"Second Probe Launched into Myrtle Beach Terminal Project"

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Second Probe Launched into Myrtle Beach Terminal Project 
The Myrtle Beach (SC) Sun News 


A local activist has persuaded a second federal agency to look into Horry
County's terminal project at the Myrtle Beach airport, the FAA confirmed
this week.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General is now
reviewing plans for the estimated $228 million terminal along with the FAA,
which opened its investigation last month, said Scott Seritt, manager of the
FAA Atlanta airports district.

Both agencies are looking into complaints by Doug Decker, a Pawleys Island
engineer who says the county has mismanaged the project.

The Office of Inspector General is an independent arm of the federal DOT
that checks projects for efficiency, waste and fraud. Any citizen can
request an agency investigation via a telephone hotline.

"We do not comment as a matter of policy on what we may or may not be
investigating," OIG spokesman Brian Dettelbach said.

Decker said he requested the new investigation and recently spent more than
four hours in his home with OIG agents discussing the terminal plans.

The agency ordered him not to comment on discussion topics, he said.

"They were extremely well prepared ... we went over details of regulations
and what the regulations call for," Decker said.

Decker claims the county did not follow federal contract guidelines, has not
factored in new development around the terminal site and is poised to pay
too much for construction.

The FAA denied the majority of nine concerns it received from Decker,
including the contract and new development on the Myrtle Beach air base. It
plans to make a determination in a couple weeks on claims that the terminal
is too expensive, according to Seritt.

The Office of Inspector General contacted the FAA this week about the
project and the costs and plans to make a determination, Seritt said.

County airport staff traveled to Atlanta this week to answer questions about
the terminal and costs, according to Seritt.

The county gave the FAA the most recent $182 million construction estimate
it received in December from its lead contractor, Skanska USA, County
Airport Director Bob Kemp said.

He said he has not been contacted by the DOT Office of the Inspector
General.

"We think they [costs] are reasonable," Kemp said.

The construction costs were below budget and with financing added, the total
terminal cost was estimated at $228 million.

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