MONROE — Fuel has fueled the recent success at Monroe Municipal Airport.

That is according to city officials, who say that — increasingly — Monroe Airport is the place for private pilots in the region to gas up or rest up, given the effort by local officials to keep gas prices very low for them.

“For the size of the airport, we are getting tremendous amounts of business,” said Ald. Tom Miller, who sits on the Airport Board of Management for Monroe.

The airport facility along Wis. 59  — able to accommodate any aircraft up to and including business jets — is poised to mark 10 years since its main terminal was rebuilt, with an eye on increasing traffic in and out of Green County.

“It’s the first thing people see of Monroe in a lot of cases,” said Airport Manager Rob Driver, who has helped oversee growth at the small airport northwest of the city. “So, it’s been great for the city and pilots say we’re the place to go in this area.”

In some cases, planes will just sit on the tarmac and refuel before taking off for their final destinations. But some of those pilots and their passengers do end up in Monroe for shopping and other things — having seen the city’s airport facility, its low prices and how well things are managed there from an aviation perspective.

According to Miller, plenty of business people also take advantage of the airport by scheduling meetings inside the meeting facility — constructed a decade ago at Monroe Municipal — for just such a thing. And, officials say, that is worth talking about when it comes to tourism dollars in town.

“We’re working on a way to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the terminal as a city,” said Miller.  “It’s a pretty big deal.”

Last, year, according to Driver, the airport set new records, with a total of 152,000 gallons of fuel sold, about 140,000 of that jet fuel — mostly to a cargo hauler that used the facility heavily in 2023.

“That’s a lot of fuel,” said Driver. “Last year was the best year that we have ever had.”

Much of the total annual fuel sales also centers around a pivotal aviation event — the annual Oshkosh fly-in, which draws thousands of aircraft and tens of thousands of spectators to the shores of Lake Winnebago every year. When on the way to Oshkosh, Driver said, many pilots like to top up their gasoline tanks in Monroe before continuing the rest of the journey 100-miles to the north.

This year’s EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2024 fly-in is scheduled for July 22-28, and Driver said the airport is ready. Fuel sales this year are tracking well but are a little behind last year’s record pace. EAA members and aviation enthusiasts — totaling more than 500,000 — come to Wisconsin from 80 countries, temporarily making The Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh among the busiest in the Midwest.

A decade ago, the new Monroe Airport facility was constructed at a cost of $1,067,418 in large part through federal funding to the State of Wisconsin and FAA through Wisconsin’s Bureau of Aeronautics. For its part, the City of Monroe contributed $35,020 to the facility project.

In 2020, there also was a major renovation of the runway system at Monroe — like what officials are eying now for the north-south runaway. That earlier project was a total resurfacing of the airport’s 5,000-foot runway. The work, costing about $2.5 million, was funded 80% by the federal government, 15% by the state and 5% by the airport itself — with the airport’s out-of-pocket cost for the project at about $160,000. 

Driver said the airport is working to identify funding for the other runway project — this one revamping the north-south runway at a cost estimate of $2.8 million. Construction prices are going up but they are hoping to get the project funded soon with state, federal and some local funds.

“A 2,000-foot runway project now costs the same as a 5,000-foot runway did a few years ago,” he said.

The airport is not limited by runway length, however. Driver said its existing runways are technically long enough to land a 767-sized jet, but the airport is restricted by weight. Concrete runways — as opposed to the blacktop at Monroe — can handle much heavier loads and aircraft.

The local airport operates with a governing board that includes not only Miller but Monroe Ald. Andrew Kranig. The rest of the board are: Clarence Peters, Thomas Kelly, Michael Lambert, Bill Liimatainen, and Barrett Briggs.