Airport board to ask Forsyth for construction funds
Pboaos by Todd Lndt
The Smith Reynolds Airport is hoping to use county, state and federal funds for
$15 million in construction.
Some are concerned airport may have to
expand into the surrounding community
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Smith Reynolds
Airport board will be ask
ing Forsyth County for
funds to help move a taxi
way that will put the airport
closer to, or maybe even
into, the surrounding com
munity.
Taxiway A runs parallel
to the airport's primary
long runway, with 281 feet
separating them, and cur
rently doesn't meet the
Federal Aviation
Administration regulation
that requires it to be 400
feet from the runway.
Airport Director Mark
Davidson said the FAA and
regulators have been work
ing with the airport, allow
ing it to use the taxiway as
plans are made to move it.
He said the FAA wouldn't
waive the regulation, so the
taxiway will have to move.
On Tuesday, June 23,
the Airport Commission of
Forsyth County approved
going to the Forsyth
County Commissioners to
ask for up to $1.5 million to
move the runway, which
would be 10 percent of the
estimated $15 million in
proposed construction,
which includes not just
moving the taxi way but
also removing an obstruc
tion and extending
Taxiway F. The rest of the
funds - the 90 percent that
would be provided by the
state and federal govern
ments - are contingent on
getting that 10 percent
from the County
Commissioners.
"We're financially self
sufficient. We don't take
any taxpayer dollars, but
we don't have that type of
money," Davidson said.
Currently only prelimi
nary options have been dis
cussed and there is a study
underway accessing the
viable options for moving
Taxiway A, which runs par
allel to the nearby Machine
Street. Moving the taxiway
west would require the air
port to acquire property
that many local residents
live on. There's more
ujniuiia IUI IIIUV
ing the taxiway r
to the east side of
the runway, since
there's more
vacant land.
There's a possi
bility it could
require the acqui
sition of land |
with homes on it |
on Teresa
Avenue.
However, Davidson said
that there are options that
may let it move closer to
Teresa Avenue without
having to buy homes and
disrupt the neighborhood,
which is what the Airport
Commission prefers.
Though it'll be two or
three more months before
the study is done, Airport
Commission Chair Thomas
McKim was confident the
taxiway could be moved
without disturbing the
community.
"We believe we will
have several options that
will be totally within the
existing perimeter of the
airport," said McKim.
County Commissioner
Walter Marshall isn't con
? i *.1 i
vuiceu 01 mat ana
-i worries that
homes on Teresa
Avenue will have
to be purchased to
accommodate the
taxiway. He said
he was planning
on contacting
I homeowners and
letting them know
what could hap
pen. Marshall said
he would oppose the com
missioners giving money to
the airport if it disrupted
the surrounding communi
ty ,
I can t support it at
all." said Marshall, about
the airport acquiring land
from the neighborhood.
The. main runway is the
only one designed for large
aircraft like 737s, which
North State Aviation, one
of several tenant compa
nies at the airport, works
on. North State, which
hired 500 employees in the
last four years and is con
tracted to do work on
United Airlines planes,
accounts for 70 percent of
the airport's revenue.
Davidson said that makes it
essential to meet the FAA
regulation so they can con
tinue to accommodate large
aircraft.
Smith Reynolds
Airport, which is located
on Liberty Street, also
serves corporate and recre
ational air travel.
Landmark Aviation is the
airport's fixed-based opera
tor, serving needs like .fuel
and maintenance for tran
sient aircraft. The airport is
governed by a five-com
missioner board appointed
by the County
Commissioners. The
Airport Commission
includes County
Commissioner Ted Kaplan
and former Liberty Street
Community Development
Corp. Chair Jim Shaw.
Davidson said the
Airport Commission first
learned that Taxiway A
was no longer FAA compli
ant in 2012 during an
Airport Master Plan
Update. He said because of
the non-compliance, the
airport couldn't get state or
federal funds to repave the
taxiway. Except for sealing
cracks, the taxiway hasn't
been repaved since 1983.
Even if the County
Commissioners approve
the funds, once the study is
done, it will take years to
move the runway,
Davidson said.
He said the airport
requesting funds from the
County was rare. The last
time was a loan to help
attract Piedmont
Propulsion Systems LLC
in 2012, a tenant company
that works on airplane pro
pellers and hired 45
employees. The loan was
unanimously approved by
the County
Commissioners.
The Airport
Commission normally
meets at 4 p.m. on the third
Tuesday of each month at
the airport, 3801 North
Liberty St., Suite 204,
though the next meeting
will be July 28.
Planes are worked on at North State Aviation's locatioirkt the airport.
Davidson
Street
frontpage A1
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