Airport committee to decide next step for hangar building
Members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners have been discussing ways of keeping the hangar project at the county airport in Rogers City within budget, including the downsizing of the facility from storage for eight planes to six or possibility four. The project, which has been plagued with an assortment of problems, especially the increasing cost of materials, was originally slated to begin sometime during the summer with successful bidder Lee’s Ready Mix pouring the foundation. That was to be followed by the contractor coming in to erect the building. Construction was delayed until the fall, but now it’s unclear when the building will be finished and what it will look like. The airport committee may have to go back to the drawing board to come up with a building that will fit the needs of the local pilots, or settling for a smaller building, yet leaving room for an addition.
THE HANGAR will be funded primarily by a $100,000 donation made from the estate of Elmer Radka in honor of his wife Margaret. She was an accomplished pilot who flew out of the Rogers City field during the 1960s and 1970s. An oil portrait of Margaret Radka will be placed on display in the new hangar, along with other memorabilia. Lee Gapczynski of Lee’s Ready Mix appeared before the commissioners September 8 to learn what is going be done next with the project. He asked what the county’s responsibilities are to his company in regard to the steel he has already purchased for an eight-place hangar cement pad, where the building will be constructed.
District 3 commissioner Mike Darga, who serves on the airport committee, said he hasn’t been able to give Gapczynski a definitive answer. District 1 commissioner Bob Schell, chair of the airport committee, said, “the trouble is, we had two different contractors involved. If we do the cement now, then the building contractor said they can’t do the building this year, and they didn’t recommended putting an eight-plane slab in. So when we tried to cut the building down, that’s when we ran into a problem with Mr. Gapczynski.”
THE COST OF an eight-place cement pad ($46,700) and extra supports, along with the cost to erect the building ($80,000), brings the price tag to $126,700. With the funds from the Radka estate and a $35,000 loan from the county, it would be within budget. “I don’t think we should, at this time of the year, try and start a four hangar slab, and let it sit through the winter before it’s curing time,” said Darga. “I don’t know if you want to abolish the plan we have and start from scratch, or go with what we’ve got. Its kind of a touch and go situation.” Darga said he wanted to arrange a committee meeting with airport manager Mike Jermeay and Gapczynski before the next regular board meeting, September 24. “I think…the county is obligated for the steel they bought,” said Darga. “I guess, regardless of what kind of building we build, we will be taking that steel anyway. “I guess what we have to do is go with a different style of hangar that’s still going to look nice, and stay within the $100,000.”