Neighbor Article, 9/16/14 Airport transfer riles opponents of commercial flights by Tom Spigolon Airport commercialization opponents are asking supporters to complain to the Federal Aviation Administration about the Paulding County Commission’s action last week to transfer responsibility for Silver Comet Field to the county airport authority. Six opponents also moved last week to add the executive director and board members of the Paulding County Airport Authority and the Paulding County Industrial Building Authority to a lawsuit challenging a $1 million loan from the building authority to the airport for construction which could lead to commercial uses. The suit, filed by attorney Charles McKnight in Paulding Superior Court, reportedly does not seek monetary damages. County commissioners last week voted 3-2 for an intergovernmental agreement between the board of commissioners and airport authority to make the authority responsible for operation and maintenance of the Rockmart Highway facility beginning Oct. 20. It gave its approval despite opponents of proposed limited commercial flight service at the airport asking the aviation agency in a letter to halt the transfer until the agency can review the agreement. However, airport Director Blake Swafford said he submitted it to the same agency and officials “don’t see any issues or concerns.” “They have also given me their verbal feedback [that] this is a local issue as to how we choose to manage and operate our airport,” Swafford said. The agreement requires the commission to pay the airport authority almost $3 million over 10 years to operate the facility even if future commissioners oppose the payment. The funding begins at $400,000 and declines annually to $175,000 in the 10th year to allow the airport authority time to find other sources of revenue, Swafford told commissioners. “It provides a mechanism for the airport to become more and more self-sustaining,” he said. It requires the county commission to review any projects requiring bonds at the airport. The commission also will remain as sponsor for future grants from agencies like the aviation administration or Georgia Department of Transportation but is required to “take no action that is inconsistent with receiving or negatively affects” the grants. The board approved the agreement less than four months before two new anti-commercialization commissioners, Vernon Collett and Tony Crowe, were set to take office. They were expected to join with Commissioner Todd Pownall to form a majority opposing a two-year effort to allow commercial service. Pownall said commissioners needed to consider questions about such issues as transfers of land included in the contract, after seeing it for the first time five days before the meeting. He also said commissioners were not being transparent enough about the agreement. “We’re just going to cram this through after getting this Thursday?” he said. “Most of the citizens, if they have any kind of view of this, they got [Sunday]? This is not right.” The county will give the airport authority an additional 163 acres at the airport site but allows the county to use another site rent-free that is already planned for a county E-911 center and west Paulding fire station. The airport authority was expected to consider the agreement at its meeting this week. In a related action, county commissioners voted 4-1 to accept an almost $300,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation for an environmental assessment of the airport as ordered in a 2013 settlement between the aviation administration and commercialization opponents. The county government will be required to pay 5 percent, or about $15,000, to accept it.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:53:15 +0000
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