Commissioners OK buying airport lights

WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County commissioners on Tuesday approved the purchase of obstruction lights at the Neil Armstrong Airport for $38,800.

The lights will notify pilots of trees that have been identified as obstructions by the Federal Aviation Association on the approach to runway 8.

Airport manager Ted Bergstrom said the lights offer an alternative to removing the trees, which airport officials are not planning to remove entirely at this time. Instead, the lights would notify arriving and departing aircraft pilots that the trees are there so they can adjust their flight routes accordingly.

"Obstruction lights are lights that identify potential hazards to arriving and departing aircraft," Bergstrom said. "It's a visual indication of something that might affect the pilot's route of flight."

Commissioners also approved an amendment to an agreement with Delta Airport Consultants Inc. for engineering services at the airport that has been in place since 2013, including the increased cost of installing the lights. With the amended increase of $38,800, the total lump sum for the services contract was brought up to $218,390, Bergstrom said.

Most of the money for the increase comes from an Ohio Department of Transportation Reimbursement Grant from ODOT's Office of Aviation, covering $36,860. The county will cover $1,940 as a local match, Bergstrom added.