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Future of Airport
To the Editor:
I believe, most of all, after my 43 years of Military Reserve and 18 years of municipal service that citizens should be kept informed and allowed to have a voice in their government.
Since H.B. 1051 initiated by Rep. Phil Haire (D-Sylva) cleared both houses of the legislature on July 25, it will now be up to the Jackson and Macon county commissioners to decide whether to follow it or not. Hopefully, this decision will be made with input from the tax-paying citizens of Jackson County.
I offer the following history, present happenings and future possibilities.
I first landed at the Jackson County Airport 10 years ago. The terminal building with its pilot/public lounge around a see-through fireplace made it one of the homeiest airport buildings I had ever been to. Unfortunately, neither the county nor the fixed-base operator maintained the building, and contract disputes further delayed repair. Storm damage during the delay caused structural damage, and the building had to be torn down.
For the past three years your legislatively-created Jackson County Airport Authority has worked to bring the airport up to state standards.
Through work with the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division, a visioning process and master plan was made. JCAA obtained a commitment of $150,000 per year with matching funds from Jackson County of $16,000 a year. This totals $498,000. JCAA also obtained a commitment for another $400,000 from DOT funds for transportation system improvement. JCAA further sought a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Commerce at 4 percent for 30 years. It would have been around $402,000. The total of $1.3 million was to be used for site work, including a new well, 16 hangars with three of them for twin-engine aircraft, and a new terminal area.
Payments on a $402,000 loan would be about $22,900 annually. Income from the hangars alone would be about $48,000 annually. When built, JCAA could immediately realize about $25,000 annually. A portion could go to other airport projects. Another option would be to pay the debt service off in nine years with all rent going to the loan. After that, a portion of the $48,000 annual rent could go to airport projects.
Rep. Haire was asked to submit his bill by Commissioner Eddie Madden. I think it would be prudent to ask Haire the following question. “If the idea of an airport authority is so good for the region, then why didn’t you include the Andrews-Murphy airport that is only 10.15 nautical miles farther from the Macon County Airport than the Jackson County Airport is? Perhaps because that airport is situated close to his ally, Sen. John Snow (D-Murphy) who stated “I decided on my own to deter (JCAA) from moving forward.”
The Macon county airport has a proposed improvement of $5 million pending. If the joint airport authority is adopted, then 40 percent of the obligated matching fund portion ($500,000) – or $200,000 of Jackson County tax dollars – could go to Macon County with still nothing being done to improve the Jackson County Airport. I also wonder since our airport needs improvement funding if the taxpayers of Macon County will want to give their money to Jackson County.
If the regional authority is rejected than perhaps the JCAA can continue their negotiations and come up with funding to go ahead with the previous plan. I’m sure they have the experience base to accomplish it.
Again, I believe that the citizens have the right to input on what their tax dollars go for.
Pilots (not just a few local ones) are always looking for a place to go. A restaurant/bistro on the field with its spectacular mountain view, Sylva’s unique restaurants, the University, Dillsboro with its shops and railroad, local rafting companies, waterfalls spread throughout the area, and Harrah’s Casino are attractions to the aviation public. Various flying magazines are always looking for events/places to fly into and these could be promoted for free. The local chambers could promote flying events in their advertising.
Our airport is a jewel in the mountains that needs a little polishing. If allowed to develop, it can help to bring further prosperity to Jackson County.
William Austin
Sylva
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