GULF SHORES, Ala. — As progress continues on the construction of a fuel farm at the Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores, airport manager Russ Kilgore is keeping an eye on the finances and wants to leave options open, should they need a loan to complete the project.

“The culvert has been constructed and is in place, they are over there doing the wingwalls and we are getting ready to do the fencing,” Kilgore told the Airport Authority at its monthly meeting on Tuesday. “As for the financial part, we have been considering getting a loan from the bank to finish out the project. What I would like to do is take a very close look at the project and at our cash on hand, and go as far as we can, then possibly look at taking out a line of credit.”

Kilgore said the board should be able to make that determination at the next monthly meeting.

Anticipating growth at the airport and anticipating requests for more individual fuel tank facilities, the Airport Authority began the project last year to provide a consolidated fueling area.

“This is the best way to go,” Kilgore said. “It eliminates a lot of problem with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and with the Environmental Protection Agency when everything is in one central location.”

The alternative to the fuel farm would be having different fueling locations at different locations all over the airport. This is the situation at many of the larger airports in the country, and Kilgore called it an environmental nightmare.

When the project is completed, it is expected to have cost the airport approximately $200,000.

At this point, the airport has not had to borrow any money for the project, thanks in part to a 50/50 grant with the Aeronautics Bureau of the Alabama Department of Transportation.

In other airport news, the board will be sending letters to all operators who have leases of a public nature stating the procedure to follow should they have a complaint or an issue regarding the airport. 

The letter will explain that if the operators have a problem, they are to contact the airport manager first to solve the issue. If a problem still exists, they can then submit a formal request to come before the board of directors, and lastly, before the city manager, mayor and airport authority if needed.

While the Airport Authority was put in place to help relieve the city of having to deal with issues regarding the administration of the airport, apparently some who have had issues in the past are going to the city for answers before addressing the airport authority.