $7.5 million from a discretionary grant for airport terminal programs. For this national grant, $970 million was available, there were $8.1 billion worth of requests, and the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport got "the fourth largest amount for airports our size in the country," Brubaker explained. More funding has also come from other sources including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and WYDOT Aeronautics. 

"That completes our fundraising for this project," Brubaker said. "That means you all do not have any obligations moving forward on the capital costs of this project, nor does the city of Rock Springs. We are fully funded on this project now. I just am thrilled that this worked out. I never thought it would be possible to raise $22 million in five months."

Brubaker also explained that he heard from both the Wyoming Business Council and the FAA that the county and city passing the MOU to back the finances of the project gave them the confidence that the community was committed to the project, which made them more confident in investing more into it. 

"That MOU and your willingness to go out on a limb with us, that allowed us to put it right over the top to secure some funding, so I really appreciate your trust and your support there," Brubaker said. "This has worked out phenomenally well."

Commission Chairman Keaton West noted that when Brubaker approached the commissioners about the MOU, he anticipated the worst-case scenario would be the county having to cover upwards of $13.5 million of the cost, and the best-case scenario was having around $3.5 million as a local match. 

"I'll tell you, we were nervous, and I think that's pretty remarkable that you were able to go out and secure the full amount to where that doesn't require any obligations locally to see this project through," West said. 

Commissioner Taylor Jones agreed and thanked Brubaker for his efforts. 

"It was a pretty big strain on all of us at the time, but really that made it a strain on the taxpayers of Sweetwater County, so it's a huge relief obviously for us, but a bigger benefit all the way around for the taxpayers of Sweetwater County, both for the project and of course the funding that you rounded up," Jones said. 

Brubaker pointed out that the airport will still have to pay off the $5 million loan eventually, but said that he's not done going after additional funding to help cover those costs as well, and to help fund other delayed capital projects.  

In addition to the terminal project, the airport has seen more growth and improvement lately. SWRA has gone back to two flights a day, and continues to see growth in passenger numbers and advanced bookings. 

"We are anticipating 2025 passenger numbers to exceed 2019 passenger numbers, which were the third best in airport history," Brubaker noted. 

Brubaker also asked the commissioners about the county's funding for the contract between Wyoming and SkyWest Airlines, noting that the numbers were based on previous years' usage and will not be enough to cover costs this year based on industry changes and price increases. Commissioner West explained that the county had wanted to see amounts from the first quarter and then adjust accordingly, which they will do now.

Lastly, Brubaker gave an overview of some of the airport's future plans and goals. Some of the current projects the airport is working on finishing include finalizing the airport layout plan after FAA approval, finishing a runway lighting project, finishing a water and sewer project, and getting a new runway broom vehicle delivered. Projects for the next few years include a crack seal project, a seal coat and marking project, and hangar development to give additional hangar capacity.

Other developments coming to the airport include an aircraft maintenance company that is set to move in with a repair station, and there are discussions for a new flight school that would set up shop at the airport. 

"So we'll have both aircraft maintenance and flight training," Brubaker said. 

The airport is also going to be securing new contracts with rental car companies, and expecting an increase in revenue from those contracts, as well as looking for a new fuel supplier. Brubaker also explained that the airport continues to work with the Bureau of Land Management as a seat base for aircraft that fight wildfires. With the busy fire season this summer, the airport saw 53 missions for 14 fires and used 25,448 gallons of retardant and 3,900 gallons of water. 

"That was by far our busiest year we've had since we opened the seat base," Brubaker said. He also pointed out that having a local seat base benefits the area, and is an important source of revenue for the airport. 

"You have a lot going on," Chairman West said to Brubaker, adding that the county will continue to support the airport in the future.