MARTINSBURG — The Altoona-Blair County Airport Authority is interested in reviving its pursuit of a liquor license to use at the airport, a decision that will need to first go before North Woodbury Township voters.

With a favorable vote, possibly in the May 21 spring primary, the authority will be in a position to ask the state for a liquor license to use only at the airport in the dry township.

For several years, airport authority members have spoken about their interest in a liquor license because airport restaurant operators have repeatedly struggled to attract enough patrons to stay open.

A liquor license can be a key item in a restaurant’s success, authority Chairman Drew Swope said.

It could also be an option that would appeal to nervous flyers, Swope added.

With La Fiesta, a Mexican food restaurant, expected to open soon in the now-closed dining area on the terminal’s second floor, authority members united during a discussion about trying again.

“We need an organized plan this time,” Swope said.

To get the question before township voters in the primary, the authority will need to enlist help from township registered voters who can circulate petitions and acquire at least 241 signatures who want to put the question on the ballot. In 2016, petitions were circulated but they didn’t garner enough signatures to get the question on the ballot.

Solicitor David Pertile said that this year, petitions will need to be signed by 241 township voters, between Feb. 19 and March 12, for submission to the county elections office. He said the 241 figure and the time period are based on language in the state’s election law.

Mike Ritchey, the only authority member who lives in North Woodbury Township, said the 2016 effort netted 129 signatures, not enough to get the question on the ballot.

Swope suggested forming a committee of authority members who could work with Ritchey and other North Woodbury Township residents willing to help. Authority members Herb Bolger, Gary Orner and Seth Smith offered support.

Something that should be stressed, Orner said, is that only the airport authority will hold the liquor license. Unlike some other liquor licenses, an airport liquor license cannot be transferred to another operator inside or outside the township, Orner said, with Pertile nodding in concurrence.

And because the airport authority is a public entity, any complaints related to liquor service could be aired before the authority and resolved, airport Manager Tracy Plessinger said.

The airport authority has previously discussed finding another purpose for the space designated for the airport’s restaurant. But airport leaders have repeatedly indicated that their preference is to have a restaurant on site for the benefit of passengers and to attract more people to the airport.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.