"Consultant calls for formation of Virginia airport authority"

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Consultant calls for formation of airport authority
By RENA POWERS 
The Coalfield (VA) Progress
 
 
BREAKS - Buchanan County officials want to replace Grundy Municipal Airport
with a larger facility that will serve both Buchanan and Dickenson counties.

"A larger airport would serve Buchanan and Dickenson counties and help
promote economic development throughout the region," Chuck Crabtree, Grundy
town manager and industrial development director, said at an informational
meeting held at Breaks Interstate Park on Friday.

"We don't want it to just be Grundy's airport, we want it to be a regional
airport," Crabtree noted.

Jim Bland of Talbert Bright, Inc., a consulting firm in Richmond, told a
small group from Buchanan and Dickenson counties that the airport relocation
project is possible, but it will be a challenge.

The Grundy Municipal Airport is outdated, Bland said. It was completed in
1969 and has a runway slightly more than 2,250 feet long and 60 feet wide.
The elevation at the present airport is 2,300 feet above sea level. The
higher the elevation, the longer the runway should be to get airborne, he
pointed out. 

The present airport does not provide adequate regional access to the
national air transportation system and does not aid the region in economic
development, he noted.

However, replacing the airport would be a long-term project.

Bland believes the critical word which could give a boost to the project is
"replacement," since there are very few new airports in the works for the
Commonwealth of Virginia. 

"New airports don't find their way into the state's plan that easily, but
this is a larger air transportation facility that will be replacing an
existing airport that is inadequate to take care of this region of Southwest
Virginia," he said.

FROM THE BEGINNING

The effort began in the fall of 2000 when the Town of Grundy requested
funding from the Virginia Department of Aviation to evaluate the feasibility
of a replacement airport. The study was completed in 2002. 

Last month, Congressman Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, announced a federal
allocation of $270,000 to conduct the site selection study, Bland said.

With state and federal funding secure and the scope of work for site
selection about to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and
the VDOA, Bland wants to establish an oversight committee to review the
consulting firm's work and progress on the project. 

"The oversight committee helps keep us aware of the issues. The committee
can look at what we are doing." When the plans are brought back to the
committee, it can review them and point out what changes need to be made,
Bland noted. 

He said the public also needs to be involved in the study. Citizens need to
be given the opportunity to look at the study and know what is happening all
along the way. 

Since the FAA was not a part of the previous study between the Town of
Grundy and the VDOA, the agency has insisted the study be updated and the
activity forecast reaffirmed. An airport like this will take some
justification, Bland said. To support the argument for need, Bland wants to
hear from anyone who knows of any large aircraft that may have plans to come
to the region. 

"You know the people and what their needs and concerns are. We will need
your help," he said.

SITE SELECTION

When looking at sites, the key word is regional. "Airport sites don't come a
dime a dozen out here," Bland noted.

Of course, terrain will be considered, but so will other factors such as
access to ground transportation and areas where corporate development is
taking place. The selected site has to have a relationship to everything
that is going on in the region, he noted.

The consulting firm will identify all potential sites and then reduce them
to three final choices. At that point, a more detailed analysis will be done
and the best site will be selected.

PROJECT ISSUES

Once a site is selected, an airport layout plan and cost estimate will be
prepared. 

Crabtree has talked with several coal operators who have sites where a
portion of the grading work is already done. "This may be instrumental in
the project because we have to keep the construction costs down as much as
possible," Bland said.

The Coalfields Expressway will also have a bearing on the project. While the
expressway will increase access to the airport, it will also reduce travel
time to other towns. "We need to keep the top candidate sites close to the
service area. The FAA will be looking at this because they don't want to put
two airports close together. You don't need two airports serving the same
market area," he noted.

He said the site needs to be away from Lonesome Pine Airport and Tazewell
Airport. 

THE PROCESS

Bland recommended an airport authority be formed. Legislation must be
enacted by the Virginia General Assembly approving such an authority, he
noted. He believes regional elected officials will be glad to move the
legislation through. The legislation would not become effective until July
1, 2005. 

The next step will be to identify who will be on the authority board and who
will best represent each county, community and the Breaks Interstate Park,
Crabtree said. 

REGIONAL COOPERATION

"If this project is successful, it has to be a regional effort. We have to
all work together. I have known since the beginning we can count on
Dickenson County to do its part," Crabtree said.

Charles Hay, Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority chairman,
said Dickenson County is excited because a regional airport is needed and
will aid in economic development. "The Dickenson County IDA strives for
Dickenson County, but we also strive for what will help the region and we
are very excited about the concept. We will continue to do whatever we can
to help get things underway.

"When this first began three years ago, it was decided it would be a
regional project and that is part of the excitement," Hay noted.


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