Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 2

77 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 sharing in the operations and maintenance of the facilities. “It will be a consortium of public and private entities in the area,” Brienza says. “We have two or three universities looking at it, plus two community colleges that want to be involved, as well as a multitude of charter and high schools. We want to get these young kids interested in aviation or transportation-type careers and it’s really exciting. We have conceptual plans in place and we had our first potential stakeholders meeting recently, where it was unanimous that everybody wants to move forward with this project. So we might just have progressed from the infancy stage to the toddler stage. That really feels good.” Hunter Communications, a local fiber optic company, recently did a major upgrade to the fiber system at MFR to improve Wi-Fi accessibility. It also gives room to expand fiber out to Airport tenants, such as the general aviation area that’s under construction. That site will then have all the utilities, including fiber, for anybody who wants to build a hangar. It’s a great upgrade for the whole community. Travel Medford is the community tourism arm for the Airport. “They are a tremendous partner,” Brienza says. “No matter what we do at the airport, they have been in step with us. They have a customer service/tourism desk here with volunteer staff on hand to answer an array of questions from customers. It’s a great looking, octagon-shaped information booth, very interactive, and they do a fabulous job. They want to see the region grow.” On the environmental front, the Airport is wrapping up a $4 million detention pond project to centralize the drainage on the property. Created in an undevelopable area, engineers did a great job at keeping the pond shallow, but wide, to avoid a lot of settling of waterfowl. It’s also a water quality treatment facility. Brienza ROGUE VALLEY INTERNAT IONAL – MEDFORD A I RPORT