Over 400 people recently gathered at the Gainesville Municipal Airport to celebrate the city’s success in completing significant projects at the airport. The highlight of the celebration was the dedication of a new terminal, with Dave Fulton, Director of Aviation for the Texas Department of Transportation, as guest speaker. “I applaud the people in this community for understanding and supporting the value and contribution of the airport. Many times communities think that the local airports are just a play thing for some of the wealthy people in town who happen to own an airplane. They don’t realize what an economic contribution that an airport like the Gainesville Municipal Airport can make.”
City officials have made the development of the airport a high priority and, in turn, accomplished quite a bit in the past year. In May, the Council committed more than $90,000 toward an automated fueling system. That system has been fully operational for a few months now and fuel sales are increasing.
In August, the city hired Airport Manager, Mike Shahan, who had previously served as Operations Project Coordinator at the Addison Airport.
In addition to the construction of the new terminal, the airport is in the process of building hangars.
“I would just say that you’ve accomplished the three things I think that it takes to make any airport successful,” Fulton said. “A few years ago you lengthened the runway to 5,000 feet so you could attract business corporate aircraft. Now, you have a beautiful facility serving as a front door to your community to welcome those people who use this airport. And finally, you now have professional airport management on the airport. Those three things are vital to the success of any airport.”
Not only did the lengthening of the runway help enhance the attraction of potential businesses, another key move was shutting down all but one runway to allow businesses to build their operations near the airport.
”There are numerous businesses that are looking at Gainesville and if we get a third of these businesses… Gainesville will double in 1 O years, I’ll assure you,” said Mayor Jim J. Hatcher.
“While many prospective businesses wish to remain anonymous when inquiring about Gainesville, they are plentiful,” Shahan said.
Acknowledging the work and persistence of several individuals and businesses who contributed to the construction and development of the airport, Hatcher added, ”Without their persistence, this place would not be. I also want to thank the citizens of Gainesville for your support on this project.”
“I’m pleased that I was invited to be here today to help celebrate this beautiful facility, which we kind of view as a model of what we would like to see at the other 250+ airports in the state,” Fulton said.
– excerpted from Gainesville Register