At today’s meeting of the Texarkana Regional Airport Authority Board, members discussed lessons learned from last week’s snow event, welcomed new board members, and updated progress on the new terminal.
The eighteen inches of snow that fell on Texarkana Regional Airport revealed that a policy change and new equipment acquisition are required. The previous policy was to let snowfall less than three inches to “just melt,” and for more than three inches of snow, “the airport can request help from the city of Texarkana Arkansas,” according to Executive Director of Aviation Paul Mehrlich.
When a request was made by the airport for assistance with the snow, no equipment was available to send from the City of Texarkana Arkansas. The board decided a more self-reliant policy would be prudent, and a review of all excavating equipment should be conducted before any new purchases. Both issues will be sent to the Operations Committee for discussion and the creation of a plan.
The Board welcomed three new members at today’s meeting. Mr. Joe Denmon, Mr. Clay Roberts, and Dr. Robin Hickerson joined the discussion and are awaiting appointments to Committee subgroups.
Progress on the new terminal and taxiways were only halted by the snow temporally and is on schedule.
