Local Airport Manager Finds Rewarding Opportunities
By Rodger Nichols
Columbia Gorge Regional Airport Manager Jeff Renard knows the value of relationships.
When networking at a Northwest conference for airport managers, he met David Decouto, King County’s Boeing Field manager. When Jeff shared a photo of the airport that included his pickup with a blade on the front, John asked him what he used for snow removal.
After Jeff told him he used a 1970s dump truck and tractor, along with his pickup at times, John told his assistant to take Jeff to the storage area where King County keeps its surplus items.
Though it took two years to go through the process, Jeff secured a 24-foot-wide snowplow and a 22-foot-wide broom— about $250,000 worth of equipment— for $8,000. Shipping costs about $4,000.
“The broom also has a 200 mph blower for blowing the snow and the gravel off the runways and taxiways,” Jeff told Klickitat County commissioners in October. “This is a game-changer for the airport. It used to take us most of a day to open up the airport. With this equipment, we can have a runway and a taxiway open for Life Flight in about 20 minutes.”
The equipment may be used, but it is in excellent shape. The only mechanical fix needed was a new snowplow battery.
Jeff’s tenure at the airport has been a story of continuing growth. He has secured millions of dollars in grants to expand and upgrade the runways and taxiways. He says there will be 38 new hangars to rent by fall.
“That will come very close to making the airport self-sustaining,” he says.
Jeff’s resume reflects experience in diverse industries. After graduating in 1984 from The Dalles High School, he headed to Alaska to work in architecture. He discovered he had an entrepreneurial bent and bought a small company.
In 1988, Jeff returned to The Dalles and formed an automotive service business.
Thomas Motors noticed, and the company made Jeff a part of its management team. He ran the company’s body and detail shop and thriving towing business unit. Ultimately, Jeff bought the towing business unit and successfully operated it for 12 years.
In the mid-2000s, Jeff ventured into real estate and acquired homes, rentals and commercial properties. He now owns and operates Approved Safe Storage. Previous business ventures include Gorge Limo Service and Gorge Farm & Feed. His commercial real estate provides operating space for 5 locally owned small businesses.
In addition to these endeavors in The Dalles, Jeff operates Airport Safe Storage with his wife, Kim, in Central Washington.
Jeff’s interest in aviation came from working for Tac Aero at Hood River Airport, where he worked his way up to manager. When the position at Columbia Gorge Regional Airport opened in 2021, Jeff bought Aviation Management Services, which also operates Hood River Airport.
CGRA is unusual in that it serves the mid-Columbia region and is a federally recognized Oregon airport, but it is located in Washington. This dual identity is both a both a boon and a bane. Though officially designated an Oregon airport, its location in Washington leaves it subject to regulations from both states.
“In cases where the two states differ, we’re required to follow the rule that is most restrictive,” Jeff says.
On the other hand, Jeff has been able to get grants from both states, plus the Federal Aviation Administration.
CGRA has gone through a number of changes, including two different dedications. The first was as a grass strip in 1931. It was named Walter E. Case Field after a pilot who grew up in The Dalles. Walter served as a fighter pilot in World War I and was on an airmail run from Portland to Pasco, Washington, when he crashed in the fog on a mountainside north of Washougal, Washington.
In 1942, the city of The Dalles, which had been leasing the property, bought it for $39,000. The following year, the military upgraded the facility with paved runways.
That led to the second dedication in 1946, as The Dalles Municipal Airport, with United Airlines providing commercial service from Portland and Boise, Idaho. That service ended in 1955.
The name changed a final time in 2002, when the airport became jointly owned by Klickitat County and the city of The Dalles. It was renamed Columbia Gorge Regional Airport.
The pilots in the squadron that dropped a laurel wreath to the ground in the 1931 dedication would likely be astounded to see how the airport has grown, particularly in recent years.
The future is even brighter. When Jeff went to pick up the implements from King County, he had his eye on two more pieces of equipment. He recently got word King County decided to sell them both for $1. Plus sales tax, of course, which in King County is 9 cents.