During a meeting of the Weakley County Commission on Monday, January 26, 2009, members approved several budget resolutions and transfers, including a resolution providing funds for an airport runway extension project.

 

Airport Land Purchase

   

    Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a resolution to Weakley County’s budget allocating $76,038 for the purchase of land needed for a runway extension project at the Everett-Stewart Regional Airport, located at 1489 Airport Circle, Union City.

    The resolution involves the purchase of 65.15 acres of land to extend the airport’s runway 1,500 feet to accommodate the largest corporate jets, and thus, promote economic development to the region. Weakley and Obion counties entered into an agreement to jointly operate Everett-Stewart Regional Airport in late 2007 for the purpose of attracting industrial development and creating jobs to benefit area citizens.

    Both counties share in the operational costs and improvements made at the airport. This includes the current runway extension project, which cannot go forward without the purchase of the additional tract of land. The federal government is providing $385,625 of the $537,700 purchase price, which leaves a balance of $152,075 to be paid by the Everett-Stewart Regional Airport Board, which is funded by Obion and Weakley counties. In order for the land purchase to take place, these two counties will each have to provide $76,038.

    Approval of the recently negotiated land purchase agreement between landowners Bill and Gail Latimer and the airport board is essential if a federally funded $4.1 million airport improvement and runway extension project is to move forward. The negotiated agreement stipulates that in addition to the $537,700 purchase price, Mrs. Latimer would continue to receive the farming income from the property for the remainder of her life.

    At the request of Commissioner Eric Owen, Dr. Chris Gooch, chairman of the Everett-Stewart Regional Airport Commission, informed commissioners about the project. He stated the land purchase is not only holding up the $4.1 million runway project, which has already been approved by the state, but also a $4.3 million grant to fund a road project linking Highway 22 and the airport, for a total of over $8 million.

    Obion County Mayor Benny McGuire, Obion County Commissioner Danny Jowers and Airport Manager Jo Ann Speer were also present to address any issues pertaining to the airport expansion project. McGuire stated members of Obion County Commission approved their portion of the funding for the airport extension project during a Tuesday, January 20 meeting.

    “Right now, we have several ongoing projects,” Dr. Gooh said. “We have a repair project which is 50 percent funded by the state and 50 percent funded locally for two World War II hangers and that’s a quarter of a million dollars. The cost to replace those hangers would probably be 2 ½ million to $5 million. However, fortunately, most of our grants are 90/10 grants. The next project we’re just entering into is replacing the three-foot, green rotating beacons and the lighted wind cone, which will replace the windsock. Those two projects together are about $130,000. For $13,000, we get $130,000 worth of improvements.

    “We have a security project through the security budget from the federal government, which again, is 90/10. It amounts to a little over $200,000, and we’re paying 10 percent of that. We’re going to install new fencing and surveillance cameras, more lighting and electronic gates to limit access to the hangers, the ramp and taxi areas.” Dr. Gooch also mentioned the airport’s 40-year-old underground fuel tanks are going to be replaced, which is also a 90/10 project.

    “The project we’re talking about funding tonight, the linchpin of it is the 65 acres of land off the south end of the airport,” Dr. Gooch said. “That land has to be bought, because it’s in a runway protection zone. The two problems you have there are you cannot get an easement for that. You have to own it. There cannot be any habitable structures within the protection zone – such as a metal building or two-story house that are standing there now. It’s not good enough for the federal government to just condemn it, because a vagrant could take up residence. They have to be moved, because if somebody crashed into that, missed the runway and landed short, the counties that are in charge of operating the airport, which are Obion and Weakley in this case, would be held liable. The number one priority of the airport board is to hold the counties harmless as possible for the operation of the airport.”

    He stated the state of Tennessee has already agreed to provide $340,000 in design and engineering funding for the project, and once the land is acquired, the contract with the state can be signed to receive these funds. Gooch explained this is also a 90/10 project. Once the design and engineering is done, federal funding will allow for construction of the 1,500-foot runway extension and parallel taxiway to get underway.

 

(Read the rest of this story in the January 28th print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)