AN AERIAL VIEW of Iron County’s airport in Crystal Falls. Airport Manager Krist Atanasoff recently told the county board he’d received some questions and concerns about the airport facilities. (Courtesy photo)

CRYSTAL FALLS — Flying enthusiasts shouldn’t expect any large investments or upgrades at either of Iron County’s public airports, at least not anytime soon.

In a recent report to the Iron County Board, airport manager Krist Atanasoff said he’d received some questions and concerns about the county-owned airport in Crystal Falls, specifically about the lack of bathroom facilities.

The site at one time did have a bathroom but it fell into disrepair after the pipes froze and were damaged, Atanasoff said.

“They decided to close it,” he said. “The bathroom and fixtures were removed.”

The location also lacks an active water well.

Also, if the county were to invest and reinstall a bathroom there, Atanasoff said it would have to comply with the Americans with Americans with Disabilities Act.

Even then, the facility on Horserace Rapids Road won’t be open year-round.

“The airport is very seldom used,” Atanasoff added. “In the winter, we don’t even plow it.”

Atanasoff said he had applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for grants to upgrade the runways and lighting at both county airports, in Crystal Falls and Stambaugh Airport on Garfield Avenue in Iron River. Unfortunately, the applications had been denied.

“Quite a bit of money would have to be spent to bring it up to standard and for the FAA to take a look at it,” he said. “(And) I don’t think the county is in a position to spend lots of dollars out there.”

According to Atanasoff, one reason the county struggles to get grants for the airports is the proximity to Ford Airport in Kingsford. He said the FAA usually doesn’t invest much in smaller airports that are within about a 30-mile radius of a larger facility, such as Ford.

And rather than spending funds at Crystal Falls, Atanasoff said county officials might instead consider running water and sewer lines to a hangar at Stambaugh to allow for the addition of an onsite bathroom there.

“Our business is getting bigger (at Stambaugh),” he said.

Commissioner Jacob Conery suggested county officials possibly explore selling the Crystal Falls site and using the funds to upgrade facilities at the Stambaugh Airport, or finding another use for the property.

“It’s a hundred acres of county-owned land,” Commissioner Jeff Ofsdahl noted. “We’re not using it for anything profitable.”

However, Steven Tinti, the county’s civil legal counsel, said the deed to the Crystal Falls site contains a reverter clause that gives the property back to the state if the airport was closed.