Winsted Municipal Airport
Winsted Airport became the property of the city in 1962. With only four hangar owners at the time, it became the first municipal airport in McLeod County. Today, there are 42 hangar owners using air transportation for both business and recreation.
When Winsted City Administrator Brent Mareck was asked recently about the importance of the airport to the city of Winsted, he answered, “Winsted Airport is a definite amenity to the city. Whether it is used for business or general aviation, it still brings people to Winsted and it is a resource that not a lot of other communities have in the area.”
The maintenance needed to keep the airport up-to-date has been done through annual capital improvement projects, with the majority of the costs paid for through state funding.
Each year projects are considered, along with future development of the airport. Recommendations and priorities of various improvements are made by the five-member airport commission, with final approval made by the Winsted City Council.
To show appreciation to the city and its residents for the investment made to maintain the airport, last fall the airport commission, hangar owners, and pilots who use the Winsted airport hosted an open house.
Those attending the open house were able to see and tour the inside of some airport hangars, plane rides were given for those interested, and all kinds of aircraft were on display.
In addition, guests were able to see last year’s reconstruction improvements made to the existing taxi-way system, which was 30 years old. The project was completed in October, just before the open house.
The 2010 airport capital improvement project is more extensive. When the entire proposed project is completed in 2013, the grass runway should be paved. The first step in the proposal is an airport environmental assessment, to be completed by 2011. That is followed by an update of the airport zoning ordinance, done by 2012. Finally, a land acquisition, a business relocation, and engineering designs, all completed by 2013.
At any level in the project, the city council can end the project.
“So it will be an exciting next couple of years to see what happens to that development,” Mareck said. “The plans are to pave (the runway), but it doesn’t mean it has been approved to be paved. Some difficult decisions will have to be made,” Mareck said.
A survey done in November 2007, asked 42 hangar owners if they wanted the runway paved. With 31 responses, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of a paved runway – 24 owners voting to pave the runway and 7 voting against it.
