Ebensburg Airport manager’s contract set to expire

Borough Council to seek proposals for long-term contract to manage operations

EBENSBURG -- The status of who will manage the Ebensburg Airport's operations appears to be up in the air, with the borough's current contract with the Regional Aviation and Recreational Association -- commonly referred to as RACRA -- set to end at the year.

In June, RACRA requested a lease extension of at least one year, though the association's board members had hoped the Ebensburg Borough Council would consider a five-year extension instead to allow for better long-term planning, according to Bill Grady, the association's treasurer.

After discussing the matter in executive session last month, the borough council agreed to a six-month extension, which would've continued the current lease through June 30, 2027, council President Doug Tusing said Monday.

RACRA officials declined that offer and subsequently sent the borough a counter offer requesting the five-year extension "or they will be terminating the current agreement upon expiration of the contract," as stated in the agenda packet for Monday's council meeting.

After discussing the matter again in executive session Monday, the council decided to advertise a request for proposal for consideration of a long-term contract for the airport's operations, rather than granting a five-year extension to RACRA.

"In doing so, (the council) would invite interested parties to submit a proposal," borough Manager Terry Carcella wrote in an email Tuesday confirming the council's vote, noting a long-term agreement must be in the request for proposal, and RACRA would be able to submit an application for consideration, should the association choose to do so.

Grady reiterated the board's displeasure with the six-month extension that it was presented with in June and wished the airport continued success.

"While RACRA is disappointed with (the) council's decision after serving as good stewards of the airport for nearly 18 years, we wish the airport continued success," Grady said in a statement.

Potential project proposed

During Monday's council meeting, Pennsylvania Air National Guard Master Sgt. Jacob Foster presented a proposal to the council with regard to a possible project at the airport.

Foster, who works as an air traffic controller by trade, said there's not an assault landing zone within good flying distance in the Northeast, with the closest one located near Logan, West Virginia.

To fill the need, Foster said he started researching land acquisition and found out the easiest avenue for the military to acquire land needed for a potential runway is by using property already owned by a government entity.

Since the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport is "already established," Foster said he thought the Ebensburg Airport would be a good fit for the project. He researched the airport's managing authority, spoke with Grady and determined there's enough space at the airport to build a landing strip there.

The bare basics of the idea is to use the northern portion of land that the borough owns at the airport, which is situated in Cambria Township, to build the strip for military aircraft to practice landings, Foster said.

The end goal, he said, is to make the airport a regional training hub for emergency management.

Mayor Randy Datsko asked Foster if the proposed landing zone would be in addition to the airport's current runway. Foster said it would and noted there's enough space to build the required length and width of a new runway.

Councilman Mike Murphy asked whether the military aircraft would be larger than a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and raised concerns about noise abatement.

Military aircraft larger than a C-130 would include a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, which Foster said would not be feasible.

"It would be really cool to see once, but having a C-17 overfly your house every day would not be fun," Foster said, adding the noise from the aircraft would be a discussion officials would have to have down the road, once the community weighs in on the idea.

Foster assured councilwoman Theresa Jacoby that private aircraft would still be able to use the airport's other runways. Since someone within Foster's unit would hypothetically be the scheduling authority for the military operations at the airport, the council could be presented with that schedule months ahead of time, he said.

While none of the council members opposed the proposed plan outright, Tusing said there are more questions than answers at this point. With details of the airport's future operator in limbo, council is not in a position to act on the proposal, as the council and airport operator would need to work together on any plans, he said.

"Being a borough-owned property, we would expect that the borough gets some benefit out of that as well," Tusing said to Foster.

Foster said the staff at the National Guard Bureau level that handles land acquisition told him if there's any cost associated with a potential lease, they're not going to consider the plan.

"It would have to be like a $1 lease for 30 years or something, and the benefit to the borough would be the influx of training and personnel coming into Ebensburg," Foster said.

"If five to 10 years down the line I get these other phases approved and it starts to become a training facility, you have hotels being booked, restaurants being eaten at and different types of things that can bring money into the area," Foster added.

Since the airport is in Cambria Township, Tusing pointed out that many of the proposed benefits would not accrue directly to the borough.

"We would have to take a very close look at the benefits," Tusing said. "I think there's a general openness to look at other possibilities as to how the airport can be used. (But) that has to make sense for the borough as well as the airport operator."

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.