Schlemeyer airport master plans could increase county revenue

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) -The Schlemeyer Airport in Odessa may see some upgrades.

At today’s Ector County Commissioners Court meeting, the Coffman Associates group gave a presentation on the airport, and where its heading.

The plans call for these upgrades to begin in five years with other upgrades coming in 20 years.

The airport consultants spoke about the importance of keeping this airport in good condition because of the revenue it can bring to the county.

This long-awaited presentation has been in the works since 2021.

The people at Coffman Associates are airport consultants.

They gave suggestions to upgrade infrastructure, possibly extend the runway, and repair pavement at the airfield.

The plan includes new rooftops and new facilities that could attract new businesses at the airport, but not before these proposed upgrades become a reality.

“This airport contributes millions of dollars to the community, annually as far as economic output. And so again it is very important. It needs to be taken care of, similar to your roads, and the like.” said president of Coffman Associates, Mike Dmyterko.

The Schlemeyer Airport is classified as a general aviation airport and cannot be used commercially.

However, if these upgrades do happen, it opens the possibility of having spaces for businesses to open shop at the airport.

“So, a part of the study was the land use, and there are certain businesses that have to be tied to the airport. And then also a fun find is that we can also use particular areas on the airport property for non-airport functions.” said Ector County judge, Dustin Fawcett.

Some of those businesses can include coffee shops, restaurants or other businesses that can also benefit the companies that work at the airport.

This study also updates the county on FAA regulations.

Since the county plans to receive federal funding, this updated plan gives suggestions to nudged them in the right direction.

“These projects will have to go through engineering so anything that we’re showing will be years long process. And so again this is simply a plan that the county, once they adopt it will simply be saying we agree with this plan,” said Dmyterko.

The Coffman Associates will continue to work with Ector county on the future of the Schlemeyer airport as they hope to bring more revenue to Ector county.

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