Johnston County officials have agreed to assist the Johnston County Regional Airport with a request to expand.
Airport Director Phil Lanier said they have been approached by existing clients seeking to expand operations at the Smithfield airport as well as new clients wanting to relocate from larger airports due to higher costs and congestion.
Commissioners approved a plan to add two new corporate hangers for aircraft plus access and drainage improvements. The hangers will cost $960,312 while the other improvements will cost $1,066,743.
Pending approval of the 2017-18 budget on June 26th, commissioners agreed to allocate $173,000 in matching funds on the projects. The airport has already retained $1.4 million in grants. The Airport will be spending $294,000 of their own funds for the projects.
Lanier said the airport authority would decrease their cash reserve ratio from 33 to 17 percent by the end of the 2018 fiscal year.
