Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia County airport has received a state grant of nearly $500,000 for safety improvements to one of the hangers at the facility, located in Ghent. The airport is county owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works. It is a public airport, and services Columbia County and the Upper Hudson Valley. The award was made as a part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's $10 million Aviation Capital Grant Program, which is intended to support safety, infrastructure and economic development projects in New York. Elsewhere in the Capital District, Albany International received more than $600,000 for the replacement of a drainage system, and Schenectady County Airport was given nearly $200,000 to pay for an upgrade to control tower equipment.