The Hearne Municipal Airport is in the early stages of some exciting new changes that will help enhance the airport's and Hearne's economic development potential. Details are provided below.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2003

Exciting things are happening at the Hearne Municipal Airport.

Many of these activities were highlighted by local officials at a public hearing sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Aviation Division in Caldwell on Tuesday, October 21^st.  This regional hearing included public discussions about the airports in Caldwell, Rockdale, & Cameron as well as Hearne.

A revitalized Hearne Airport Board has met three times in recent months to discuss actions designed to improve the Hearne airport.  Spearheaded by Chairman Dee Weatherford, this advisory committee is working closely with City Manager Ric Walton and City Public Works Director Robert Penney to accomplish a variety of airport improvements.  Other airport board members include Bob Putz, Lee Bates, David White, Brad Ely, John Melvin, & Kent Brunette.

At the hearing, Walton thanked TxDOT officials for almost tripling the amount of a TxDOT grant the City of Hearne recently received to repair & renovate the parking apron at the Hearne airport.  Originally weighing in at only $33,333, TxDOT recently increased this grant by $95,000.  It now totals $128,444 in grant monies to be spent on the Hearne airport. 

“This grant demonstrates the city’s commitment to improve the airport,” stated Walton.  “A National Weather Service AWOS system was recently installed.  A numeric keypad entrance system has been added to the pilot lounge.  A new landscape design for the airport entrance is in the works along with a complete replacement of a problematic self-service AVGAS pump.”

“These actions are just the beginning of efforts to revitalize the airport,” said Walton.  He went on to say that the budget recently approved by the Hearne City Council contains an almost 60% increase in airport funding for fiscal year 2004. 

“In the near future, we hope to be able to offer JET-A fuel,” Walton added.  He plans to discount the prices on both AVGAS and JET-A fuels as an incentive to get jet pilots and other aviators to visit the local airport and possibly base their flight operations in Hearne.  “If we can get more jet take-offs and landings, we may be able to elevate the status of the Hearne airport and thereby qualify for additional grant monies.”

At the public hearing, Kent Brunette, Director of the Hearne Economic Development Corporation & Executive Director of the Hearne Chamber of Commerce, detailed plans to create & distribute a newsletter stressing all of the improvements being made to the Hearne airport.  This newsletter would be sent to pilots & aircraft owners throughout Robertson County as well as in the seven adjoining counties. 

Since the airport board is hoping to recommend the building of new hangars with the possible financial assistance of Hearne’s 4A Sales Tax Board, Brunette stated that a survey would be distributed with the newsletter asking pilots and aircraft owners to identify whether they were interested in utilizing hangar space at the Hearne airport. 

“One airport board member has started a waiting list of people who wish to obtain hangar space at the airport,” Brunette said.  “This survey will provide an additional opportunity to see how many aviators are interested in hangar space along the sizes of hangars needed.”

“An opportunity for local residents & others to check out the Hearne airport for themselves is coming up the first weekend in December,” Brunette stated.  He urges local residents to attend the upcoming “Wings Over America” Model R/C Jet Rally to be held at the Hearne airport on December 6^th & 7^th.  “This event will commemorate the Pearl Harbor Anniversary as well as celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first flight.  It should be great fun for kids of all ages.”

TXDOT WRITTEN TESTIMONY

Hearne, a people friendly town of 4,690, is in Robertson County.  It is conveniently located in central Texas in the middle of a triangle formed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.  Only 25-miles from Bryan-College Station and Texas A&M University, distances to nearby cities and access to interstate highways are as follows:

Known as "The Crossroads Of Texas," Hearne is nestled at the crossroads of two major highways as well as two major Union Pacific Railroad lines.  TX 6 and US 79 cross in Hearne.  The former east-west Missouri Pacific Railroad line converges with the former north-south Southern Pacific Railroad line in Hearne. Union Pacific's Hearne hub sends crews and trains out in many directions 24/7.

While Hearne may be known as a crossroads due to the highways and railroads that cross through it, this central Texas town’s convenient location (graphically illustrated on the front cover) cannot be ignored.  As the Texas economy continues to expand, Hearne is ideally positioned to assume an increasingly significant role in Texas’ future.  Indeed, a recent study revealed that roughly 80% of the Texas population lives within a 200-mile radius of Hearne.   

