The West Virginia National Guard extended its lease for its facility at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport. The original lease signed in 1986 was set to expire in 2036, but $8 million in federal funding to make improvements and upgrades at the site required a longer commitment. The new lease will last to Aug. 27, 2086. (Photo Provided)
WILLIAMSTOWN — The West Virginia National Guard has renewed its lease for its facility at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport until August 2086.
Airport Manager Ben Auville said the original lease for the facility was signed on Aug. 28, 1986, and was set to expire on Aug. 27, 2036. The new lease will expire Aug. 27, 2086.The new lease was signed in March.
Wood County Commissioner Robert Tebay, who serves on the airport authority, said there was $8 million available to do hanger and other expansion work at the facility’s hangars.
Auville said they needed to expand the lease to secure that money.
“It is an improvement in the facilities and it is an investment in the facilities,” he said. “If they are going to invest in that facility, Congress requires them to keep it for a certain number of years.”
The lease extension will allow the National Guard to make numerous capital investments into the property, including constructing a building that provides consolidated multipurpose space for the maintenance, repair, and major overhaul of military aircraft, said Edwin L. “Bo” Wriston, West Virginia National Guard Public Affairs Specialist.
“The building may include maintenance bays, tech supply, production control, and quality control areas directly related to the maintenance and supervision of aircraft, component and assembly rebuilding, and quality control of aviation maintenance,” he said. “The new building is needed to keep aircraft from being exposed to extreme weather conditions and will reduce overall maintenance costs and repair times while increasing availability and mission reliability while also extending the airframes’ operational lifespan.”
The upgrades are to continue to utilize the facility for the Company C, 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion, and Company B, 1-224th Security and Support Aviation Battalion.
These units fly Aeromedical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) missions, as well as counter-drug, MEDEVAC, and Search and Rescue missions. Wriston said. The 2-104th fly the HH-60M Blackhawk helicopter, while the 1-224th fly the UH-72A Lakota, he added.
“It keeps that activity here,” Auville said. “Keeping them here at the base has a strong economic impact for the area.”
Tebay said the Guard also buys fuel from the airport with Auville saying there is a set amount set by government negotiated contract where they get a deal on the fuel for a specific price. The airport does sell a lot of fuel to the military as well as others who utilize the airport.
“The military does make up a significant portion,” Auville said.
The airport does not make much off the lease, around $20,000 a year, but the facility is important to the area.
“The fact they are here is the value it has for the community,” Auville added.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com
