Kootenai County Updates Coeur d'Alene Airport Fees, Plans New Grass Runway

Coeur d'Alene Airport's fee schedule received its first comprehensive overhaul in years after the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners voted last week to approve updated charges intended to bring user costs in line with the services operators actually receive.

Airport Director Gaston Patterson told commissioners the review was long overdue. "It's been a while since there was an actual deep dive into all the fees at the airport," he said. "There's a lot of fees that haven't been utilized just because they don't apply to the way we do business at the airport. There's a lot of fees that were outdated."

The Airport Advisory Board formed a subcommittee to audit the existing structure and ensure charges are equitable across all user groups, from private pilots and flight schools to charter operators and hangar tenants. Patterson drew a clear line on intent: "We never want to charge too much, but we need to make sure we're covering the type of business that we run out there."

Because some proposed increases exceeded 5%, state law required a public hearing before commissioners could act. No community members spoke in favor or against the changes at Tuesday's hearing, and commissioners moved ahead with approval.

The Hayden airport is self-funded and draws no local property tax revenue, making a durable fee structure essential to its long-term operations. Updated rates are designed to cover maintenance and incremental capital work as the county-owned facility adds capacity.

The most immediate project is a grass runway running parallel to Runway 2. Patterson said rough grading will begin soon, with earthwork targeted for completion this spring and summer, leaving an all-dirt surface ready for hydroseeding by winter. "I'm excited to get that going," Patterson said. If the seeding takes hold, the runway could be operational by next summer, expanding the airport's usefulness for smaller aircraft and specialty operations.

The fee vote is one of several management steps the county has taken over the past year to modernize the airport, which also included updates to minimum operating standards and leasing policies.