Instead of seeking permission to tap the West Virginia's Rainy Day Fund to pay for repairs to Yeager Airport's collapsed safety-overrun area, officials from the Charleston airport have asked Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for a $10 million loan.
With that money, Yeager officials say, they could start the rebuilding process while awaiting landslide-related insurance and lawsuit settlements - a process expect to take two or more years.
The idea of making a withdrawal from the state's $850 million reserve fund to begin rebuilding the safety-overrun area was first suggested by airport board member and former state adjutant general Allen Tackett in early October, during a speech at dedication ceremonies for the new Coonskin Park access bridge. The airport's governing board later discussed that possibility and approved sending a delegation to meet with the governor to plead their case for tapping the fund.
However, earlier this month when Yeager officials met with the governor, they asked for a $10 million loan "from any fund that's available to let us get underway with rebuilding the safety area while waiting for the lawsuits and insurance issues to be settled," Yeager Airport spokesman Mike Plante said Tuesday.
"This was our first formal approach to explain our situation to him, and we did not end up asking for money from the Rainy Day Fund," Plante said. "I think the meeting was very productive and everyone wanted to be helpful, keeping in mind what's possible in a tight budget year."
Without compensation from insurance and lawsuit settlements over the March 12 collapse, the airport lacks the funds needed to begin rebuilding the safety overrun and replacing the Engineered Materials Arresting System bed that topped it - projects expected to cost somewhere between $25 million and $35 million to complete.
Yeager's EMAS bed, which was rendered inoperable because of the landslide, is credited with saving the lives of 34 people aboard a regional jet that came to a safe stop following an aborted takeoff in January 2010.
The $10 million loan sought from the state to jump-start the reconstruction process would be repaid with funds airport officials expect to collect from insurance carriers and through litigation.
Members of the delegation that met with Tomblin also met with state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox to discuss prospects for reopening Keystone Drive, which remains blocked by landslide rubble.
"We didn't get any grants from FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]" to reopen Keystone Drive," Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Walker said. "We're looking at other options, including one in which we would grade a roadway over the slide debris, put down some rock, and keep a path open for emergency vehicles. We'll work with the airport or anyone else to help on Keystone Drive, but right now, it's still in limbo."
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.