Myrtle Beach ponders airport control: MB gives nod to joint ownership of stadium complex

Nov. 15, 2007

Nov. 14--AIRPORTS AND FOOTBALL -- two subjects that only seem to go together at a City Council meeting.

Myrtle Beach City Council member Randal Wallace took some of his colleagues by surprise at Tuesday's meeting when he tossed out the idea of an authority to run the Myrtle Beach International Airport.

Less surprising: The Doug Shaw Stadium agreement with the city is moving forward as planned, according to a report by Assistant City Manager John Peterson.

That agreement is not as contentious as the attempts to reach agreement on the airport.

Wallace said he's been growing more disheartened over the impasse he sees between the city, which owns the land the airport sits on, and Horry County, which owns and operates the facility.

In January, the Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board rejected the county's plans for a new terminal on the west side of the airport. The city and county have long been at odds over various issues -- the airport is just the latest.

The county voted 6-5 Tuesday night in favor of approaching the city about removing the Community Appearance Board from the planning process altogether -- a request no one on City Council except Wallace would have fully supported.

An airport authority, Wallace said, would "take all decision-making away from the county, the city and -- my hope -- the CAB."

While some council members agree an authority to run the airport is a good idea, there are two problems: Horry County, as the airport's owner, would have to approach the state about creating an airport authority; and the authority would still be subject to the appearance board's rulings.

City Council members understand that the county would have the most to lose by allowing an authority to run the airport because it has the bulk of the power, and might not be willing to step away.

However, Wallace said, it's time to find a way to move forward.

"[An authority] would remove an issue that has long been a problem," said City Councilman Wayne Gray after Tuesday's meeting. "That's the way most airports around the country are run."

Wallace said he hasn't had any direct discussions with county officials, but will ask city staff to put the authority idea on the agenda as a discussion item for the next city meeting on Nov. 27.

"We think it's a good idea," Mayor John Rhodes said. "There's just too much politics in all this."

In other business, the City Council approved on first reading an agreement with the Horry County School District for joint ownership of the Doug Shaw Stadium complex. The proposal, which calls for the district to make improvements that bring the stadium up to district standards and for the city to spend about $2 million on enhancements, goes to the school district Monday night for an OK. Then it comes back to the city for final approval in two weeks.

In the meantime, the city will start taking bids on the enhancement work.

Contact LORENA ANDERSON at 444-1722 or [email protected]

To see more of The Sun News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.MyrtleBeachOnline.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.