Officials at the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport are set to attend an airport conference in April.

The 30th annual North Carolina Airport Association Conference, scheduled to be held April 21 to 23 at Sunset Beach, serves three purposes, according to Airport Engineer Dave Raley. First, it is a prime educational resource as it has training sessions on new state and laws and vendors showing off state-of-the-art technology for attendees. Second, it is the largest gathering of aviation officials and companies in the state and acts as a networking tool for conference participants. Third, the conference can act as a platform for selling the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport to potential partners, industries and aviation companies.

The Laurinburg-Maxton Airport Board of Commissioners unanimously approved to have Raley and Interim Executive Director JoAnn Gentry attend the conference.

Commissioners Wayne Morris and Chip Morton were not present for the vote.

Registration is $275 per person, with a $100 discount given to North Carolina Airports Association members. Raley is a member of that organization.

The airport will also foot the bill for lodgings and food for Gentry and Raley for the three-day, two-night conference.

Gentry did not have figures for hotel room costs, but estimated the price at between $100 and $125 per night.

Gentry and Raley also suggested to the board that Scotland County Economic Developer Greg Icard should be invited to attend the meeting at his own expense to help promote the county and the airport's industrial park.

In other business:

• The commission discussed water and sewer infrastructure, looking at several properties near the airport and some owned by the airport that currently lacks either a water line, a sewer line or both. The consensus was that the airport must be able to quickly lay down new lines in the event of a new tenant or water/sewer customer locating onto a property that is not yet connected to the airports water and sewer plants.

• Mickey Oxendine, head of the water and waste water plants, reported that the airport has passed another monthly chronic toxicity test and believes that the March test will be the last monthly test required before the airport can go back to its usual quarterly water testing. The tests have been required since the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources took issue with the airport failing toxicology tests more than a year ago.

• John McRae, co-owner of Scotland Aerospace, the airport's field base operator, told the board that business was slow. Poor since the start of the year has kept people from using the runway, meaning fuel sales declined significantly.

• The North Carolina Division of Aviation is reviewing a plan for the runway overhaul prepared by W.K. Dickson, according to Raley. The runway project was described as being nearly "shovel ready."