One topic members of Lawrence’s airport board circled at a Friday morning visioning session was how to make sure the community understands what the municipal airport is — and how to invite them in.
Board members agreed they should ensure that the Lawrence Regional Airport serves the people of Lawrence and Douglas County and those who want to visit the community.
“If they’re coming in town for a KU game, or to go visit Haskell, to go do college visits, or visit family — this is a community asset, so we need to make sure that it’s accessible to any and all people that would want to use this asset,” said board member Jim Laster.
The board workshopped a new vision statement Laster drafted. Although they took no action during the informational session, they plan to present a revised version to the community for public comment and a board vote at the next meeting.
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Leading with transparency is among the vision statement priorities: communicating openly with the city, keeping airport tenants in the loop, and educating the public using data. The numbers could include airport revenue, how many jobs it’s created, and more.
“I think what this does is it leads to the trust,” Laster said. “… They just understand that that’s real stuff that’s happening, and there’s real people and lives that are being affected by that airport.”
Chair Clancey Maloney said they should help the community understand that the vast majority of airport funding comes from the federal government, not the city.
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“It is clear to me that the community is needing of knowledge about the funding of the airport and how that works, because of the misconception that it’s just a bunch of rich people and airplanes at the airport instead of it being part of the economic driver,” she said.
Shaun Cookson, the city’s airport manager, said that after federal money, most of the airport’s income flows from renters, including commercial T-hangar and agricultural leases.
“Non-aeronautical is really the bread and butter, if you will, of any future revenue growth at the airport,” Cookson said.
Board members also concurred that they’d like to prioritize serving Kansas City.
“A lot of our feel is closer to what Kansas City is more than what it is to the rural parts of Kansas,” Laster said.
Member Kerry Gooch pointed out that they’ll probably be the closest airport to the new Kansas City football team stadium.
“I think our bread and butter are going to be people coming in and out of Kansas City,” Gooch said.
As he did during the board’s October meeting, Laster said airport growth must be underpinned by strong safety procedures and infrastructure.
The board discussed safety in terms of improving taxi lanes, expanding runways and aprons, getting access to a fire truck, maintaining a Federal Aviation Administration-standard repair station and more.
Board member Sara Tompson said it would be nice to have food options in the area. Gooch said that’s been an ongoing conversation with the city’s North Lawrence Corridor Study. The airport is less than 2 miles from North Lawrence.
“I think the whole North Lawrence community would love to see there to be more restaurants and food options,” he said.
Laster also suggested the board could turn to growing the business base at the airport and deepening civic partnerships. That, he said, could enable the airport to serve as an economic engine for the city.
The University of Kansas Athletics department uses the airport, but Laster suggested cementing that partnership and negotiating how the airport can meet the school’s needs.
Though Laster was less familiar with Haskell Indian Nations University’s needs, he said he “would extend the same olive branch” to them.
He also thought they could seed aviation education at the public school level. He said he has three kids in Lawrence Public Schools, and although one takes engineering classes, they don’t cover aviation.
The board plans to ask the city commission for permission to form a subcommittee focused on civic partnerships to do this type of work.
See this link for a full look at the visioning statement, which will undergo minimal edits following the Friday session.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2. More information about that meeting will be posted at this link.
People should send public comment on any board and airport items to [email protected].
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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