Wichita ? With its first vote on a proposal to replace the terminal at Mid-Continent Airport just a month away, Wichita City Council members were generally impressed by plans they saw for the $147.5 million project.

HNTB Architecture of Kansas City presented plans for the new terminal to the council this week. Council members will vote Oct. 12 on whether airport planners should proceed with the design phase and hire a manager to oversee the project.

The plans include an alternative to renovate the existing 50-year-old airport terminal, at a cost of $130.4 million.

A vote on whether to actually build a terminal wouldn’t come until after planning is complete and the public has a chance to comment on the proposal.

Mayor Carlos Mayans, who was out of town when the plans were shown to the council Tuesday, already has said he favored a new building, and most council members seemed to feel the same way.

“If it’s going to cost relatively the same to build a new one or refurbish an existing one, I’m always in favor of building a new one, because even if you refurbish something that’s 50 years old, you still have a 50-year-old building,” council member Paul Gray said.

Renovating the present terminal would take two years longer than building a new one and would be difficult to do while continuing operations in a terminal that already is too small, members of the architectural firm told council members.

“I’d rather start over with a better design and have better expandability in the future, which is something we don’t have the option for now,” Gray said.