Hearne’s location is key.  Two presidential libraries (George Bush and Lyndon Baines Johnson) are within a 100-mile radius of Hearne.  So are twenty colleges and universities (including Texas A&M University, University of Texas, Baylor, Austin Business College, Austin Community College, Blinn College, Central Texas College, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson College, McLennan Community College, Montgomery College, Prairie View A&M University, Sam Houston State University, Southwestern University, St. Edward’s University, Temple College, Texas State Technical College, and University of Mary Hardin Baylor). 

Hearne is ideally situated to serve agri-businesses, manufacturers, and corporations of all shapes and sizes that need convenient access to highway, railroad, and air transportation capabilities to bring raw materials in and ship finished products out to customers.  Given its strategic location in the Research Valley and its close proximity to major learning centers, Hearne is an ideal place for research facilities, corporate campuses, regional distribution centers, or other similar facilities. 

Local Economic And Other Activities 

Don’t let the 4,690 person population figure fool you.  Hearne is NOT a rural community.  Far greater numbers of people pass through Hearne on a daily basis than the number of people who live here.  The volumes of people passing through Hearne become grossly exaggerated on holiday weekends, during summer vacations, and when major sporting events, parents day, graduations, and other events are held at nearby Texas A&M or other central Texas universities. 

While increased traffic volumes on local highways and railways may be apparent to the casual observer, what may not be so obvious are the subtle, yet significant, activities taking place in and around Hearne.  Many of these activities, identified below, are designed to promote Hearne and make it more readily accessible to ever-increasing numbers of people in the coming years: 

TxDOT’s Central Texas Highway Projects 

TxDOT is engaged in three major central Texas highway projects which will provide easier and more convenient access to Hearne and Robertson County.  These projects include: 

• TX 6 improvements which will provide improved highways between US 290 in Hempstead and I 35 in Waco.  This thoroughfare passes through Hearne;

• US 79 improvements which will provide improved highways between I 35 in Round Rock and I 45 in Buffalo.  This thoroughfare passes through Hearne; and

• TX 21 improvements which will provide improved highways between I 35 in San Marcos and I 45 just south of Centerville.  This thoroughfare passes through north Bryan, only 18 miles south of Hearne.

These three highway projects demonstrate that TxDOT already recognizes the strategic importance of Hearne’s convenient central Texas location.  The increasing traffic loads on the above major highways are in addition to the traffic Hearne receives from FM 485, FM 391, and US 190, which also pass through the city. 

Tourism Development 

Rather than waiting for the Brazos Trail, Bluebonnet Trail, Presidential Corridor, or other similar initiatives to bring tourists to the area, the Hearne Chamber of Commerce is developing an aggressive campaign to promote Hearne as a tourist destination.  Created in conjunction with the Robertson County Historical Commission as the “Robertson County Heritage Tourism Trail”, this new campaign will feature:

• Hearne’s turn-of-the-century, arrow-shaped railroad depot (being restored in large part by a series of TxDOT TEA-21 grants, which, to date, total $451,292);

• Camp Hearne (the World War II Prisoner-Of-War Camp located just outside of Hearne on property adjacent to the Hearne Municipal Airport); and

• Hearne’s historic commercial and residential buildings.

This campaign will also include a series of driving tours which showcase Hearne and the local area’s historic and agricultural roots.  The following tours (beginning and ending in Hearne) will be available in both print and online formats: 

• Brazos Bottom (Hearne, Benchley, Mumford, Valley Junction, FM 485 to Hearne);

• River Road/Calvert (Hearne, FM 485 to Goodland, Calvert, Sterling, TX 6 to Hearne);

• OSR/Wheelock (Hearne, Benchley, OSR, Wheelock, Black Jack, Hearne); and

• Franklin/New Baden (Hearne, Franklin, Owensville, Bald Prairie, New Baden).

A Places To Stay brochure is also being developed to encourage tourists and travelers alike to stay overnight in Robertson County.  This brochure will include information about motels/inns, bed & breakfasts, and other accommodations throughout Robertson County. 

A variety of activities utilizing the theme “Spend Some Time In 77859” are envisioned to promote Hearne’s new tourism outreach.  A tourist information hotline at 979.280.5500 (not yet operational) will likely be promoted online, on highway billboards, and elsewhere in the county.  Special all-weather take-one boxes displaying tourism brochures will be placed at eating establishments, gasoline stations, and convenience stores throughout Robertson County. 

