Tri-County Area Boards Considering Joining Airport Authority

ST. CLOUD -- Efforts are ramping up in 2020 to create a Regional Airport Authority to oversee and operate the St. Cloud Regional Airport.

A task force has been charged with pitching the proposal to the Tri-County boards of commissioners. Task force member Brian Myres says each county is being asked to opt-in and would then have two representatives appointed to the board. He says it's important to note, the airport authority board won't be made up of government officials.  Myres points to other Regional Airport Authority agencies like in Duluth where business and aviation professionals sit on the board and steer its growth.

Sherburne County commissioners approved a resolution to join a Regional Airport Authority in December. Benton County commissioners approved the resolution Tuesday. Stearns County and the city of St. Cloud will be asked to take up the matter in the coming weeks.

Once the St. Cloud Regional Airport Authority is formed, the city of St. Cloud will phase itself out of operating and subsidizing the airport over a 10-year period.

The airport authority would require Federal Aviation Administration approval before it would be formed on January 1st, 2021.