By George Jared

WALNUT RIDGE — Building projects at Northeast Arkansas airports may be stymied if a bill before the Arkansas Legislature to increase funding doesn’t pass this session.

The Arkansas Department of Aeronautics spends $8.5 million each year on construction projects to help grow businesses on airport properties, ADA Director John Knight said. But each year the budget dwindles to the point where new projects have to be put off months before the budget cycle ends.

“This year our money is almost gone, and our fiscal year doesn’t start until July,” Knight said.

When a grant is given to an airport to start a project, the money is paid after its completion, the director said. If a project is finished and there’s no money left in the budget, the airport and contractors have to wait until the next fiscal year to get reimbursed, he added.

“This can cause problems with contractors who need to be paid,” Knight said.

ADA officials want the legislature to increase their budget appropriation to $15 million per year, Knight said. It won’t cost taxpayers more money because it’s already in the ADA’s bank account.

Sales tax money collected from aviation sales, services or repairs is collected and put into a fund for the ADA, Knight said. Each year the Legislature allocates $8.5 million of the money collected to be used for grant projects.

Even if the Legislature increases the allocation, no extra tax money will have to be collected to fund it, Knight said. As of Friday ADA had about $17 million but couldn’t use any of it.

“We’ve had to stop all new projects at this time,” he said.

David Blakeney, co-owner of Arkansas Turbine Services Inc. in WALNUT RIDGE, said his business needs to expand and add employees. But there isn’t a building at the city’s airport that meets the company’s needs.

“There’s a few buildings that might work for us, but right now they’re already leased,” he said.

WALNUT RIDGE Airport officials are exploring ways to keep ATSI. The easiest way would be for a new building to be built through the ADA grant program, Blakeney said.

Some legislators don’t support an allocation increase, Blakeney said. “That’s got me a little bit worried,” he said.

Knight said he’s not aware of any opposition to the proposal, and legislators he’s contacted seem receptive. Despite that, he watches the bill’s progress each day on the Internet, he said. It was introduced Thursday in Little Rock.

Attempts to contact District 73 Rep. J.R. Rogers, D-WALNUT RIDGE, for this report were unsuccessful.

“I don’t see any problems with it getting passed,” Knight said.

gjared@jonesborosun.com