Plymouth Municipal Airport had found itself in dismal condition after 30 years of neglect. Run-down and overgrown, the 45-year-old airport hadn’t seen any kind of improvements in the last three decades, but Mayor Mark Senter sought to change that.
Senter was elected in 2008 and immediately took an interest in the airfield. He appointed new members to the Board of Aviation Commissioners, including its new president, Tom Flynn. Flynn explained that everything about the airport had been redone, including a new tile floor, fresh paint, and even a mural by college student Kailee Shearin. Shearin had painted a mural for the lobby in exchange for the promise of an airplane ride.
Crews mowed down the weeds that had grown up around the runway, hiding it from the view of cars passing by on Michigan Road, and they also purchased a sign to mark the airport’s location. New siding was installed, hangar doors updated, cracks were sealed on the runway thanks to an FAA grant, new heating and air conditioning systems were installed, and town crews poured a new sidewalk.
Since its revitalization, three businesses are now located near the airport. The first, Light Sport Repair Services, has been there for a number of years, but Plymouth Sky Sports and Fort Wayne Helicopters are two new additions.
The town has spent nearly $100,000 on improvements, but its still holding onto more than $500,000 in reserve funding for future revitalization, including an overhaul of the runway.
