Aviation View | Volume 1, Issue 2

82 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 roof of the terminal and maintenance buildings. They may even build a self-serve fuel station, as right now fuel is trucked to the planes. “I am also working on an in-house terminal remodel project that will be taking place this summer,” says Patton, “which will involve painting, replacing the carpet with vinyl-wood flooring, upgrading all faucets and fixtures to touchless, refacing the ticket counter to stained wood slats and a glass surface, upgrading Boutique Air’s signage, and improving the promotion of local news and business. This airport has a lot of potential to be a gateway to a great community. There is tourism, there is education, there is flight training… but there is also opportunity for flight shows, car shows, and community events. We haven’t really done things like that in the past and anything is possible. Many people in the surrounding area may not know that we’re here, or that we have an airline service, and that we’re well on our way to providing a lot more service in the future. We’re going to raise our visibility so everybody can see the potential.” on the new helipads. This has included the TSA, the Sheriff’s Department, EMS services, and the community college doing their police training. Patton notes, “The Civil Air Patrol flies out of here, as well, and each summer the Bureau of Land Management sets up a tanker base here for wildland firefighting. Classsic Air, based out of Southwest Memorial Hospital, utilizes the airport several times a week. So a lot is going on. And there are other avenues we can be reaching out to – for example, if the airport got more involved with the local schools, we could promote flying to the younger people and help them to see all the potential and career opportunities that exist.” There are many smaller projects on the go, as well, as Cortez Municipal continues to grow. They are updating the gate systems, increasing security measures, bringing in a fiber optic line to allow for broader network and Wi-Fi use, and eventually switching all the lighting over to LED. Cortez Municipal Airport presently has a solar project underway; installing solar panels on the PREFERRED VENDOR/ PARTNER n Region 9 Economic Development District of SW Colorado region9edd.org