At its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Danville’s city council will consider three budget amendments to allocate money to projects and programming at the Danville Regional Airport.
This is the first reading for each of these items, meaning that they will not be followed by a vote. After review from various boards and committees, the council will hear these items again and take a vote.
First, the council will consider amending the fiscal year budget to allow for a $100,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Aviation. The grant includes a local match of $42,000, for a total amount of $142,000.
The state aviation department “provides airport maintenance funds to assist airports with preserving facilities in a safe and economic operating condition,” according to the staff report in the meeting’s agenda packet.
The airport plans to use this money to repair the operations tower roof, remove brush from a ravine that requires special equipment and replace a tractor, according to the staff report.
The council will also consider amending the budget to allow for a second grant from the Virginia Department of Aviation, this time to promote aviation awareness at the city’s regional airport.
The $5,000 grant, coupled with a $5,000 local match, will support an airport open house and Free Fly Day, scheduled for Nov. 1.
The grant money will go toward costs for the annual event, which offers free airplane rides for children between the ages of 8 and 17, provided by Averett University flight instructors, as well as airport tours.
Lastly, the council will consider a budget amendment to allow for approved federal and state funding to be put toward the construction of an aviation training facility building and hangar.
Almost $7.4 million has been approved from federal and state sources, alongside a local match of about $200,000, for a total of around $7.6 million.
Last fiscal year, site prep construction work readied the airport for a more than 13,000-square-foot training facility and a 6,400-square-foot hangar. Also last year, these projects received about $4 million in federal funding and about $2.5 million in state funding.
The hangar will be used by Averett University to store aircraft, so that an existing hangar that the university uses can be available to Danville Community College.
Construction on the hangar is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2027, according to the staff report.
The training facility building is expected to “promote excellent job opportunities for students completing aviation maintenance and flight instruction training” offered by Averett and DCC, the report says.
And additional workforce development aviation training could also enhance airport development opportunities, it says.
City staff recommend that the council approve all three of these items.
Also at its meeting, the council will consider the purchase of about 7 acres along the Dan River and Memorial Drive for the development of a whitewater channel. The city’s Industrial Development Authority, which owns the land, approved the sale in August.
The meeting will be followed by a work session. This is the only government meeting in Danville this week.
In Pittsylvania County, the planning commission will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
