Ready for takeoff: Leadership role at airport has Stewart soaring after ‘retirement’

Granbury may be a lot better off than it would have been if Pat Stewart had ended up with one of his other two post-retirement job picks.

After working 30 years in the aerospace industry, he had three job possibilities in mind as a way to stay busy: working at a city-owned airport, assisting in the hardware department at The Home Depot, or being on staff at a municipal golf course.

An airport gig was what he wanted most.

Some might call it luck that Stewart ended up with the job that was number one on his list, but Stewart believes it was divine intervention.

On the day that a friend took him to Granbury Regional Airport to meet Gary Hawkins, the city’s then-aviation director had just found out that his top assistant was going to retire.

Stewart was hired to replace that employee. Then a few years later when Hawkins retired, he replaced Hawkins as aviation director.

Stewart also became project manager for the airport expansion project and as such, has played a critical role.

The years-long endeavor, which is getting closer to completion, is expected to bring millions in economic development to the community. Grant funds through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division paid half of the $32 million cost.

The longer and wider new runway, which can accommodate business jets, was commissioned in November. Stewart’s role in that achievement was noted by City Manager Chris Coffman and Airport Advisory Board chairman Jackie Vaughn in remarks made at a jubilant ribbon-cutting event.

The new runway, 75-feet wide and 5,200-feet long, replaces the 3,603-foot-long airstrip that was the shortest among similar airports around the western Dallas-Fort Worth area. That airstrip will now be used as a taxi way.

In February, ground will be broken on the project’s final phase: a new terminal building, an airport entrance road, and water and sewer infrastructure. The work is expected to be completed by late 2023.

While others might feel stressed by such weighty responsibilities, for Stewart the job has been as enjoyable as a hobby.

“I thought, what a fantastic thing to do in these last few years that I want to work,” he said. “I had a long career, but as I look back on that career, there are lots of things that I can say that I’m proud of. But at the end of the day, you walk out the door, you retire, they give you an alabaster eagle or something with your name on it and they say, see you later.

“With this airport project, it’s like I can almost put my name on it. It’s been fun and has a great deal of ownership on my part in getting this thing done and getting it done right.”

THE RIGHT STUFF

Stewart was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

During his career, he worked as an engineer for McDonnell Douglas, Rockwell International, and the American Airlines maintenance facility in Tulsa, then as chief operating officer for PEMCO World Air Services.

As he got closer to retirement, Stewart, like so many other people, heard of a place called Pecan Plantation that had its own airstrip. Stewart has had a private pilot’s license for about 35 years.

Stewart and his wife Eloise checked out Pecan Plantation and, like so many other people, decided it was where they wanted to retire.

Retirement for Stewart lasted about five months.

After taking the job at the Granbury airport, Stewart soon realized that it was a great fit.

During his time on staff, the airport became self-sufficient, racking up enough in hangar rentals and fuel sales to not have to rely on city funds.

Stewart is the airport’s only full-time employee. There are five part-time staffers. Four of them work 18 hours per week, and one works 12 hours per week.

Stewart works weekdays but has also spent a good deal of time on weekends dealing with issues related to the expansion project. He also frequently drives to the airport in the middle of the night, if there is some type of problem or if someone needs fuel.

The drive to the airport is shorter now. Stewart and Eloise sold their home in Pecan Plantation and now live in town, at The Island on Lake Granbury.

Monday through Friday, Stewart’s feet hit the floor at 4:15 a.m. He is typically in his office by 6:30 a.m., getting paperwork done.

“It allows me to get things done before people start walking in my door,” he said. 

DOING IT RIGHT

Stewart credits city staff and city leadership for making his job easier during the airport expansion project. Some of the faces on the City Council have changed, but everyone has pulled together to get the project to the finish line.

“We’ve had a leadership team in the City Council that just bent over backwards to make this happen,” he said. “They all recognize the long-term economic impact that this project has to the city — and the county, for that matter.”

He also stated, “Guys like Chris Coffman and (Deputy City Manager) Michael Ross helped me every step of the way.”

Stewart said that he and Ross “micromanaged every day.” The oversight and attention to detail saved the city money.

“We micromanaged the clump of dirt that somebody else might call a rock,” he said, referring to construction of the runway that was made more difficult by the presence of rock, and could have ended up costing more because of the challenges that presented.

“It was down to that kind of detail every day,” Stewart said. “And at the end of the day, we finished up within our budgets and on schedule — in fact, about six weeks ahead of schedule.” 

BRIGHT FUTURE

Nine years ago, an independent study estimated that the Granbury Regional Airport’s economic impact on the community was $17 million annually.

When another study is done next year, Stewart predicts that the number will be significantly higher and will continue increasing.