Economic Development 

“Hearne is an ideal location to start a new business or move your current operations.”   

This is the lead statement in an economic development brochure entitled “Hearne’s Favorable Business Environment” currently being drafted by the Hearne Economic Development Corporation (4A Sales Tax Board).  Hearne’s 4A Board is spearheading efforts to promote Hearne to prospective businesses and new residents.   

This draft brochure (copy attached) identifies twelve good reasons why businesses should locate in Hearne.  These reasons include: 

• Make Your Business Readily Accessible (convenience and proximity to other towns)

• Ship and Receive In All Directions (highway and railroad access)

• Access Customers and Potential Customers (highway travelers)

• Enjoy Easy Air Access (Hearne Municipal Airport)

• Access An Ocean Of Water (Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer)

• Have Plenty Of Room For Your Business To Grow (residents per square mile)

• Stay Connected (communications access)

• Operate Your Business Year-Round

• Enjoy A Great Agri-Business Location

• Access A Readily Available Work Force

• Benefit From Diverse Populations

• Pay Very Reasonable Local Taxes

This brochure is the first in a series of steps designed to enhance the local business environment and promote Hearne to prospective businesses and residents.  Other envisioned activities include: 

• Aggressively marketing Hearne to potential businesses, conducting site visits with interested companies, and sending copies of the above brochure to local, state, and federal elected officials and others to let them know that Hearne is serious about cultivating business opportunities;

• Pursuing opportunities to make Hearne's downtown commercial district as attractive as possible to entice visitors to spend time in downtown Hearne, encourage existing merchants to remain in downtown Hearne, and attract new merchants to Hearne;

• Promotion of Hearne as a logical bedroom community to Bryan/College Station;

• Development of a "Come Home To Hearne" Campaign that encourages snowbirds, baby boomers, Texas A&M alumni, faculty, and students, former county residents, retirees, and others to move to Hearne;

• Annexation of city-owned properties that are contiguous to the city limits (including the Hearne Municipal Airport property);

• Promotion of the Hearne Industrial Park adjacent to the Hearne Municipal Airport;

• Creation of a new real estate website that features commercial properties available for sale or lease in Hearne;

• Identification of Union Pacific-owned properties available for sale or lease in Hearne;

• Creation and promotion of an economic development hotline at 979.280.0001; and

• Placement of signs on commercial properties available for sale or lease stating “Interested in opening a business at this or another Hearne location?  Call the Hearne Economic Development Corporation at 979.280.0001.” 

Internet Visibility 

Significant strides forward have recently been made to assure that Hearne and Robertson County are active participants in the online world.  Not one, not two, but three top-of-the-line websites represent the city and county online.  The following professionally designed websites utilize best practices found at other chamber of commerce, municipality, family history and genealogy sites: 

• Hearne Chamber of Commerce website at www.hearnetexas.info.  Placed online on April 15, 2003, this website will likely generate over 10,000 visitor hits in its first year.  This URL will soon be promoted in highway billboard and bumper sticker advertisements;

• City of Hearne website at www.rtis.com/reg/hearne/CityOfHearne.htm.  This exciting new website will soon replace the site currently online at www.cityofhearne.com; and

• The Robertson County TXGenWeb site at www.robertsoncounty.info.  The recipient of a recent Texas Historical Commission award, this website boasts over 1,000 documents and has had over 50,000 visitor hits in the past three years.

Copies of the welcome pages to these three websites are provided. 

Hearne Municipal Airport 

Built in the 1950s as an auxiliary airport for the Bryan Air Force Base, the Hearne Municipal Airport was designed and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers.  It was built to exacting government specifications and standards that assure its structural integrity.   

The Hearne Municipal Airport possesses the following attributes and capabilities: 

• Has an existing ultimate runway length of 7,800 feet (currently has a 4,500 foot runway, with a North over-run of 1,100 feet and a South over-run of 2,200 feet);

• Is capable of accommodating business jet aircraft;

• Has a single runway with a parallel taxiway;

• Has a lighted, renovated runway;

• Sits on 390 acres of city-owned land that is contiguous to potentially 350 more acres of undeveloped farmland;

• Is located in a rural area that is free from building and other obstructions;

• Is less than a 30-minute drive from Bryan/College Station; and

• May become even more accessible in the future since the Hearne Municipal Airport site is adjacent to a planned TX 6 and US 79 bypass around Hearne (see attached map).

