Westmoreland commissioners approve $4 million stake for airport expansion

Westmoreland County will provide the final piece of financing needed to double the size of the terminal building at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe.

The county’s airport authority will receive $4 million from Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp.

“We want to support our assets in our area. This is the money they need to finish the funding and to get the construction started on time,” county Commissioner Sean Kertes said.

The funds are from a portion of the proceeds of a $15 million sale two years ago of the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad, a 33-mile freight line that was owned by the industrial development agency overseen by the county commissioners.

The railway was sold to a private freight line that continues to operate the service on tracks that run from Hempfield into Fayette County. The freight line services industrial sites including industrial parks owned by the county development agency.

Commissioners earlier this year committed funding needed for the airport terminal expansion project.

Construction of the new 30,000-square-foot terminal is expected to begin in the spring and take about two years. When finished, the terminal building is expected to accommodate up to 1,000 passengers at one time, double what the facility can handle now, according to county airport authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo.

“This is the final portion of the funding we needed,” Monzo said of the county’s allocation. “This was an absolute necessity.”

In addition to the county cash, the airport authority is using about $17 million in state and federal grants to pay for the expansion project.

The expansion is being undertaken in a time of uncertainty for the airport. It’s lone commercial carrier, Spirit Airlines, operates just one daily flight out of Arnold Palmer as it awaits a federal court decision on antitrust claims brought by the federal government in opposition to a proposed $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airlines.

Local officials have expressed concern over whether Spirit will continue to serve the Unity airport in the wake of the merger.

County leaders said the building of larger terminal is needed to ensure the airport remains viable.

“This investment will increase the likelihood that multiple carriers will come here. Without it, there will be no chance another airline will come,” said Commissioner Ted Kopas.