Improvements planned at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport
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he exterior of the terminal at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
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The backside of the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport terminal that faces the runways.
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An airplane is parked outside the windows of Kealy's Kafe at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
JANESVILLE — Air traffic at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport has been dropping since 2002, but county officials say improving the terminal would be one way to turn that around.
In the early part of this decade, General Motors' just-in-time program meant more cargo coming into Janesville through the airport, said Ron Burdick, director of the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport.
When the weather or other problems prohibited truck travel, airplanes were used to bring parts to the plant.
"I used to pray for snow," Burdick said.
But as GM got better at getting parts delivered in a timely manner by highway, air traffic started to drop, he said.
The number of operations—takeoffs and landings—at the airport is dwindling, according to county data.
The airport handles cargo, corporate passenger flights, military flights and recreational flights.
Burdick remembers when the airport handled 150,000 operations annually. By 2008, the total had dropped to 48,234.
The cost of learning to fly has gotten prohibitive for many recreational fliers, Burdick said.
And the recent economic downturn has taken its toll, said Steve King Sr. with Janesville Jet.
"It all comes down to the economics in this whole county," King said. "The airport being kind of a public service platform, it suffers when the community suffers."
King describes Janesville Jet as a "concierge service for airports." The business provides food, fuel, meeting rooms, limousine service and other amenities for travelers.
Business is struggling, King said. Commercial and corporate flights are as few as he's ever seen, King said.
As recently as five or six years ago, the airport was home to four fixed-base-operations such as Janesville Jet, King said.
"Now, it's down to one that is hanging in there," King said.
"That's us."
Improvements planned
An airport is often the first—and sometimes only—view travelers have of a city.
In Rock County, that first impression is getting pretty dated, Burdick said.
Located on Janesville's south side, the county-managed airport has runways, taxiways and other infrastructure that is better than most, Burdick said. But the terminal building constructed in 1959 is energy inefficient and outdated, Burdick said.
The Rock County Board on Thursday night voted unanimously to authorize the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics to go into the design phase for two projects:
-- A $100,000 feasibility and conceptual design study for changes and improvements to the terminal.
-- A $90,000 design study for security upgrades.
The cost of the projects would be split 80/20 between the state and county. For it's share, the county would use $38,000 in extra funds from previous bureau of aeronautics projects, according to the summary of the projects.
Having design plans in place will make the county eligible for future state and federal grants and is the first step towards getting the airport ready for the future, Burdick said.
A new look
Burdick describes the terminal at the regional airport as looking like a "1950's" train station. The brick and glass building was designed as a large waiting area and airport office, he said.
Instead, it's the home to Kealy's Kafe, where diners enjoy the view through a glass wall of planes taking off and landing. The glass wall, however, is not energy efficient, Burdick said.
A new state program is making grant money available in annual chunks of $500,000, Burdick said. So, the study would create a plan for an improved airport and divide it into $600,000 chunks. If plans moved forward, the state would kick in $500,000 for each project, and the county would pick up the other $100,000.
The bureau of aeronautics will get to work right away on the study, Burdick said. The county could start budgeting for construction in 2011, he said.
"It's been a long time coming," Burdick said.
Building for the future
Business is down, but the best way to pick it up is to keep the airport in good working condition, King and Burdick agreed.
"As the movement progresses east to west and the Chicago/Milwaukee corridor fills up, we start to look a lot better to corporate fliers," Burdick said. "It's a lot easier to get in and out at our airport than in Chicago."
King said infrastructure at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport is among the best in Wisconsin.
The important thing is to be ready when a major corporation takes notice of Janesville's excellent location for business, King said. The proximity to Interstate and rail travel as well as the millions of square feet of "empty boxes" (commercial businesses) would be "a wonderful opportunity for somebody, sometime," King said.
"This is a logistical dream waiting to happen. But who, what, where, when? That we don't know."
Sep 28, 2009 at 6:53 p.m.
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Good money after bad. Perhaps it would make a good ice rink for the Janesville Jets (and a nice tie-in too!).
Sep 28, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.
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Leave it to Pete to threaten violent revolution over fixing up a 50-year-old terminal.
