The Silver Springs Airport will dedicate its new 10,000-gallon fuel station next week, "a significant benchmark" for the rural airport, said co-manager Kay Bennett.
To install the nearly $200,000 fueling station, the airport got grants from Federal Aviation Administration, which covered about 95 percent of the costs, with the rest coming from the Nevada Aviation Trust Fund and Lyon County.
"It really takes us into another whole level of service here," Bennett said Tuesday. "Now we're able to provide some significant services that are going to be the catalyst for more based aircraft, additional hangars and give us an opportunity to attract aviation business and industry."
Bennett said the airport, which sees about 20,000 landings or takeoffs each year, largely caters to small plane owners as well as pilot training programs in the region. She said the fueling station could attract more people to store their aircraft at the airport as well as potentially attract new industry, such as aviation-related manufacturers.
The airport currently houses 13 airplanes inside a 14-unit hangar and there are plans to add more than two dozen hangars over the next five years, Bennett said, adding the planned USA Parkway that will eventually connect Silver Springs to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Park could also boost business for the airport.
Bennett and her husband, Hale, have managed the airport since 1989, moving to the location in 2000 after she ended her third term on the Carson City Board of Supervisors. They now live in a home near the airport hangar, which also doubles as an office and pilots lounge.
Since taking over, Bennett said more than $6 million has been invested in the airport that runs parallel to U.S. Highway 50 West.
Among the projects the Bennetts have overseen include paving the formerly gravel runway in 2001, installing lights along it in 2002 and erecting a fence around the perimeter in 2004, among others.
"We've just been persevering," she said. "It's really a lesson in perseverance. Day in and day out."
The dedication ceremony is April 28 at 10 a.m. at the airport, 1991 Highway 50 West. Gov. Jim Gibbons is expected to attend.
To RSVP, contact Kay Bennett at kay@silversprings
airport.com or by calling 775-577-2111.