The Hearne Municipal Airport serves as home to a major local business, Putz Aero, a crop-duster in the Brazos River bottom.  Putz Aero is in its third year of work (approximately 700 program-related landings per year) with the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.  The airport also serves the needs of a variety of local aviators, visitors, and others, including a Houston industrialist who has a Russian MIG jet parked at the airport. 

New Framework For Tapping Potential Of Hearne Municipal Airport Developed 

The fact that the Hearne Municipal Airport may have been under-utilized and under-developed in recent years makes it ripe for expansion to serve the growing needs of central Texas in the coming years.  The City of Hearne recently hired a new city manager, Ric Walton.  Hearne’s 4A Tax Board and Chamber of Commerce recently hired Kent Brunette as their joint economic development and chamber director.  These organizations as well as many local civic leaders recognize the untapped potential that the Hearne Municipal Airport possesses.  As a result, improving and promoting the Hearne Municipal Airport is a primary job responsibility for both Walton and Brunette, who heavily rely on longtime Hearne Public Works Director Robert Penney.   

In addition, a revitalized Hearne Airport Board has met three times in recent months to discuss actions designed to improve the Hearne airport.  This advisory board will continue to meet on a monthly basis.  Headed by Chairman Dee Weatherford, other members include Bob Putz, Lee Bates, David White, Brad Ely, John Melvin, and Kent Brunette.  Ric Walton and Robert Penney serve in an ex-officio capacity. 

Recent Activities 

Accomplishments over the past several months have included: 

• Requesting and receiving a TxDOT grant to repair and renovate the parking apron.  Originally $33,333, TxDOT increased this grant by $95,000, which now totals $128,444;

• Installation of a National Weather Service AWOS system; and

• Installation of a numeric keypad to access the pilot lounge.

Works-in-progress include: 

• Replacement of a problematic self-service AVGAS pump with a brand new BPAir gas pump; and

• Creation and installation of a new landscape design at the airport entrance.

To provide increased financial assistance, the Hearne City Council recently approved an almost 60% increase in airport funding for fiscal year 2004. 

Efforts To Elevate The Status Of The Hearne Municipal Airport 

Efforts are underway to offer JET-A fuel at the Hearne Municipal Airport.  After this addition is made, the airport plans to discount and publicize the low prices on both AVGAS and JET-A fuels to offer an incentive for jet and other pilots to visit Hearne and possibly base their flight operations here. 

State legislators and Members of Congress who represent Hearne in the Texas Legislature and U.S. Congress are also being contacted.  These elected officials are being asked to help increase the number of jet take-offs and landings at the Hearne airport.  As part of this effort, overtures to civilian, Texas National Guard, and local U.S. military bases will soon be made. 

Several fly-in events are also envisioned in 2004 to introduce aviators to Hearne’s discounted fuel prices and local efforts to improve the airport. 

Building Hangars / Pilots and Aircraft Owners Survey 

A newsletter is being drafted to showcase the improvements being made at the Hearne airport as well as efforts to improve its status.  This newsletter will be distributed initially to pilots and aircraft owners throughout Robertson County and in the seven adjoining counties.  Since the Hearne 4A Tax Board has signaled a preliminary interest in providing funding to build new hangars, a survey asking pilots and aircraft owners to identify whether they are interested in utilizing hangar space in Hearne will be distributed with the newsletter.  One airport board member has already started a waiting list of people who wish to obtain hangar space at the airport.  The survey will provide an additional opportunity to quantify how many area aviators are interested in hangar space in Hearne.

