The Provo Airport has wooed and possibly won an important partner in its quest for radar in Utah County.

That partner is the executive director of the Salt Lake International Airport, who tentatively agreed that if Provo Mayor Lewis Billings would support radar at Point of the Mountain, he would be willing to make an application in Provo's name.

And radar at Point of the Mountain, 30 miles north of the Provo Airport, is just as valuable as having it on site.

"Getting radar is not about a bragging right," Billings told about 50 people in Alpine Air's hangar Tuesday night. "Radar is about a safe operation reality."

That step forward, plus the confirmation of new Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, made city officials optimistic about the prospects of getting radar, possibly followed by scheduled air service. Billings told with great gusto how Peters met with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to get his support for her confirmation; Hatch responded by asking her to consider radar for Provo and encouraging her to make a trip out West to see for herself.

City spokeswoman Raylene Ireland said Point of the Mountain is a good location because it would cover all of Utah Valley and most of Salt Lake Valley, thus being beneficial to both airports. Without any radar covering Utah Valley, the control towers at the Salt Lake airport are unable to track planes below 8,000 feet, which is a safety hazard, especially when planes are rerouted to Provo during weather emergencies.

Initially Provo officials were pushing for locating the equipment at the airport, Ireland said. The infrastructure was already in place because the airport had radar during the 2002 Winter Olympics, so it made sense.

"It's never been our position that it had to be at this airport," she said.

No timeline was given, although Billings said he believed it could be installed in the relatively near future. City officials will continue to travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby for it, as will Utah's congressional delegation, he said, and he encouraged people to write letters and make phone calls. The big obstacle that he sees is the $12 million price tag that comes with radar, all of which would come from the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The FAA's not anxious to have another $12 million expense to fund," he said.

With last year's addition of a control tower and the master-planned improvements and expansions happening in the next several years, radar seems to be the only thing stopping scheduled air service; as radar becomes a more permanent possibility the city will more actively consider scheduled service.

Also on the agenda for the meeting -- a meet-and-greet that focused on airport issues but was open to any city resident who wanted to talk with a department head -- was expansion, proper hangar usage, beautifying the airport and gas prices. Many of those in attendance were pilots who use Provo Airport or who have an interest in it.

Airport Manager Steve Gleason said there will be buildings knocked down and new hangars put up in the next few years, although not enough to satisfy the current waiting list. Growth also includes a new and bigger fire station and possibly a self-service fueling station, although that question is more difficult than a non-pilot might think. The master plan has to take into account placement of storage tanks and other environmental factors, and the FAA has to sign off on it.

"Self-service fueling is a tricky issue," he said.

Heidi Toth can be reached at 344-2543 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.