The city’s Airport Master Plan, which is a strategy for the airfield’s development through 2040, predicts a five percent increase in the number of visitors, the creation of an additional 922 jobs, and an estimated almost $4 billion in economic impact.

City officials predict that development along the airport’s perimeter will include job-generating aviation-related businesses. Some have expressed hope that local graduates, perhaps some in Granbury High School’s aviation program, might work for those businesses, remaining in Hood County rather than moving away to begin careers elsewhere.

Land leases for hangars and increased fuel sales will further infuse the city’s coffers, including through property tax revenues. Property taxes are paid if an aircraft is used for business purposes.

“The planes are only taxable if they are headquartered in Hood County as of Jan. 1 of that tax year,” Chief Appraiser Eddie Roe with the Hood Central Appraisal District told the Hood County News in an email. “If they are deemed ‘corporate use’ by AIRPAC, then we build the account for the tax roll. If they are deemed ‘individual use,’ then they are not put on the tax roll.”

Stewart and the city’s economic development director Lance LaCour have been in discussions with a company that is considering basing five business jets at the Granbury airport.

Stewart said that representatives told him that the charter business might ultimately employ as many as 50 people here.

“And these are very high-paying aerospace-type jobs,” Stewart said. “That’s what I’m going to be doing the next couple of years is helping these customers get on board, finding ways to meet their expectations everywhere that we can.”

Two other large companies are wanting to build box hangars at the Granbury airport, Stewart said, and there are already companies that base their planes there. In addition, there is a waiting list of about 18 pilots who want to build hangars for their personal airplanes.

“We hope that the final outcome is we run out of space for hangars. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to do is get enough business into Granbury and demand for hangars that we fill the property up.”

Immediately after the new runway opened in early November, business jets appeared, usually at a rate of several per day, Stewart said.

On a recent December day, Stewart reflected on the fact that the day before, business jets landed at the Granbury airport even though weather conditions were less than ideal.

“I saw more jets (yesterday) than in any day that I can remember,” he stated. “It’s nice to see the fruits of your labor and see that kind of thing coming to Granbury.”

He noted that the city sold almost $10,000 worth of taxable fuel for those five jets.

One aspect of airport-related economic development that might easily go unnoticed is the older-model courtesy vehicles, three Ford Crown Victorias used by the police department and a Tahoe. Though perhaps valued at just a few hundred dollars each, the vehicles pump about $100,000 per year into the local economy.

Visitors who use the courtesy vehicles are invited to complete a survey. Stewart said that about 60%-70% do so. The surveys help track where money was spent when the vehicles were in use.

City Communications Manager Jeff Newpher stated that when visitors use the vehicles to drive to a local restaurant, they don’t just support the restaurant owner. They also support “the chef, the waiters and waitresses, and their families with their tips.”

The money they spend “trickles down throughout the city a number of times,” he said.

Additional economic impact might be made through the current terminal building.

The building might be used for office space, but Stewart hopes that the City Council will consider leasing it for use as a restaurant.

He noted that the roughly 3,000-square-foot building has a parking lot, bathrooms, and a kitchen that can easily be expanded. Also a plus: most of the interior walls are non-structural.

“A lot of the major cost is already done,” Stewart said. “That’s why I think a restaurant will be great.”

In Stewart’s view, there are other factors as well that would make the restaurant appealing to the general public and not just pilots, which would greatly increase its chances for success. Those factors are the location’s proximity to the square, the fact that there is no other restaurant nearby, and that kids would be able to see planes take off and land.

Stewart recalls the time someone asked him if the airport expansion project meant that he would someday ask for more employees.

“I said, I sure hope so,” he recounted. “Because if we don’t, that means we missed what we were telling everybody to expect from this airport, because if it does what we believe it’s going to do, it’s going to grow and it’s going to grow quickly. And as a result of that, we’ll need more employees.” 

STILL ON THE JOB

Stewart isn’t sure when he will retire for real.

Right now, with so much happening with the airport, there is simply too much to do and he’s having too much fun doing it to call it quits.

He doesn’t have to worry about Eloise growing impatient. She shares her husband’s passion for meaningful work and has found her own niche.

After years working for major law firms in Tulsa and Fort Worth, Eloise is now working 30 hours per week in GISD food service.

“She just loves being around kids and so, it’s worked out,” Stewart said. “It’s given her something to do, especially when I’m gone to work every day.”

The couple has a grown son, Brandon, a daughter-in-law, Melanie, and two grandchildren, William and Ella.

Stewart has come to view his colleagues at the city as a family of sorts.

“They just have a great team here,” he said. “Everybody in the city has had a part in building this new airport. I’m just lucky enough to be the guy in the driver’s seat. It’s a lot of fun and I get up every single day and look forward to coming to work.”