On Feb. 18, the Cortez Municipal Airport will start charging for parking.
The first hour will be free, said Airport Director Jeremy Patton in an email.
From there, it’ll cost $1 per hour, with a daily maximum of $4. After seven days, it drops to $3 per day, and after 14 days, it drops to $2 per day.
There’s an annual parking pass option for frequent flyers and “transient pilots,” which costs $250 a year.
Revenue from these charges “will go into the airport enterprise fund,” Patton said.
That fund supports “landside and certain airside projects that are not eligible for Federal Airport Improvement Program grants.,” he said.
Some projects they have in mind is to expand the parking lot in the future, improve the fencing and gate, and maintenance.
Patton said the “overflow lot” across Airport Road “will only be available on an as-needed basis for large vehicle or overflow parking and is not a bypass to the main parking lot.”
“Passengers being dropped off or picked up are encouraged to utilize the curbside turnaround that is accessible prior to the main parking lot,” he said.
The decision to charge for parking was approved at a Cortez City Council meeting on Dec. 10.
