Airport Sees Major Board Changes this August

This month's board meeting for the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport was a first for one, and the last for some. Heather McBride had her first board meeting as the new interim Airport Manager, while White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson and Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton attended their very last board meeting, as their terms are coming to a close.  The multiple tenants attending the meeting also left pleased to varying degrees, as the board approved one free badge renewal per entity.

Heather McBride has begun her journey as the new manager at the airport. This comes after Dean Selby's resignation last month. Selby recently began his new role as the Director of General Aviation at West Virginia International Yeager Airport. Selby was, however, approved by the board to be a consultant if McBride needed to call for any advice during these interim months.

During the public comment, the badge system that is used for safety by the airport was brought up. One tenant asked why the badges are also costing more if hanger prices just went up the other month. To alleviate this, the board voted to give a free badge renewal per hanger entity, as well as a single free badge for any new hanger tenants. The badges last 2 years before needing renewal, and the free renewal will be given once existing tenants go to get their new one.

Since Executive Robinson and Mayor Wheaton of Cookeville will be finishing their terms soon, a new board Chairman and Vice Chairman needed to be elected by the board. Putnam Executive Randy Porter was chosen as the chairman, while the new Mayor of Cookeville,  Chad Gilbert, will be the vice chairman.

The highly anticipated new website for the airport has gone live. The new website, ucregionalairport.com,  offers a lot of new information. The website shows various tourist destinations in the region, such as the Sparta Rock House, as well as showing off their on-site rental options. Most notably, however, is that the agendas for board meetings are uploaded to the website before the next board meeting. This was a topic brought up multiple times during discussions regarding this new website.

The board approved locating a plumbing repair between G&H Row for hangers. There has been a leak, and the airport was unable to identify its exact location. The board approved $2,300, not to exceed $2,600, to locate the leak's exact location. Said leak has not gone into any hangers, thankfully, but the water bill definitely reflected the existence of the leak.

Storms over the past month naturally led to some damage at the airport, estimated in the $30-40,000 range. The board approved for McBride to speak with insurance and move forward to the next steps in getting those damages repaired.

Fuel sales for the airport were down from last year's rates, but both McBride and board member Bill Austin agreed that this drop reflected fuel sales across the country, rather than any showing on the airport's part.

Lastly, Board Member Martin Ing brought forward an idea for the airport: adopting a mission statement. This has been a growing trend among many entities that have government support or effect, and the board agreed it would be a good topic to look into. Next month, the board hopes to have some redrafted concepts to present and adopt a mission statement. It may make for an exciting first meeting for the new Cookeville Mayor and White County Executive, as it will be their first meeting.

Upper Cumberland Regional Airport Board meets the second Wednesday of every month at 4 pm. Their agendas are now, as previously mentioned, uploaded to their website before the meetings, for anyone who is curious or wishes to attend.