County airport receives $546,250 grant

Boundary County Airport has received a $546,250 federal grant for improvements that are expected to create economic benefits for the region.

“I think it’s fantastic,” county commissioner Ron Smith said Tuesday after hearing the news. “It’s a big benefit to Boundary County and it’s due to the work of Dave Parker, our board and the airport board.”

Parker, who with his wife, Kimberly, manage the county-owned airport off Highway 2 in the Three-Mile area through their company Northern Air, also was pleased with the news.

“It’s kind of neat to see all the effort come to fruition,” Parker said. “The commissioners have really been progressive as well as the airport board.”

Part of the funding will be used to improve taxiways so bigger jets can land.

“All the new asphalt they will be putting down will allow the airport to deal with larger aircraft,” Parker said.

The money also will be used to double the size of the parking area for aircraft.

“We have kind of limited ramp space with the big airplanes,” he said.

Now that the U.S. Border Patrol reportedly plans to construct a new building in the Three-Mile area, Smith hopes it could mean the international inspection station will be moved from Porthill to the county airport.

“We have talked about being able to do that,” Smith said.

District 1 Congressman Bill Sali, who represents Bonners Ferry, on Tuesday announced the news about the grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Obviously, the airport is a major contributor to the economic well being of the county,” said Wayne Hoffman, communications director for Sali. “It provides a service to the residents and businesses of the region.”