SMITHVILLE — The Wayne County Airport is in line to receive Federal Aviation Administration funds to study expected airport development over the next 10 years.
A press release from the office of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the Wayne County Airport will receive $360,000 in FAA funds to update its master plan and study.
Patrick Herron, county administrator for the Wayne County commissioners, said updating the master plan includes studying inventory, demand for services, facility requirements and capital improvements.
“We still have some formalities to go through before we get the FAA funds, but we are excited to start the process,” Herron said. “Basically what a master plan is is what we expect the airport to need and to look like in the next decade.”
The new master plan will likely cost around $440,000 in total and might be a two-year process. Herron said the last master plan for the Wayne County Airport was written in 2008.
“Our usage has increased quite a bit since then,” he said. “Our runway is now longer, it’s about a mile long and grooved, and our taxiway is longer too.”
The Wayne County Airport is located at 6020 Honeytown Road. Herron said some local businesses use the airport and private jets stop there during long trips.
The public will be invited to give feedback to Wayne County leaders about the airport at a few public forums. Herron said those forums will be scheduled after the FAA funds are processed.
Dates, times and locations of those forums will be announced online and in the Wooster Daily Record.
Other airports in Northeast Ohio expected to receive funds for various improvements include the Akron-Canton Regional Airport, Lorain County Regional Airport and Geauga County Airport.
