Durant City Council and Durant Airport Authority approved airport improvement projects during recent meetings.
An agreement between the city and KSA Engineers Inc. for professional services for an air traffic control tower siting study in the amount of $257,522.25 was approved.
According to a city memo, the state legislature appropriated $3,000,000 to the Oklahoma Aerospace & Aeronautics Commission on behalf of the City of Durant to initiate the development and eventual construction of an air traffic control tower (ATCT) at Durant Regional Airport – Eaker Field and the commission awarded $257,522.25 from this appropriation toward an ATCT siting study. This is the first disbursement and step in the overall initiative.
This initiative is state grant funded with no local matching dollars. The product of the study will present several possible locations for a control tower. The airport engineer of record, KSA Engineering, will conduct this work in conjunction with the FAA. KSA has performed this task previously for the new control tower at Norman.
An agreement between the city and KSA Engineers for engineering services for the terminal apron expansion and taxiway relocation project design phase in the amount of $196,985.00.
A memo states that this is a federal grant funded project. The 2022 Airport Master Plan, Capital Improvement Program anticipates expansion of the terminal area aircraft parking apron and relocation of the connector taxiway to the apron. This is an acute need as the airport is handling greater numbers of transient aircraft and crucially medium- to-large business jets. As a resort destination airport, transient traffic is often episodic in nature and as such, sufficient apron capacity is needed to safely handle aircraft.
The memo states that this type of aircraft parking is a normal feature at general aviation airports, however, Durant Regional Airport has none. Long-term outside parking will generate additional revenue for the airport.
Six city employees representing a combined 100 years of service to Durant were presented with employee service awards.
Five Years
William Davault – Parks Department
Ten Years
Billy Sharp – Landfill
Fifteen Years
JT Argo – Fire Department
Twenty Years
Randy Cantrell – Utility Line Maintenance
Twenty-five Years
Captain Bradford Nelson – Police Department Battalion Chief Cliff Wilson – Fire Department
The council also awarded a bid for oil and gas mining leases for 181.87 acres to Freedom Oil and Gas Corporation in the amount of $146,950.96.