County seeks bids for new hangar at Apalachicola airport

County commissioners gave the go-ahead this week for the construction of an 11 thousand square foot hangar at the Apalachicola airport that they hope will bring more jobs to the site. The county has a grant to build the hangar which they expect will cost a half million dollars. After that they hope that private enterprise will become involved in the project to convert the hangar into a business that paints aircraft. So far, two businesses have expressed an interest in doing so. Bill Ruic, who manages the Apalachicola airport, said he expects there will be a big demand for aircraft painting and refurbishing in coming years. He said currently the airline industry is in a massive slump and many planes are being parked. He said planes can only last for two years in storage before they need a new paint job, and he feels the Apalachicola airport should be ready when those planes need to be painted. County commissioners did express some concerns about the project because they say they have just enough money to build the hangar but not enough to outfit the structure for painting – that’s where they hope private business will step in. If the hangar does not wind up being used for painting, Mister Ruic said it will still be able to be used for office space which should still provide some jobs at the airport. Bids for the hangar construction are currently being sought, and should be opened at the county’s first meeting in August.