By Rosemary Horvath
Herald Correspondent
[private]Commissioners took a giant leap toward bringing the Gratiot Community Airport under the county’s wing last week when they approved a resolution to assume ownership of the 800-acre property located on W. Seaman Road in Arcada Township.
Moving forward, the board will work toward negotiating an agreement with members of the current airport authority, which consists of representatives from the county, cities of Alma, St. Louis, Ithaca, and townships of Pine River and Arcada.
The law firm of Varnum Attorneys of Grand Rapids has been hired to assist with details at a cost of $15,000.
If an agreement is settled, execution will be left up to county commissioners elected in November.
All current members seek re-election except for Chairman Chuck Murphy, whom was the only commissioner opposed to approving the resolution in a 3-1 vote.
Commissioner John Lemmermann made the motion which and seconded by Commissioner Sam Smith and supported by Commissioner Jan Bunting.
Commissioner George Bailey, who had attended airport authority meetings two years ago when the proposal was first raised, was absent from the meeting.
In an email to The Herald, Bailey said he was “very pleased” with the outcome of the vote, and added commissioners “will be working with the airport authority for a smooth transition.”
County Administrator Tracey Cordes called the board’s decision “a pretty good size step forward” after the topic had been paused for various reasons the last few years.
Besides the pandemic that curbed government operations, there was a turnover of some county and Alma city officials who sat on the airport authority governing body. Few authority meetings took place to advance the idea.
Under the resolution, the airport would continue to be governed by an authority except members will be elected county commissioners.
Cordes explained an advisory group would be created to help provide relevant information, and guessed pilots using the airport will be among its advisors.
Now, as when the airport was relocated from Alma to Arcada in 1965, importance of having an airport to service companies and recreational pilots in the area has been closely tied to economic development.
“I have no opinion on how it’s administered but the airport’s importance for our county’s economic development is significant,” said Jim Wheeler, president of Greater Gratiot Economic Development.
Aviation availability is a tool when attracting new companies and maintaining existing ones, he said.
[private]