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Airport receives grants for security By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Sizing up the odds that security measures mandated after Sept. 11 would total more than $1 million within a year, Medford airport Director Bern Case took a long shot and asked the Federal Aviation Administration for the whole shebang. His gamble paid off. "It's coming to us in two different grants," Case said on Tuesday. "We're all very excited about this. It's very positive for the airport." Jackson County commissioners are expected to accept the first grant totaling $514,738 today during their regular board meeting. That money will be used to reimburse the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport for federally imposed security measures ordered after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Case said. "It will all go back into the pot," Case said. "It will keep costs at the airport from going up." The grant is part of $175 million approved by Congress last year for airport security across the United States. Case said when Sept. 30 rolls around, the operational costs of added security measures will total more than $360,000 locally, the bulk coming from hired security officers who patrol the grounds and screen trunks and vehicles. Case said an additional $140,000 has been spent on items that weren't factored into the airport's budget. Examples include renting outdoor lighting until permanent fixtures could be installed and towing vehicles parked near the terminal the week after the attacks. A second FAA grant of more than $500,000 has been approved for Jackson County and should be awarded this month, Case said. Case said the money will be used to build restrooms and a drinking fountain in the sealed passenger and baggage screening area. Lengthy security procedures and the wait to board can take hours. Passengers who leave the secure screening room must repeat the process, Case said. The grant money won't push the date of a new terminal construction project any closer, Case said. "I think a terminal is in our future but not for some time," he said. Several other projects must be completed before construction can take place, Case said, such as moving the traffic control tower. However, funds for a terminal analysis study requested before Sept. 11 have finally been allocated, he said. A cost estimate was not available Tuesday. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.