When a small general aviation airport closes, it’s often a short-term news story in the local community it serves but the impacts are long-lasting for aircraft operators and the surrounding regional aviation system. Demand for hangar space, flight for life missions, flying lessons and other services does not disappear with an airport that closes. Common reasons for closures include insufficient financial and management resources, perceptions that the airfield only benefits pilots and political decisionmakers eyeing airport property for other uses.
For years, Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport (GWS) in Colorado faced these issues and more. However, it continues to operate—now under the management of a newly formed nonprofit entity.
Where it All Started
GWS was established in 1937 on land donated by local families. The Sumers family provided the most acreage, with the proviso that if the city wanted to use the land for anything other than an airfield, ownership would revert back to the donors. However, this condition was not recorded officially, and decades later, the city of Glenwood Springs began looking at other options for the airport’s 64 acres of flat, developable land. The area is widely known for its natural hot springs and outdoor tourism is the hallmark of the mountain resort town.
 facts&figures
Project: Novel Airport Management Structure Location: KGWS Sumers Airpark, in Glenwood Springs, CO (formerly Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport) Owner: City of Glenwood Springs Managed by: KGWS Sumers Airpark, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group Nonprofit Board: 7 members—5 pilots, 1 non-pilot Airport Footprint: About 64 acres, at an elevation of 5,916 ft. Current Infrastructure: 3,305 ft. x 50 ft. asphalt runway (without control tower); 12,000-gal 100LL tank; 12,000-gal Jet A tank Annual Operations: 5,000 Based Aircraft: 60 Project Timeline: Initial discussions about turning over management to nonprofit group began in 2022; associated 20-year lease & concession agreement took effect May 1, 2024, following city council vote; former airport manager returned July 2024; directors of nonprofit will be elected Jan. 2025 |
Current mayor Ingrid Wussow, who is also a palliative care chaplain, real estate agent and lifelong resident of Glenwood Springs, was a city council member when the airport became a hot topic. Wussow explains that GWS was an enterprise fund—basically a business within a municipality that recovers the costs of services provided to the public through user charges. Wussow notes that municipalities generally do not relish these enterprise arrangements, and Glenwood Springs wasn’t investing in the airport as needed to realize its potential.
Moreover, a bridge project that had been in the works for years threatened to shorten or close GWS’s only runway. The project would ease local traffic congestion as well as provide a roadway link to improve evacuation routes and emergency response during wildfires, but it would also require critical airfield land.
Manager Merry-Go-Round
To its great advantage, GWS had two solid airport managers for 20 years—both aviators who were passionate about preserving the airport. Dick Weinberg held the position for 15 years, and when he retired in 2017, Amy Helm stepped in.
Helm, who recently boomeranged back into the role, is someone many would say has avgas coursing through her veins. As a high schooler, Helm worked weekends at GWS pumping fuel and monitoring the windsock for incoming pilots. After securing her pilot’s license at age 19, she also became a certificated aircraft mechanic, turned a wrench at GWS and then worked as a helicopter mechanic in Alaska for three years. After returning to GWS, she was encouraged to apply for the airport manager job being vacated by Weinberg and succeeded in getting hired.
After taking the reins, she quickly encountered multiple challenges. “The biggest at first was just trying to plan for the future,” she reflects. “City council and city management wanted to close the airport to build anything but an airport. I was constantly trying to convey the importance of having our airport.”
Helm’s passion for GWS inspired her to create events to showcase what the airport does for the community and region. The first Aviation Expo in 2017 was a free community event highlighting the many uses and benefits of general aviation and included a static aircraft display, Young Eagles Rides, and aviation-themed booths and vendors. Although it was deemed a success, the city still pressed ahead with a state-funded Airport Property Scenario Planning study to determine the best use of airport property.
In 2020, Helm and her husband moved to his native New Zealand, and the city assumed management of the airport. The part-time manager it eventually hired left in 2022 after 10 months on the job, transferring day-to-day responsibilities for GWS back to the city. Meanwhile, city leaders were still contemplating whether to keep the airport as-is or develop the land for other purposes.
Lightbulb Moment
A new and novel idea for managing the airport emerged when GWS again faced potential closure about four years ago.
Wussow (then a council member rather than mayor) recalls that the city didn’t have anything specific planned for the airport, but she knew some people wanted to use the land for housing and retail development. Wussow did not agree in the least. “For a town of 10,000 people, to have a municipal airport is quite something,” she explains.
Her lightbulb moment came after a contentious meeting between the airport commission and city council in 2021. The strife led her to ask the city attorney if the city could lease the airport to a nonprofit entity. “Nonprofits allow people to invest in things, so why couldn’t we have that?” she wondered, adding that the airport is a community amenity. The city attorney, in turn, consulted Gregg Rippy, a local business owner, pilot, former airport commission chair and former Colorado House representative.
