TRAVERSE CITY — Surging passenger growth at Cherry Capital Airport is creating more growing pains for the facility, as the airport will be required to establish its own police force in 2025.
The airport’s recently-approved 2025 operating budget of just under $11.9 million includes an $813,398 line item to establish a six-member airport police department, including one supervisor position and five full-time officers, plus expenses for equipment and training and one or two police vehicles.
“It’s really about airport growth in general,” Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) CEO Kevin Klein said. Federal requirements from the Transportation Safety Administration now place TVC at a Category 2 level because the number of on-boarding passengers — classified as enplanements — exceeded 350,000 for three consecutive years. That requires the airport to set up its own police department to conduct airport security, which is currently provided through a $250,000 contract with Elite Security Services in Traverse City.
Klein said the airport was preparing for such a transition as early as four years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic slashed passenger travel across the globe and temporarily pushed TVC below the higher-security threshold.
“With COVID, that kind of reset everything,” Klein said.
But airport travel numbers escalated after the pandemic, reaching a record level in 2023 of more than 700,000 passengers that was eclipsed by last November, and will reach a new record when final 2024 passenger counts are released later this month.
Beyond the added personnel expenses for TVC, Klein said the primary difference in the higher security threshold is that the airport police will have full arresting authority at the facility. While airport security is currently armed and authorized to use deadly force if necessary, security guards don’t have the authority to arrest people at the airport and are required to contact either the Traverse City Police Department, Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Office or the Michigan State Police to make an arrest.
Klein said TVC officials are exploring several options to fill the new positions. They issued a request for proposals late last year and have been negotiating with city police, the county sheriff’s office and MSP about using their officers in an airport policing role — similar to what some area townships and other municipalities do for police service. But those organizations are also struggling to fill their open positions, he said.
“One of the challenges is the available staffing at those departments,” he said. “It might point us to creating our own department.”
TVC officials have also reached out to Northwestern Michigan College about tapping graduates from its police academy, and are also getting input from the TSA on possible options going forward. Klein said facility expenses should be minimal as the airport already has office and locker space for its present security operation. Klein said he hopes to have a plan in place by May 1.
Airport Chief Financial Officer Mark Bishop told the Northwestern Regional Airport Authority board at its budget meeting late last month that the $800,000-plus set aside for the new police department was an early estimate and that officials will monitor those costs as the plan moves forward.
“That’s going to be a significant item that we’re going to keep our eyes on,” Bishop said.
Klein said the added police expense is similar to what TVC has experienced in recent years with other costs, included added fire and rescue expenses because of the increased size of aircraft that use the facility, as well as the escalating maintenance costs associated with more flight and passengers.
“As an airport grows, it becomes a city within itself,” he said.
The airport’s operating budget for 2025 includes more than $12.5 million in income, a 6.8 percent increase from last year, while the $11.9 million expense budget is a 5.4 percent increase from 2024. Higher revenues will be generated in part through increased parking rates.
Short- and long-term parking rates are rising to $2.50 per hour, up from $2 per hour, while the maximum daily rate in the long-term lot will increase $2 to $14.
Parking revenue is projected at just under $3.9 million for the year, about 31 percent of the airport’s total revenue.
TVC is also raising its commercial aviation terminal rates by 4 percent and rental car fees by 3 percent. Other fee hikes are tied to cost-of-living increases, Klein said.
On the expense side, the airport is budgeting for five new employees in 2025.
Those include a new air service marketing director, a full-time internet technology position, an in-house mechanic and two new air service employees.
The budget also includes a 3.5 percent pay increase for hourly employees, a 12 percent increase in employee health insurance costs and an 8.5 percent increase for its business insurance.
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