NORWICH – A revenue generating opportunity at Chenango County’s airport was left in the hands of several supervisors, the county’s attorney and its insurance advisors on Tuesday as they discussed a potential contract in executive session.

The press and even the Lt. Warren Eaton Chenango County Airport administrator, a county employee, were excluded from the proceedings.

Prior to going into executive session, the two owners of an airplane upholstery repair business presented their case before the Planning and Economic Development Committee. They called for a lower cost to rent T-hangar space and, in turn, said their seven-year old business could ultimately lead to more aviation traffic at the airport, which could mean fuel sales and a need for mechanical services, as well as more jobs for the company down the road.

Currently, the county is spending more than it is bringing in at the airport. The Board of Supervisors infused $50,0000 from a set-aside interest account in order to keep the facility in operation this year. Annual interest from the airport’s trust fund has fallen off with the overall economy, air traffic has decreased, and the airport’s fixed base operator left last year. The county anticipates needing about $50,000 each year from an interest account balance of $400,000 in order to afford operations expenses.