After her fellow Republican state senators pulled funding for airports from the state budget, Sandra O’Brien said she was able to convince them to restore $3 million for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport that can be used to leverage greater federal dollars for needed improvements.

The Ohio Senate is to vote today on the state budget with the $3 million included for the Vienna airport that also serves the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, said O’Brien, R-Lenox, who represents Trumbull County.

“During the Senate budget process, they took out all one-time funding for airports,” O’Brien said. “When I discovered that, I talked to leadership and explained that Youngstown-Warren isn’t a normal airport. It is the home to a federal air base, which is the largest employer in Trumbull County and a huge employer in the Valley. I explained that not providing the funding would be devastating. This is a unique situation and I got it back in the Senate budget.”

RESURFACING

The $3 million in state funding would be used to help the local airport leverage about $20 million in federal funding to resurface the main runway and taxiway, said Anthony Trevena, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport.

“The $3 million will guarantee their future,” O’Brien said. “I’m delighted this happened. Ohio needs to be a partner. I’m so pleased. We had to have this. This is really important.”

The airport received a $5 million federal earmark last year from then-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, and is seeking an $8 million earmark through U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland. The $13 million combined amount would resurface the airport’s main runway, Trevena said.

The airport is required to come up with a 10 percent match, which would come from the $3 million in state funds, Trevena said.

“This is a really big deal,” he said. “All of our legislators have really stepped up to help us. We’re so grateful to Sen. O’Brien for hearing our cries. It’s absolutely imperative we have the state money to leverage the federal funds. This is just responsible finances.”

If the $8 million earmark sponsored by Brown is approved, the resurfacing can be done next year, Trevena said.

The airport also is applying for an $8 million federal grant to resurface its main taxiway, he said.

The state funds would go toward the 10 percent match for that project, Trevena said.

“Our pavement hasn’t been touched in 25 years,” he said. “It’s due for resurfacing. If it gets worse, then we would have to do a full depth repair, which is four times as much as resurfacing. We’ve been on the list for five to seven years for this work.”

The Ohio House’s budget bill already includes the $3 million for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

Trevena thanked state Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, for getting the funding into the House version of the state budget.

Once the Senate votes on its version of the budget bill, it will have to be reconciled with the House, likely in a conference committee, and then signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

NEW PLANES

The need for the improvements are particularly important with eight new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft coming to YARS, Trevena said. The planes cost about $1 billion in total.

The base will get two planes about a year from now. Then there will be a 14-month gap before the next plane arrives. After that, a new plane will be delivered every other month until all eight are at the base.

Overall, it will take about three years for all eight planes to be stationed at YARS.

U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, and Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, who represent the Mahoning Valley, are sponsoring legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to designate the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport as a “primary airport” to make it eligible for additional federal funding.

U.S. Sens. Brown, D-Cleveland, and J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, have a companion bill in the Senate.

Without the designation, the airport is missing out on some federal funding for maintenance, planning and development. The adjacent YARS uses the runways.

When the Vienna airport lost its last commercial air service, Allegiant Air, in January 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration removed the primary airport designation. The Western Reserve Port Authority hasn’t been able to get another commercial airline to come to the location.

Youngstown-Warren is the only commercial airport in the country with an air reserve station that doesn’t have commercial air service.

dskolnick@vindy.com