The executive director for the Evansville Vanderburgh Airport Authority requested a one-time lump funding from the Henderson Board of Commissioners and Henderson County Fiscal Court and said the money will be used to attract and retain air carriers.
Nate Hahn met with representatives of both local governmental bodies Tuesday at the City/County Coop Team meeting.
Hahn requested $100,000 coming from Henderson. The money would be put into an air service development fund, he said.
The funding, if approved, would be a 50/50 split between county and city governments.
Hahn said the number one priority for the fund, a 501(c)3, is to get Chicago or Detroit air service.
He said the city and county governmental bodies in Evansville—the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Council—have each donated $250,000 to the fund.
He said the goal is to put at least $1 million into the fund. To that end, he’s been making rounds to nearby governmental bodies with the intent of securing funds.
He’s also asked for $100,000 from Warrick County, Ind., officials.
Though Hahn made the request, he said handling the money in the fund is not done by the airport, but by an outside body that works on behalf of the airport. He said the fund has been used to bring Breeze Airlines service to Evansville.
Breeze will begin providing service to Orlando from Evansville on February 23, according to the Evansville Regional Airport website, www.flyevv.com.
Both Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider and Henderson Mayor Brad Staton expressed interest and said the issue will be added to future regular meeting agendas.
Schneider said having a major hub at Chicago or Detroit is attractive to both local industry for business purposes and individuals who enjoy traveling.