Nonprofit Benefits
Rippy notes that when the idea of nonprofit management for the airport was initially floated, the city charter allowed Glenwood Springs to sell or close any city-owned property (including GWS) with only a majority vote from the city council. That meant airport proponents needed to move quickly to prevent a vote to close the airport as the proposed bridge project continued to be developed. “In 2022, we engaged an attorney and looked for alternatives to not close the airport,” says Rippy.
While Rippy didn’t know of any airports being operated by a nonprofit group, he knew that Meadow Lake Airport (FLY) in Peyton, CO, was pilot-owned. “I called the manager there and spoke with him a number of times and he offered help with everything,” recalls Rippy. He was particularly interested to learn that FLY had received FAA grants and hoped the same might be true for GWS.
Rippy and his associates opted to form a 501(c)(4) nonprofit entity rather than a 501(c)(3)nonprofit because that designation would allow them to receive grants from the Colorado Department of Transportation for airport projects. When creating and registering the new nonprofit, they named it (and shortly after, the airport itself) KGWS Sumers Airpark to honor the family that donated most of the land for the original airfield.
The nonprofit is structured as a membership organization with annual dues of $100, and it already had 70 members as of mid-December 2024. “Wouldn’t it be great if people of the community had ownership?” Rippy asks rhetorically. Local pilots, community members and aviation enthusiasts who join have voting privileges and can run for the board. The first election of six directors is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2025. One director is required to be a non-pilot. Rippy, who is not running for a board seat, is serving as the group’s interim president and plans to continue helping on an ad hoc basis after the board is elected.
The idea of involvement from a nonprofit is not new. In 2005, local pilots and aviation enthusiasts formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fundraising group called Friends of the Glenwood Springs Airport. Helm, who has campaigned with the group over the years, explains that donations and t-shirt sales support a $2,000 annual scholarship for high school seniors pursuing aviation careers. The Friends group also provides and maintains the airport’s courtesy car.
Wholesale Changes
In the April 2023 city elections, pro-airport Councilor Wussow became Mayor Wussow. In addition, Erin Zalinski, a former local business owner and Friends of Glenwood Springs Airport member, was elected to city council and became the liaison with the airport commission. “I’ve always been someone who felt that as a community member and a business owner, you don’t know the value of an asset until it’s gone,” Zalinski remarks. “Why would we ever let it [the airport] go until we know what its potential can be?”
Not long after the new city leaders were elected, a group of residents presented a petition to officially voice concern about the ease at which city-owned properties could be closed, sold and/or developed. In January 2024, citizens voted to change the city charter accordingly. Now, annexations and development of city-owned land are subject to local referenda.
“It was fortuitous that after we got the city charter amendment that the airport has to stay in the basic same configuration unless the votes of the people want to do something else,” says Rippy. “As we had this last vote, it was clear the citizens want the airport.”
In April 2024, Glenwood Springs City Council approved a lease and concession agreement that transfers management of the airport to the recently formed KGWS Sumers Airpark nonprofit group. The 20-year agreement with two 10-year renewals was adopted in a 5-1 vote.
The lease agreement was signed on May 1, 2024, and Glenwood Springs Municipal Airport was promptly renamed KGWS Sumers Airpark. The lease allows the Airpark group to erect new hangars, sublease airport space for commercial and noncommercial aviation activities, establish an FBO, provide fuel sales and conduct public events such as air shows. In return, the nonprofit group agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city from and against any and all issues spelled out in the agreement’s legalese. Also, the Airpark board must include one representative from the city council. Zalinski is currently filling that role.
According to the lease terms, the city will receive:
- 1% of the nonprofit’s gross income from lease activation until 2030;
- 5% from 2031 to 2035;
- 7.5% from 2036 to 2040; and
- 10% from 2040 to 2044.
Prior to this agreement, the city used $200,000 from its General Fund for airport improvements. This amount, plus 3.5% interest per annum, will be repaid by the nonprofit annually in the amount of 50% of annual net fuel sales (less credit card fees).
Per the pro forma, total revenues for 2024 (mainly from fuel sales and land leases) are estimated at $284,500; so the city will receive $2,845 (1%). KGWS Sumers Airpark estimates its 2024 net income at $2,755. Also according to the pro forma, the nonprofit group expects to repay the General Fund loan in full by 2030; so its net income should increase from $2,490 in 2029 to $32,184 in 2030.
Rippy notes that the goal isn’t to be profitable in the conventional business sense, as 100% of the money has to be reinvested in the airport. “This airport has always been user-funded,” he adds.
Fuel sales, a primary revenue source, initially presented a Catch 22. Because the nonprofit was new, it did not yet have sufficient funds to buy its first load of fuel to then resell to customers. Rippy solved the issue by fronting the cost of the first 8,000 gallons.
