BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — The board that runs Tri-Cities Airport, the regional airport serving Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City, voted Thursday in Blountville to borrow a little over $2.6 million against its parking lot income and to set aside as much as $150,000 for more work tied to a runway sinkhole.
The bond money comes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will refinance parking lot renovations the airport finished recently. The airport first paid for that job out of its operating reserves, and the new debt replaces that cash. The loan runs 10 years at 2.25% interest and carries no penalty for paying it off early. Finance director Rachel Squibb told members the lot brings in more than enough to cover the payments. Down the road, the authority is weighing a parking garage.
The sinkhole closed the main runway, Runway 5/23, and halted commercial flights for two days in June until an emergency repair. Operations director Chris Stipo said a clogged drain pipe under the pavement let water wash the soil away. On Oct. 16 a contractor milled and repaved the 10-by-10-foot patch where the hole opened, at a cost of $17,871. Stipo said the runway is safe, the full section will be resurfaced later, and a new drain line still has to be tunneled in.
Only seven of the 12 members attended, the bare minimum to act, so every vote had to be unanimous. Bristol, Tenn., Mayor Vince Turner and Bristol, Va., City Manager Tamrya Spradlin were among them. The board also approved runway lighting upgrades, new airfield signs and access control equipment, and heard plans for a self-service fuel station for private pilots.
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