With all the improvements to infrastructure at the Allen County Regional Airport, it seemed a good time to spruce up the office interior, too.
Airport manager Robert Poydack said staff have been working since February to renovate the airport office building.
“The inside was pretty 1950s-style,” Poydack said. “I don’t think there’s been any updating since it was built, except painting the walls.”
Poydack and Pam Mueller, who works in the office, worked to bring all new flooring, ceiling tiles, heating ducts and wiring to the building.
The walls in the entrance and waiting room were painted charcoal color, with taupe-colored paint in other rooms. Bathrooms received a complete overhaul as well, with new water-saving toilets and charming blue vanities. All the lights in the building are now motion activated.
A room where equipment was previously kept is being remodeled as a sleeping room for pilots. While most overnight visitors travel to hotels in town, it’s not uncommon for a pilot to sleep on the couch in the office, Poydack said. The new sleeping quarters will give them a more private option.
Artwork is being donated by Vince and Monica Hill, supporters of the airport who have a hangar on site. The art will include a huge picture of “Spooky” flying through a lightning storm. Spooky is the signature plane owned by Robert Rice of Topeka and with the American Flight Museum. Efforts are underway to bring the air museum to Allen County.
Still to come: new windows and doors, with new paint on the exterior. Picnic tables have been added outside.
The goal is to enhance the experience for pilots and other visitors, Poydack said.
The change was motivated by a request to commissioners, who suggested it might be time for an upgrade. 
Indeed, the county has invested more than $5 million in the airport in the past couple of years, primarily utilizing state and federal funds from COVID-19 relief programs and grants from the FAA.
That work has already resulted in a new runway and lighting. Another grant will provide for a renovated taxiway and Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS).
Most of the work, though, includes infrastructure to prepare land surrounding the airport for possible industrial or commercial development. The county will use a $3 million grant and $1 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for improvements such as water and sewer systems.
The project was identified as part of a massive study of the airport’s infrastructure and utility needs, with total development costs estimated around $15 million.
Aviation brings $767,600 annually to Allen County, according to a KDOT aviation study. An average of about 45 planes arrive or take off at the airport each day. The airport has one of the longest runways in Southeast Kansas at 5,500 feet and 100-feet wide, offers competitive fuel prices, has plenty of space, sits between two cities and is situated near a major highway.
