Ever since Jonathan Goering moved to Iola in June 2020, he’d heard a recurring theme: the Allen County Regional Airport has untapped potential.
“Over and over people would tell me the airport is a wonderful asset and that we need to think about how to better utilize it,” he said Thursday afternoon.
“So, I knew it had to be a focus right off the bat.”
Goering is economic development director for Thrive Allen County, whose role is to bring industries, businesses and development to Allen County as well as to the communities of Iola and Humboldt, who each pay Thrive a stipend for the services of Goering and other Thrive staff members.
Over the years, county leaders have made sure the airport stands heads and shoulders above its neighbors. Its runway is wider and longer than Chanute’s and its fuel is cheaper. As a result, Allen County’s airport traffic is 10 times that of Chanute’s Martin Johnson Airport, which averages about five planes a day.
But other than being a great gas station in the middle of a 400-plus acre field, Goering took on the responsibility of discovering what else the site could provide.
Goering credits several factors to pursuing those possibilities.
First, was the knowledge in early 2020 that states were due to receive federal funds specific to infrastructure projects in response to the economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without knowing when those funds would be released, Goering knew there was no time to lose in preparing for their application.
“You have to be ready to move when those dollars become available,” he said.
From there, he and county commissioners formed an airport planning committee, composed of Jerry Daniels, Allen County commissioner, Robert Poydack, airport manager, Mitch Garner, Allen County Director of Public Works, and Goering.
“That Jerry is a pilot has been an immense help,” Goering said. “He understands the significance of the airport to the county.”
Next was getting hard data confirming the cost of expanding utilities to the airport to accommodate any future development.
Commissioners hired Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants to conduct a feasibility study.
“Boettcher knows Allen County well,” Goering said. Among local projects, he’s overseeing Humboldt’s upgrades to its streets as well as replacement of its water system.
