NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council on Tuesday heard the presentation of a business and organizational plan for the Hutchinson Regional Airport by Ronald F. Price, P.E. of QED Airport & Aviation Consultants. The takeaway from the presentation is that the airport is underutilized.
"You're not known," Price said. "You're not known. That's unfortunate, but you can change it. It takes initiative and it takes a commitment from the city to put the people, give them the time and the resources to do it, and that's lacking."
The report recommends that the city establish an Airport and Aviation Department within the organizational structure and financial budget of the City and to reclassify the Airport Manager as Aviation Director, reporting directly to the City Manager.
Then, it is recommended to hire an Airport Manager, reporting to the Aviation Director that does a lot of the day to day work that the Airport Manager does now and allows the Aviation Director to work on the business side and on strategic planning.
The next step Mayor Jon Richardson wants to see is a meeting between those who already use the airport and the City Council to be sure there aren't things they want that would be able to be acted on right away.
"What are we doing with what we have now?," Richardson said. "Can we expand on that easy? Is there low hanging fruit? Then look at the long term, taking what he's put together and what we already have and having the people that are at the airport drive some of those decisions. I think that's how we need to handle it from here on out."
City Manager Kendal Francis asked when they want that meeting to be and Richardson wanted to see it be an evening meeting so that those who use the airport can more easily get there to provide input. Francis said he would look at dates in May and June to figure out what is best.
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