Wednesday, June 20, 2001
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Wednesday, June 20, 2001 |
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Airport authority prioritizes land acquisition plan By JOHN
MUNFORD
To prepare for future growth, the Peachtree City Airport Authority is fast-tracking a project to buy more land adjacent to Falcon Field's business park. Federal Aviation Administration officials have indicated grant funds will likely be available for the estimated $1.3 million project soon, said Airport Manager Jim Savage. The property in question is adjacent to the Hangar Area B, which is currently under development. The decision was made at last week's authority meeting to make the land acquisition project a top priority. Authority Chairman Cathy Nelmes said she thought the project was important to insure the airport can grow in the coming years. Property around the airport is starting to sell, she said, and the authority could miss out if it fails to act soon. Authority member Doug Fisher said the land acquisition was a good idea, but he wondered if it would hurt plans to install a precision landing approach system, which would make it easier for pilots to land at the airport. Nelmes said it could affect that project but she was unsure. "Yeah, it's a gamble," she said. But if a precision approach is eventually installed, Nelmes said she would hate to not have enough land for the droves of aircraft that would want to locate at Falcon Field. The precision approach system would allow aircraft to follow a straight path down to the ground when landing. Currently, approaching aircraft must gradually proceed to lower altitudes, levelling off each time a more tedious process. Savage said the authority likely could still install the precision approach system even if a structure is built in the way. The trouble is that Falcon Field wasn't originally designed to have a precision approach system installed, he said. At recent meetings, the authority has decided to earmark Hangar Area B as the "business" area, setting lease rates there which wouldn't encourage the use of hangars for storage purposes. In fact, of the six hangars currently on the drawing board there, the authority is looking at combining two or three to attract a maintenance facility to the area. The authority has also begun a marketing campaign to attract jets to the new hangar area since the airport makes more of a profit selling jet fuel than just renting the areas. The plans to acquire the land at Hangar Area B were originally ninth on the priority list behind such projects as paving an overrun area for safety concerns and acquiring easements for the precision approach project. In other business, the authority adopted a revised budget which included funds for a new part-time customer service employee so it could free up management officials to perform key tasks. The employee would essentially work 30 hours a week at the front desk, freeing up Savage and assistant manager Andrew Bolton for several hours each day to perform managerial duties. Savage also sought funds to train new employees after a recent round of resignations has left him with several new positions to fill. Staff turnover was discussed for a while, and Savage informed the authority that he works to attract younger people though they are likely to leave after short periods of time. "We try to hire students young folks who are interested in learning," Savage said. Savage recalled once losing two young staffers at one time since they were hired away as mechanics with better paying jobs. Recruitment is hurt by the low pay scale the positions offer, he said. The training funds also include some buffer for necessary overtime though funds from the new increase in the city's hotel-motel tax would not be used for either overtime, training or the salary for the new part-time employee, Savage said. The authority included the training funds in the budget with the plan to revisit the staff turnover issue at a future meeting.
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