Aug. 08--HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Hartsville city officials want to apply for a grant that could bring more than $1 million for safety improvements at the Hartsville Airport.
But the city will have to come up with an additional $38,000 to do it.
The grant, which would come from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is for runway safety projects and obstruction removal -- namely several trees that are encroaching into the runway glide path. FAA officials have told city officials that the trees pose a safety hazard.
The city solicited bids for the project, and the winning bid came in at $849,830, according to Shannon Morrison, finance director for the city.
W.K. Dickson, the consulting firm the city uses on issues related to the airport, will oversee the project. Estimated fees will be $200,000, putting the total for the project at $1,049,830. Most of the money would go for safety improvements to the airport's 5,001-foot runway, Morrison said. But a smaller portion would pay for tree removal, she said.
The FAA grant would fund 90 percent of the total. The state and the city would each be required to put up 5 percent of the total in matching funds, $52,492 from each.
But in the budget process for the current city budget, city officials planned on completing only the tree removal portion of the project and budgeted only $13,750, according to Morrison.
The project is a required FAA Runway Safety Area (RSA) project that will bring the airport up to meet current FAA safety area standards, according to a memo Morrison presented to Hartsville City Council during Tuesday's monthly work session.
One of the requirements for receiving the grant is that the city must maintain the safest possible operating environment at the airport for at least 20 years after receipt of the grant, according to the memo.
The city will have to come up with $38,742 to have the necessary funding to provide its matching portion.
One option Morrison presented is using some or all of $20,000 that was included in this year's budget to pay for hangar repairs at the airport. Council may consider redirecting that money to provide a portion of the match. The rest of the money could come from the city's general fund contingency, according to Morrison.
Council will take up the matter at its regular meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at city hall.
Members will also take up on first reading proposed design guidelines that will, when approved, be added to the city's historic preservation ordinance.
The city's Architectural Review Board (formerly Design Review Board) and planning department personnel worked for nearly a year to develop the historic preservation ordinance.
Once the design guidelines are added to the ordinance the city will be in a position to begin the process of obtaining certified local government (CLG) status from the state, according to Adam Mathews, director of special projects for the city. Officials CLG status will provide opportunities for the city to obtain grant funding for, among other things, historic preservation projects from the state.
The historic preservation ordinance identifies a number of properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, but it covers only five properties that are currently on the National Register: the Hartsville Museum on Fifth Street, the Hartsville Rail Passenger Station on Fourth Street, the Hart Cottage on East Home Avenue, Lawton Park and the Pavilion and the Coker Experimental Farms on Fourth Street.
Copyright 2013 - The Messenger, Hartsville, S.C.