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Rocky, are you really in favor of spending money blindly? $180,000 would barely buy new windows and a coat of paint. The point of the study would be to ask the questions that are being raised here about cargo/freight operations vs. general aviation and how much either would be affected by improvements. The freight side seems to be more pertinent in terms of supporting the regional economy and helping retain or expand jobs.
Sep 28, 2009 at 4:22 p.m.
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"As recently as five or six years ago, the airport was home to four fixed-base-operations such as Janesville Jet, King said."
What happened to Roessel Aviation on the south side? They were open a few months ago, I know.
Sep 28, 2009 at 3:41 p.m.
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If the place is dated and needs some updating, that isn't a big deal to me. What torques me is the fact that they are spending $180,000 on studies. Why not just spend the money on improvements. For $180k I'd imagine they could do a pretty nice remodeling. As it is, we get next to nothing for our money.
Sep 28, 2009 at 1:29 p.m.
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Hannah -- most of the weekend traffic is from pilots coming just for breakfast. A very tight group.
Sep 28, 2009 at 1 p.m.
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Hannah, you are clearly not into general aviation. People who are, do fly to airports just for a lunch. There was a term for it back when I was growing up. Something along the lines of "The $50 hamburger". That said, you probably aren't going to get a lot more of these people by updating the terminal building. The question I have is "Which tax dollars are going to be used to fund this study"? There are tax dollars specifically collected from aviation that are intended to go back into aviation. Unfortunately it is an easy target to steal to balance other parts of budgets. I know pilots that are none to pleased that this has occured.
Sep 28, 2009 at 10:22 a.m.
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I agree with wtp. When I was little, my mom used to take me to the "airport" for lunch at Margies. I loved it and remember it to this day. I think they should improve the terminal just because of Matts restuarant. It has wonderful food and a dingy atmosphere. It could replace the childrens museum. Take your kids to lunch and let them experience the planes. My kids and grandkids enjoy it.
Sep 28, 2009 at 9:31 a.m.
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If you remember when the city and state had to build easy access road to GM for quick delivery. At the same time the airport created longer runways that could handle 757 cargo jets along with the tarmac dug down 15 feet and filled with concrete to hold all that heavy weight. Your tax dollars was spent wastefully but now Rock County has a class A airport that can handle anything that may come there way. The latest avionics was added to help bring planes in, in any kind of weather. What is a few more dollars spent to bring a building up to the 21st century. Hundreds of visitors fly in every week to eat at the resturant which the county collects gas and food tax. Yes people will come to a first class place such as Janesville.
Sep 28, 2009 at 8:37 a.m.
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Unless Diamond Jim Doyle is going to make the Rock County Airport a stop on his high-speed train route, the county shouldn't spend money to refurbish the looks of the terminal. Commercial passenger aviation from smaller communities such as Janesville and Beloit dropped off quite a bit as the Interstate Highway system was built. Interstate 90 offered quick direct access to the truly regional airport in Madison and shortened the time of a bus ride to O'Hare International a tolerable option. A bus fare or the gas and parking fees are much cheaper than the cost of adding the short hop from Janesville to Madison, Milwaukee or Chicago to a commercial passenger aircraft.
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General Motors Just-In-Time program wasn't created as an efficient method of inventory, it was created to pass the burden of inventory to it's suppliers.
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Until Wisconsin turns it's decline in manufacturing around, it is foolish to spend a lot of money on the terminal. Corporate executives aren't flying in to the Rock County Airport to look Janesville over as a location to expand in, and if they were, they would probably appreciate the fact that a lot of money hasn't been wasted to put a modern look on a perfectly serviceable terminal. Unlike many city councils, county boards and state legislatures, most businessmen understand that unnecessary government spending results in higher taxes.
Sep 28, 2009 at 8:15 a.m.
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Wasn't that the problem, that Janesville is close to the interstate and rail. If people can use these why would they fly stuff in? Seems like you still have the same problem.
Sep 28, 2009 at 7:20 a.m.
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$190k for studies? Seriously? And Eyster wants to freeze teacher salaries.....this would pay for raises and then some.
Sep 28, 2009 at 5:59 a.m.
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Build it & they will come ?????????
Sep 28, 2009 at 5:53 a.m.
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Oh, so a better looking terminal is going to bring in more air traffic? Get real. This is a waste of money.
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