The Prodigal Daughter Returns
With the ink on its lease agreement still drying, GWS did not have an airport manager.
At first, the new management group thought about putting out a request for proposals, but immediately realized that for-profit management companies would not be feasible.
Rippy consequently reached out to Helm, and, as luck would have it, she and her husband had decided to move back from New Zealand to Glenwood Springs in July 2024.
Revised Plans
The bridge roadway project that once threatened the very existence of GWS is moving ahead with a major change. Instead of including a tunnel under airport’s runway, the new road, which is approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway, will now be de-elevated with a steep-cut bank of about 14 feet at that location.
The project will still affect the airport, but to a much lesser degree. “With the new bridge, we are displacing our mechanic and his shop,” says Rippy, adding that the city will help defray relocation costs.
Helm, a mechanic herself, notes that the mechanic’s work is known throughout the region, and other airports and pilots rely on his skills. There are two mechanics onsite who provide annual inspections, service the planes for local flight schools, refurbish and restore older aircraft, and have several repeat customers.
With the revised project plans, the new bridge and roadway can now work in concert with the airport—especially during wildfire events. Rippy explains that the Glenwood Springs area has experienced very bad forest fires during the past 30 years, which is largely why the bridge project was proposed. “Four years ago, we made the airport into a helibase to help with the [fire response] efforts. We shut the whole airport down for two weeks,” Rippy recalls.
“I am grateful for this organization coming up with this out-of-the-box solution,” Wussow adds, underscoring the importance of collaboration.
Positive Energy
Helm is enthusiastic about her return as airport manager. “I have the same great view, same great pilot group and the same great community,” she reflects. “I love what I do and am thrilled to do it at one of the most beautiful airfields.
“The big thing is that I don’t work for the city anymore; and I now work for the benefit of the airport. I get to go for grant funding and work on the ALP [airport layout plan]. We finally can take care of the airport.”
Wussow notes that under the new arrangement with the city, the right investments in infrastructure and amenities can be planned and executed to realize the airport’s potential. “New management has energized the airport and it’s a great thing—so much positivity,” she observes.
Polishing the Gem of the Rockies
Helm and Rippy are already brainstorming ideas for the airport.
The future of the airport became a hot political topic within the mountain resort town.
“I would love to have a large hangar with offices for the FBO and a room for instructors. I would love to hold EAA [Experimental Aircraft Association] chapter meetings and events,” says Helm.
She can also envision a restaurant. “Once South Bridge is built, it would be nice for people to come out to the airport. Right now, people just grab the courtesy car and go into town. We are a tourist destination, and it would be great to have these things to add for our tourists,” Helm says.
Like many other general aviation airports, the No. 1 need is more hangars. “We have such a demand for hangars,” Rippy reports. “We will also have to get a taxiway on the west side.”
A new runway statistics program that went live in October 2024 is expected to be highly beneficial because it provides the airport with an accurate count of operations and shows how many are from based aircraft versus visiting tourists. “If the number of tourist operations increases, then the demand for an FBO, pilot’s lounge, second courtesy car or even a city-run bus route from the airport into downtown should all be considered,” Helm explains. “If helicopter operations continue to increase, then we need to look at expanding our helipad area.”
Airport Manager Amy Helm organizes community events to highlight the broad benefits of general aviation.
Rippy adds, “If we get a complaint of aircraft flying too low, we can pull up the actual data and we will know who the pilot is and we can have a chat with that pilot. We want to be good neighbors.” He continues, “CDOT Aeronautics is reimbursing the entire cost for our runway stats program because having good data makes for better decision-making regarding the airport.”
Educational facilities and an avionics shop co-located with the new mechanic’s shop are also on Rippy’s wish list. “We’re probably going to have to grow our own avionics people and grow some aviation nuts with scholarship,” he quips. “We do have a high school Air Force ROTC program.”
Rippy notes that plenty of other airports like GWS face the risk of closure. “Communities, if educated, should know the value of having an airport that provides resources such as flight for life, flight training, recreation, skydiving, sightseeing, as well as aviation education for pilots, mechanics, avionics, airport management, etc. Airports bring in revenues.”
Zalinski is also optimistic about GWS’ future. “This airport is an asset not just for our community but for the region,” she comments. “It is a gem.”
As for the strategy to shift management to a nonprofit group, Rippy says, “I think we are pretty much a one-off. I think it is gonna work.”
“It’s not just about history, a legacy or doing what’s right,” Helm adds. “It’s also about passion. KGWS Sumers Airpark came to be because some key individuals were very passionate about keeping this airport open. They saw the potential and the need for this vital asset, and they found a way. It’s also about community —we accomplished this together.”
