Polk on list for airport funds
The runway extension project will require matching funds from the county.
Polk County is one of 11 in the state who will be getting state funds to make improvements at their local airport.
The announcement came last week following Gov. Nathan Deal’s mention of the funding ear- lier in the month during the opening week of the legislative session in a breakfast with lawmakers.
Now that money is one step closer to being delivered up as state Department of Transportation officials have made good on Gov. Deal’s promise with an announcement sent to county officials last week.
The money is a welcome addition and allows the county to undertake a project that County Manager Matt Denton has been pushed back time and again when 5-year Capital Improve- ment Project lists are made for the airport.
“Since I’ve been here, every year that we’ve prepared an airport capital improvement plan, there’s been a runway extension on that plan,” he said. “It has always been five years out. Now we can really look at getting it done.”
Denton said he spoke with state DOT Aviation officials on Jan. 18, and that for the time being details on exactly how much money the county will be getting are still slim.
No matter how much of the $25 million set aside for airport improvement projects across the state, Polk County will still have to provide some matching funds for whatever they receive.
“Now we’re just waiting on DOT to do all the coordination work,” he said.
County Commission Chair Jennifer Hulsey added the announcement last week was a welcome bit of news for the local airport.
“Polk County has been working on getting additional funding for the airport for several years, and it is a great benefit to our community, and we’re proud to have been included among those selected to receive these needed funds,” she said.
Right now, Cornelius Moore Field is around 4,000 feet long according to Denton. He said the hopes are to extend the field out to 5,000 feet in order to accommodate corporate-sized jets. Think something the size of a Gulfstream or Learjet, used by executives to go from place to place utilizing smaller airports rather than having to use commercial aviation and commute from Atlanta or Chattanooga.
The extension wouldn’t be long enough to handle anything larger than that in size, such as commercial and cargo aircraft landing at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.
Denton said with the money to come for the runway lengthening project, it will allow the county to invest in other areas that are in need of improvement at Cor- nelius Moore Field. In the middle of a FY 2019 through FY 2023 cycle with the state for the capital improvement list, the airport has already undergone expansion in area to allow for clearance of trees for glide path in the past years, as well as improvements to the fuel system with a new fuel farm.
Denton said the kinks are still being worked out of the payment system for fuel at the airport, a consistent problem in the past years that funds have already been spent to fix in the past.
The announcement included the list of other counties who are getting money as part of Gov. Deal’s decision to set aside funds. Most of them are rural and include Burke, Colquitt, Cook, Macon, Morgan, Seminole, Washington and Wilkes counties, with the idea in mind that because they lack interstate access the additional runway length will make Polk and these others on the list more competitive for economic development opportunities.
Coweta and Newton were also on the list, and receiving money to expand their facilities in order to take pressure off of Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest international airport in the world.
Denton said t he money wouldn’t have come without the county having previously pushed for improvements with the help of local lawmakers pushing at the State Capitol for help.
Funding help for improve- ments at Polk County’s airport wasn’t the only news for the facility this week. Denton announced that starting this week, new airport manager Chuck Beavers will be starting on the job. Beavers already a local pilot well versed in the operations of the airport, and comes with fresh ideas for improvements. “It just so happened that his career has taken a slight turn now to where he can devote his time and energy to the airport,” Denton said.