FORT SMITH (KFSM) – Fort Smith airport officials say they are trying to put a long-term plan into place to offset a $450,000 budget shortfall caused by the loss of 188th Wing manned missions on Fort Smith Regional Airport property.
Airport Director John Parker said the airport will dig into its reserve funds over the next two years to cover the costs of an independent contractor’s fire services at the facility. The airport will still be left with a $450,000 hole to fill after a two-year period. Parker said he hopes a land deal with the military will offset that cost.
Firefighters with the 188th Wing used to service the airport as part of an agreement in which the airport leased 142 acres of land for the 188th Wing’s manned flights at a cost of $1 per year. When the Arkansas National Guard recently ended manned 188th Wing flights, though, it marked the end of the arrangement, leaving the airport with no fire services from the former fighter wing unit.
Parker said the airport supplemented the loss with fire services from an independent contractor for a two-year period. The end of the agreement with the 188th Wing allows the airport to seek a lease agreement for the 142 acres at fair market value, to be determined at an undecided date, the director said. Parker said he is confident any future agreement on a land lease will cover the costs needed to apply further fire services to the airport.
