By BRENDA TENBOER
Bentonite at the Cowley airport causes the ground to rise and fall as much six inches and its wreaking havoc with the door on the county-owned U68 hangar. The cost to purchase a new self-standing door to do away with the fluctuations is $30,000.
The Big Horn County Airport board of trustees met via teleconference on Nov. 12 and discussed whether it would be wise to build a new hangar rather than invest $30,000 in a door for the 40-year-old building.
The odds for getting a grant to pay for a new hangar are “pretty slim,” according to GDA engineer Dusty Spomer. The Cody engineering firm is the airport engineering company contracted for Big Horn County.
Spomer said the state of Wyoming has a 5 percent loan program and a new hangar could be financed in that manner.
Today’s rough cost estimates to build a 130 ft. x 62 ft. hangar that could store six aircraft and include a pilots’ lounge, office and utilities is $353,000, Spomer said. Those costs do not include a fire suppression system and the longer, “skinnier” design means planes may not all have direct access to the main door.
The loan could be repaid with some lease payments, which would equate to about $600 per jet and $500 per aircraft in the hangar, Spomer said.
 Board member David Frost suggested laying a foundation of concrete at the entrance to the hangar and making some modifications to the structure, which would mean the loss of about 10 feet of space but the door would be sturdy.
Chairman Dave Flitner suggested one option to look at is building a series of T-hangars like many other counties. T-hangars could be constructed for a cost of about $300,000 similar to those in Powell, but the Cowley site is not a good candidate for those types of structures.
“You need access from both sides,” Spomer said. “That wouldn’t work with the existing setup.”
After more discussion it was decided the board would move forward with plans to replace the hangar door and replace insulation and make other repairs to the foundation as necessary.
Planner
The Federal Aviation Administration requires a five-year selection for airport planning services. The last company selected for planning was Airport Development Group of Denver (ADG) and the last project completed, the airport master plan, was more than three years ago.
Airport planners are historically selected based on qualifications, Spomer said when asked about the process.
Typically, requests for statements of qualifications from interested companies are solicited and from that pool of applicants, a “short list” can be made or airport authorities may choose to schedule interviews or even hire their top choice immediately.
“It’s pretty common to form a committee to kind of keep the process going between regular meetings,” Spomer said.
After the selection is made, meetings are scheduled to define the scope of services with the state overseeing each step.
Five companies in all submitted statements to be considered; Williams Aviation Consultants, ADG, M.C. Schaff and Armstrong Consultants.
Frost said because he is in the construction business he would prefer to abstain from the selection process but Chairman Dave Flitner said he did not see how it is a conflict of interest especially since Frost has been through the selection process before.
A committee was formed to review the potential planners including Frost, Walt Hibbert, Don Russell and John Koller.