Suggested Corrections To Airport Description On TxDOT Airport Development Worksheet

BASED AIRCRAFT	BASED AIRCRAFT	ANNUAL ACTIVITY	ANNUAL ACTIVITY
Reported: 12.1.1998	Reported: 10.21.2003	Reported: 12.1.1998	Reported: 10.21.2003
Single Engine: 17	Single Engine: 19	GA Local: 3,600	GA Local: 4,745 [1]
Multi Engine: 1	Multi Engine: 3	GA Itinerant: 1,800	GA Itinerant: 2,190 [2]
Jet:	Jet: 1	Military:	Military:
Helicopter:	Helicopter:	Air Carrier:	Air Carrier:
Gliders:	Gliders: 4	Air Taxi:	Air Taxi:
Military:	Military:	Commuter:	Commuter:
Ultra-Light:	Ultra-Light: 3	TOTAL: 5,400	TOTAL: 6,935
TOTAL: 18	TOTAL: 30

Planned TxDOT Activities During 00 – 05 Calendar Years

Project Description	Project Cost	Const Type	Object Code	Airport Comp	Item Status
Mark RW 18-36 (29,000 sf)		PAVE	PRSV	PRWY	D
Rehabilitate Apron (15,000 sy)		PAVE	PRSV	APRN	A
Rehabilitate RW 18-36 (4000 x 75)		PAVE	PRSV	PRWY	D
Rehabilitate Parallel Taxiway (5800 x 45)		PAVE	PRSV	PTXY	D
Install REIL RW 18-36		AAID	STDS	PRWY	D
Install PAPI-2 RW 18-36		AAID	STDS	PRWY	D
Install AWOS [3]		AAID	SAFE	ANAS	A to F
Surface Existing Entrance Road [4]	$361,774	PAVE	PRSV	OLSD	U
Build Terminal Bldg Level 2 (1000 sf) [5]	$98,630	BLDG	STDS	TERM	U

Future Activities 

It is hoped that the status of the Hearne Municipal Airport will be upgraded in the near future.  Should this occur, additional TxDOT monies might become available to accomplish tasks other than those identified above.  These might include (but not be limited to) the following: 

• Paving and rehabilitating the entire runway length of 7,800 feet (including the North and South over-runs).  Given the airport’s existing infrastructure, the cost of converting the Hearne Municipal Airport into a larger airport with increased traffic loads would pale in comparison to the cost of building a new airport elsewhere; and

• Having a manual, GPS, ILS, or other approach installed at the airport.

In the meantime, the City of Hearne, Hearne 4A Tax Board, Hearne Chamber of Commerce, and others in Hearne will continue to work to improve the Hearne Municipal Airport.  One logical next step might be to engage the services of a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at the airport in an effort to attract even more activities to the facility. 

[1]  Based on 13 flights per day. 

[2]  Based on 6 flights per day. 

[3]  Status needs to be changed from A to F.  Fence still needs to be installed around AWOS. 

[4]  Hearne Municipal Airport has two entrance roads (see attached map).  Both of these need to be paved and outfitted with airport-appropriate lighting.  These access roads are: 

• Airport Road (to the northwest of the airport, connecting with FM 485), the primary airport entrance road, is wholly on city-owned property that will soon be annexed by the city; and

• Crennan Lane (to the east of the airport), presently a county road, will soon be annexed by the city as well.  It represents the most direct route from downtown Hearne to the airport.

[5]  While repairs might be made to improve the functionality of the existing cinder block airport terminal building, a new terminal building is badly needed.  Even though the Hearne Municipal Airport was not constructed until the 1950s, it is hoped that a new terminal building which echoes Hearne’s World War II theme might be built.  With the help of sizable TxDOT TEA-21 grants, the Historic Hearne Depot is being restored to the World War II era, the period in history when it realized its greatest use.  The Camp Hearne World War II Prisoner Of War Camp, which is a stone’s throw from the main airport entrance at Airport Road, is being preserved.  It will celebrate a small town’s contribution towards the war effort at home.  A new terminal building could very easily be designed using a Quonset Hut or similar motif in keeping with other World War II era efforts being accomplished in Hearne. 

Contact Information

Ric Walton	Robert Penney	Ed Addicks	Dee Weatherford	Kent Brunette
Hearne City Manager	Hearne Public Works Director	O’Malley Engineers	Hearne Airport Board Chairman	Hearne 4A Tax Bd & Hearne Chamber
209 Cedar Street	209 Cedar Street	1306 N. Park Street	210 S. Market Street	304 S. Market Street
Hearne, TX 77859	Hearne, TX 77859	Brenham, TX 77834	Hearne, TX 77859	Hearne, TX 77859
979.279.3461	979.279.3461	979.836.7937	979.279.2755	979.279.2351