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AirportImprovement.com      September 2026
GENERAL AVIATION 
SVH
Food for Thought
Considering the many challenges airport 
decisionmakers can face during infrastructure 
projects, stakeholders at SVH want to help by 
suggesting a few things to bear in mind. 
Ferguson emphasizes the value of 
building diverse coalitions to support airport 
improvements. “Bring in your elected officials 
and get their buy-in,” he says. “Everybody 
has to buy in. It makes it so much easier. And 
get your state aviation officials to buy in also.”
On another tack, Johnson advises 
choosing the project partners and delivery 
method carefully. He also recommends 
asking plenty of questions: What are the 
funding opportunities? What is the comfort 
and knowledge about construction of 
those managing the project? What are 
the operational constraints surrounding 
disruption during construction? What is 
the construction timeline, and are there 
opportunities for schedule flexibility? 
Lamb emphatically echoes what she 
heard when visiting other airports before 
SVH’s terminal project: “Always provide 
room for growth!” 
“More space means more money,” she 
acknowledges. “But everyone involved said 
they would have spent the money, and that 
it’s cheaper to add space when you are 
already building than paying for an expansion 
down the road.”
While many airport managers who have 
built or refurbished a terminal say they never 
want to do it again, Ferguson doesn’t seem 
to bear the same scars. “This one went so 
smoothly,” he says, noting the need for only 
two change orders during the $12.5 million 
construction project. 
Finally, Smith sees it this way: If all the 
growth occurring at SVH is a problem, it’s a 
great problem to have. 
The boardroom will be available for community 
groups to rent. 
2026 | ACI-NA/ACC 
AIRPORT PLANNING &
NEPA WORKSHOP
December 2 – 4, 2026
Washington, D.C.
Register Now >>
PHOTO: SVH

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