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Airport manager to retire |
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Wednesday, 18 April 2007 |
Replacement is slated to take control of operations in September
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Assistant Managing Editor
NEW KNOXVILLE — Customers, visitors and pilots at the Neil Armstrong Airport are likely to notice a new face in September when the longtime airport manager retires after nearly three decades of service.
“I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for all the cooperation I received as your airport manager the past 29-plus years,” Airport Manager Gary Katterheinrich said. “It has been a privilege to serve as manager of the Neil Armstrong Airport.”
Katterheinrich said his retirement is effective Aug. 31. Sean Stroh, a 24-year-old New Knoxville resident, is set to replace Katterheinrich as airport manager.
County Commissioner Ivo Kramer said Katterheinrich notified him of his decision to retire a few months ago. Following the notification, Kramer said he, along with Auglaize County Airport Authority members, began working on parameters for hiring a replacement.
“We posted the position
on our bulletin board and worked on a contract,” Kramer said.
“We interviewed applicants and offered it to Sean.”
Kramer said Stroh signed a one-year contract Tuesday and the commissioner said it would be approved during Thursday’s session of the county commissions. Kramer said Stroh’s performance would be reviewed on a monthly basis — something typical of all county department managers.
“This way it gives him a chance to have questions answered,” Kramer said, noting Stroh’s contract expires Dec. 31, 2008. “He will be the assistant airport manager until Gary retires.”
Stroh, a University of Cincinnati senior majoring in information technology, worked at the airport for more than 10 years. The New Knoxville native said he looks forward continuing the work Katterheinrich and others worked to build during the past several decades.
“I’ve always had a passion for aviation,” Stroh told the Wapakoneta Daily News. “I am looking forward to taking the responsibility of and working with our customers and clients to build the relationship others have built during the past 39 years.”
Authority members also approved a motion to repair the airport’s automated weather observation system (AWOS). Katterheinrich said the instrument is in need of repairs and is vital to helping pilots navigate when approaching the airport.
“We have one of the first and oldest systems,” Katterheinrich said, noting authority members should consider major upgrades to the AWOS. “We are going to have to fix it, which could cost up to $5,000.”
In upgrading it, Katterheinrich said the AWOS could deliver lightning and precipitation information to pilots — something the current system is incapable of providing.
The existing AWOS provides pilots with information regarding barometric pressure, sky conditions and wind directions.
Upgrading the AWOS is less costly than a replacement, Katterheinrich said. The airport manager said a new AWOS would cost approximately $100,000 while upgrading the system would cost between $20,000 to $50,000.
“Right now we are doing a band-aid job,” Katterheinrich said. “It needs updated.”
Authority president Todd Kitzmiller agreed and said grants could be available to help cover the costs of upgrades to the AWOS.
Kitzmiller said authority members could approve funds to cover the costs of repairs to the AWOS while waiting for future grants to cover major upgrades to the system.
“It is important we have the information for the pilots,” Kitzmiller said. “We should repair it ourselves and see if we can get reimbursed through the grant.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 April 2007 )
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