City council tackles Airpark issues at Tuesday’s meeting
The Big Spring City Council voted Tuesday evening to do away with the city's Airpark Development Board, replacing it with a new Aviation Advisory Board.
“The staff is proposing to disestablish the Airpark Development Board not as a way of punishing the board but as a way of invoking more involvement with this new Aviation Advisory Board,” said Airpark Director Mike Feeley.
Feeley said the new board will fall in line with the current city policy of including one member from each city district, appointed by that district's council member, and one at-large member appointed by the mayor.
While the Airpark Development Board required members with “interest and knowledge of aeronautical activities, business, industry and real estate,” and required the board's safety outreach liaison to have an aviation background, the new board requires no such background.
The council also approved other matters relating to the McMahon-Wrinkle Airpark, including an ordinance establishing a $500 fine for pedestrians or drivers walking or driving on runways and taxiways at the airport without permission; a contract with the Texas Department of Transportation for a cost-sharing grant through the Routine Airport Maintenance Program (RAMP); a resolution authorizing the use of money from the Aviation Fund Balance to provide sewer and water upgrades to the west side of the Airpark; a lease assignment by Prime Eco PolyChem LLC, who is assigning their Airpark lease to Custom Chemical Services LLC; and purchase of a “Jet 'A'” Self Serve Jet Fuel Dispenser for the Airport.
The Council approved all of the above items unanimously.
Following the meeting's invocation and pledges to the U.S. and Texas flags, Anthony Martinez, a psychiatrist retired from the VA Medical Center, addressed the council announcing his intention to start a transitional program for veterans who have been through