Albert J. Ellis Airport got the go-ahead last week to move forward on its expansion plans.
At the Onslow County Board of Commissioners May 19 regular meeting, six of the agenda’s nine general items involved the construction projects at the 43-year-old airport.
The board voted unanimously in favor of an amended project ordinance on a $4.4 million general aviation terminal that will house a flight school, a crew rest area and meeting rooms. The design portion of the terminal, as well as the aircraft parking apron, was approved by the board in 2012. The board on Monday approved adding the construction and construction administration phase to the project.
“All the existing buildings at the airport, apart from the fire station, are well over 40 years old” Sandra Janssen, manager of finance and administration for the airport said. “The existing GA terminal (and the) T-hangars were all going to be destroyed with the building of the new terminal.”
RS&H consulting firm of Jacksonville, Fla., has been selected to design the terminal. Bids for the construction phase are expected to go out in June.
According to county documents, approximately $1.6 million for the plan is expected to come from installment purchasing funds, an $8.4 million loan taking out by the county that will be paid by the airport. The rest will come from state and federal grants, passenger facility charges, tenant contributions and the airport fund balance.
Construction on an estimated $2.3-million air traffic control tower project was also approved this week by the commissioners. The project is expected to be funded primarily through grants from the Federal Aviation Administration. The remainder is expected come from other sources, such as installment purchases, passenger facility charges and the airport fund balance.
According to Janssen, the airport estimates that the grants will cover 90 percent of the project’s cost, along with paying the employees that will work in the tower; though she said approval for funding has been delayed due to last year’s federal sequestration.
The board also approved an approximate $1.86-million plan to construct three passenger boarding bridges connected to the new terminal. Approximately $1.4 million will come from federal grants while the rest will come from passenger facility charges and the airport fund balance.
An amendment approved Monday also directs funds left over from construction on new T-hangars — which cost $292,195 instead of the budgeted $460,000 — to be transferred to other projects, according to documents for the county.
The hangars opened in March.
Commissioners approved a project amendment for pre-construction services on another new terminal and a new weather observation system for the airport.
These requests come after the approval of the next fiscal year’s budget in which the airport becomes an enterprise fund. This means the airport will operate with the fees they obtain instead of local taxes, though Janssen said the airport has been dong that for the past several years.
During Monday’s meeting, the board also approved:
• Purchasing $239,339.67 worth of data processing and computer equipment for the Onslow County Government Center
• Writing off of outstanding funds owed to the Onslow County Health Department funds. According to Health Department Director Angela Lee, the unpaid funds, $7,824.65, come from 101 people whose reasons for not paying included death, leaving the area and filing for bankruptcy.
• Setting a public hearing during the June 2 regular meeting on Friendly Medical Transportation’s application for an ambulance franchise.
Source: http://www.jdnews.com
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