NORWICH – The Chenango County Board of Supervisors has authorized an agreement for the engineering design of a taxiway lighting system and a new beacon at the Lt. Warren E. Eaton airport in Norwich.

The agreement to enter a design contract with CHA, Inc. of Syracuse for planning services for the design of taxiway lighting and a rotating beacon was unanimously approved at the April meeting of the county board of supervisors. The airport - currently without a taxiway lighting system - was eligible for grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will pay 90 percent of the total cost of the $49,950 project.

The remaining cost of the project will be paid by a five percent contribution from New York State and another five percent paid through the interest of a trust fund left to the county by Lt. Warren E. Eaton. A recent report of the trust fund showed the portfolio value was approximately $550,250 at the end of 2012.

Although the expense to install taxiway lighting and upgrade the 15-year-old beacon at the airport is a hit to the trust fund, which county officials rely on to keep the facility operational, it is a worthwhile investment, according to County Board Chairman Lawrence Wilcox.

Over the years, the county has collected millions in grant funding contingent on keeping the airport open. While the airport does get used, Wilcox explained it does not bring in enough traffic to appeal to a fixed-base operator, a commercial business that would operate at the airport and provide services such as fueling, hangering, rental and maintenance - services currently dependent on interest from the trust fund.

“If we decided to close that airport, we are looking at $6 to $8 million we are accountable for,” said Wilcox. Hopes are that pending improvements to the airport, combined with growing industry in the area, will make it more appealing to turn over to a fixed-base operator in the near future.