The City of Bartlesville will fully operate the Bartlesville Municipal Airport in mid-August.

Vice Mayor Jim Curd said the City of Bartlesville anticipates it will take full responsibility of the airport's operations by Aug. 14 or 15. Curd said the City is just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to taking over the facility.

Curd said they would love to have you fly to Bartlesville, buy some gas, and visit our vibrant community. He said the airport will continue to be a great asset to Bartlesville.

In the future, Curd said the City of Bartlesville will increase the pad area for incoming airplanes. Curd added that they will remodel the interiors of the buildings at the airport.

Earlier this week the Bartlesville City Council approved a couple of items regarding the airport. The first item that was approved was an agreement to send funds set to expire to the City of Eufala in exchanges for funds in the future. The second item was a five-year contract with Phillips 66 to continue Phillips 66 branding for aviation fuels to be sold on site. The agreement is for retail and consignment fuels. A fee will be charged for fuel pumping that will come back  to the city.

Curd said they are not quite sure what the operating costs for the airport are at this time, so anything that they can do to offset the costs is warranted. He said they believe operating costs could be anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000.

Mike Richardson has been hired as the Airport Director after serving as the Airport Director for ConocoPhillips. Curd said they feel confident that they will be able to operate the airport well through Richardson, City Manager Mike Bailey, and the Bartlesville City Council. He said it isn't rocket science as many municipalities operate airports themselves.