The two airports cost county taxpayers around $900,000 annually. The 2023 adopted budget includes $684,730 for the Jamestown airport, which technically sits in the town of Ellicott, and $364,571 for the Dunkirk airport, which technically sits in the town of Sheridan. For revenue, the Jamestown airport was budgeted to make $92,729 and the Dunkirk airport was budgeted to make $45,557.

Barnhart said she sees airports as essential, even without commercial air service.

“Like the highway, we’re providing an avenue for people, businesses and commerce to come in to this community and region,” she said. “Without it, we’re going to lose several businesses around here.”

Both airports have the same Fixed Base Operator, Centric Aviation. The operator provides services for those flying in and out of the airports.

OBSERVER file photo In this pre-COVID-19 photo, residents enjoy breakfast sponsored by the Dunkirk and Fredonia Rotary clubs, during a fly-in breakfast event.

“They pay us a monthly lease to be at both airports,” she said. “Basically then they have control, other than maintenance, of our large hangers. The tenants that they have are the 20 some aircraft that we have in there. Those folks rent it from Centric and then the county get a percentage of sales of everything they do.”

According to Barnhart, Centric is an FBO in Colorado and Florida as well. “We think they do a fantastic job,” she said.

Centric also takes care of needs of those who use the airport, including fueling and cleaning planes, and take care of car and hotel rentals for those staying overnight.

There are other ways the airports make money as well.

The county gets 5 cents a gallon for fuel sold.

OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon A plane receives fuel during a stop at the Jamestown airport.

There are businesses that rent to the county directly, instead of through the FBO.

JAMESTOWN AIRPORT

Jamestown lost commercial service when the federal Transportation Department terminated Essential Air Service eligibility for Jamestown on Jan. 16, 2018. That decision was made because the local airport wasn’t meeting the federal standard of 10 passengers a day nor the federal government’s $200 per rider subsidy cap.

But even without commercial air service, they’ve been able to make money through area businesses that operate out of the airport. Chautauqua Aircraft Sales, FedEx, Page Development, Chase Aviation, and Luscombe Aviation, all operate out of the Jamestown airport, as does the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Civil Air Patrol, although the county only charges private businesses rent.

Last fall, the county was able to approve a contract with Studio D Catering to operate out of the Jamestown airport restaurant. Along with operating the catering business, the owners plan to offer “grab-and-go” breakfasts and lunches at the airport.

OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon A mechanic works on a plane engine parked at the Jamestown airport.

Barnhart noted the county has also discussed non-aeronautical opportunities with some of its undeveloped property. “We’ve got land if there are developers that are interested. My hope would be that the developer would bring in a business, or we could bring in a business to that area, that would have an aviation use of some sort or the airport could somehow benefit them and vice versa for us,” she said.

Her preference is that the county lease land to developers, not sell it, just in case it’s ever needed or the business doesn’t work out. Plus, the county would need to investigate if the land was purchased with federal funds and if so, they would need to pay the federal government back that money before being allowed to sell it.

DUNKIRK AIRPORT

For the Dunkirk airport, many of the industries who use that facility are based in the northern end of the county, including Wells and Nestle Purina.

Businesses that operate out of the Dunkirk airport include Hershel Brothers Mechanics, Engines by Eli, Rose Aviation, and Accent Stripe which leases land at the airport from the county.

There are charter flights that use the airport when needed. For example, during a hurricane in Florida in fall, charter planes flew in and out of Dunkirk, bringing people up from down south.

“A lot of people choose Dunkirk because it’s more convenient for them than Buffalo,” Barnhart said. “The service you’re going to get in Dunkirk is a little more hands on than what you would get at a larger airport.”

She also feels that those who use the Dunkirk airport prefer it more than Jamestown. “People who are going to the Buffalo area usually use Dunkirk. Folks that are going to Jamestown use Jamestown’s. You’re flying for convenience to avoid that 40 minute drive,” she said.

She believes both airports are needed. “I would never say we don’t need Dunkirk. I’m an aviation person through and through. I think there’s two different values to both the airports,” she said.

When asked if it’s unusual for counties the size of Chautauqua to have multiple airports, Barnhart said it isn’t common, but believes that’s not a problem. “That’s a positive thing. We are one of the only counties our size that have two airports that you get to fly into. I don’t see it as a negative thing,” she said.

Barnhart also noted the federal government doesn’t seem to mind funding two airports in Chautauqua County as well. “I see the value, the federal government sees the value, they’re still providing us with money. The last two years we got $10 million in projects from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration),” she said.

FEDERAL FUNDS

Generally, the FAA will pay 90% of all grant-funded projects. New York will pick up 5% and then the county has to fund the remaining 5%.

But because the federal government has funded various projects, Barnhart said the county can’t just simply sell the airport after the FAA invested in it. “If we do a project we are bound for its useful life unless you want to pay back the grant for it,” she said.

Many of those grants are for 20 or more years long. That would mean the county would have to go back over the last 20 years to see what projects they’ve accepted FAA money for and pay it back if they ever wanted to close it.

Barnhart was asked if there are any airports in the country that are self-sufficient and do not accept any FAA or state money. She knew of one in California near Napa Valley, but she suspects they have a lot of very wealthy people who help fund the airport.

Still, the vast majority of airports use federal, state and local dollars in order to operate, something Chautauqua County has done and should continue to do. “Let’s just accept the grants, get the improvements and pay the 5 percent,” she said.

AIRPORTS VALUE

When it comes to the county’s two airports, Barnhart believes the economic value is “priceless.” And that value doesn’t change simply because there’s no commercial airline operating out of Jamestown.

“The value of having both airports does help our county,” she said. “I can’t put a number on it because these people are coming into our county and utilizing, not just the airport, but they’re buying homes here. … There’s a lot of people with homes on Chautauqua Lake, who go to Chautauqua Institution, come here for the National Comedy Center.”

This past summer, in particular, was helpful to have two airports because Jamestown was shut down for a period of time as its runway was rebuilt.

“When we had the runway closed this summer here in Jamestown, we were very lucky that we had two airports. It was seamless to our folks here (in Jamestown) to go over to Dunkirk. Our FBO did a great job at working with the businesses. If you needed to get your aircraft go to over there to get that maintenance we had that luxury to have two airports,” she said.

Also, Dunkirk’s runway is slightly longer than Jamestown’s, with the north county’s runway 6,000 feet long and the south county’s 5,300 feet long. That can permit some planes land in Dunkirk that don’t normally land in Jamestown. “A large aircraft doesn’t always mean a longer runway. Some of them can actually land on shorter, it just depends on the type of aircraft and what the weather conditions are,” Barnhart said.