9 & 10 News
2004 Bonds were due by 2025
July 28, 2021
When an airport goes debt-free, its board holds a ceremonial burning of the bonds. That’s what happened at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City on Tuesday night.
Cherry Capital took on almost $4 (M) million dollars as they built their brand new terminal building in the early 2000’s. Director Kevin Klein says “those bids came in on September 7, 2001. Just before 9/11. The commission made a bold move to continue forward with that project.” But Klein says federal funding came to a halt after 9/11.
Fortunately, he says, TVC was “able to build the majority of this terminal, the ramps, the taxiways, the fire station, the maintenance building, all with discretionary funds.” But by 2004, leadership decided to bond $3.9 (M) million to support cash reserves. “That was a bond that was over 20 years, due in 2025. But due to the fact that the CARES Act, the ARP (American Rescue Plan) Act all came through (this year from COVID Relief funding), we were able to use some of that money to pay off the remainder of those bonds early,” Klein says.