A new building at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport may be named for Nolan Young, former city manager of The Dalles, as recognition for his success at securing more than $14 million in state and federal funds for projects.
“Nolan was quietly supportive of what we wanted to do, and he found a way to make it happen,” said Jim Wilcox, former mayor and chair of the airport board.
At Wilcox’s request, the airport board will vote on naming the building after Young at its April 20 meeting, which is held at 7 a.m. at the terminal in Dallesport.
Wilcox has suggested a plaque be mounted on the new “flex hangar” that houses a helicopter and fixed-wing airplane used by LifeFlight in honor of Young, who spent 18 years as city manager.
“It’s been a tradition to honor people who have contributed mightily to the airport,” said Wilcox.
He said one street has been named for Jean Hillis, a pilot with the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots who promote advancement of aviation. Hillis worked with youth interested in flying.
Another street has been dedicated to the late Ron Somers, municipal judge, local attorney, chair of the airport board and defacto airport manager for a period of time.
“What didn’t he do?” asked Wilcox in a rhetorical question.
Bob Wheeler and Jim Riley have also been honored with their names on airport assets.
The airport is co-owned by the city and Klickitat County. David Sauter, a Klickitat County commissioner, said he supported Wilcox’s plan to recognize Young, who is now city manager of Fairview.
“He (Young) was a master of figuring out where to get financing,” said Sauter. “I’m supportive of it.”
Wilcox said Young is to be commended for getting these projects off the ground:
• The FAA and Connect Oregon provided about $5.5 million to strengthen the main landing strip so that it could handle the weight of large planes.
The runway can now hold 60,000-70,000 pounds and is 5,097 feet long and 100 feet wide. In addition, a six-foot “hump” in the center of the runway was shaved off so that pilots could see what was happening at the other end.
• The three phases of the Taxiway A project to comply with FAA standards cost about $4.5 million.
• The main runway and second one of 4,647 feet have been equipped with a guidance system that signals pilots about placement and how high they are flying, which makes it possible for them to land safely during cloudy or foggy weather conditions.
• About $1.2 million of infrastructure upgrades accommodated 17 “shovel ready” lots on 35 acres of the business park.
As part of that work, the Port of The Dalles provided a $125,000 loan for water system upgrades and the Dallesport Water District took out a $500,000 loan to make improvements that would accommodate fire sprinklers and other service needs.
• Half of the $1.2 million cost for the business park was paid by grant funds from Washington state and the other half from loans.
• The new flex-hanger of 15,000 square feet was financed with a city of The Dalles revenue bond to be paid back from rental proceeds of the building.
There have been many other improvements, said Wilcox, that have allowed the airport to accommodate the travel needs of Google, Insitu and Cardinal Glass, as well as other Gorge companies.
He said the airport is now poised to attract new enterprises into the business park that have ties to aviation or want the convenience of flight nearby.
“Nolan made a lot of that happen because he was very good at taking one source of funding and matching it with another,” said Wilcox.
He said when officials would get nervous aboutthe lack of progress on putting together a funding package, Young would tell them, “It’s going to be okay, I’ve got this.”
“And then he’d get more than we hoped for,” said Wilcox.“I learned from the master as far as doing that, so I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to him.”
He said when the city ran into financial problems managing the airport on its own, Young initiated a conversation with Klickitat County in 2000 that resulted in co-owneship and a split of operational costs.
“If we didn’t have that partnership, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” said Chuck Covert, airport manager who has been working on improvements since 1990.
He said the board will host an open house April 21 so that community members on both sides of the river can visit airport facilities and see the progress that has been made. More information will be provided at a later date.
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