Funds for Macon Downtown Airport Denied
The Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority denied a request Monday by Macon Mayor Jack Ellis to provide $99,500 for work at the Macon Downtown Airport.
Ellis, who is a member of the authority, said the funds were for the purchase and installation of a video conferencing system and for an elevator to make the building meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
"The corporate pilots are using this airport instead of the other airport," Ellis said.
Also, the airport is under consideration for an air show that would bring more people to Macon than the Tour de Georgia bicycle race, he said.
But, in order for the airport to attract more corporate planes and the air show, the facilities should have teleconferencing capability and should be ADA accessible, he said.
"This is a benefit to the entire area," Ellis said. "(The city) spent a lot of money to get this here, but we didn't have enough money for an elevator and teleconferencing. We can't use federal funds ... it is an economic development issue."
The Macon Downtown Airport and Middle Georgia Regional Airport are owned by the city and leased to fixed-based operators. The operator at the downtown airport is Carter Mechanical, and the operator at Middle Georgia airport is Lowe Aviation.
Mike Carter with Carter Mechanical said during the meeting that the Macon Downtown Airport was one of several sites being considered for an air show.
"(Air show organizers) say there will be 40,000 people coming to it, and it will be broadcast on national TV to 65 million people," Carter said. "I need to do some more investigating to make sure it's a legitimate air show. ... I don't want them to come in here and use us."
After Ellis' presentation, authority chairman Frank Amerson said he didn't think the authority had the money to support the request, and at first didn't call for a vote on it.
"I don't believe, with the city cutting our budget and the county cutting our budget ... that I can support this," Amerson said. "We can't just keep picking up the cost for the airport."
After some discussion about the issue, Ellis said that "this is a reasonable expense and can be justified."
Authority member Charlie Bishop, who is also chairman of the Bibb County Commission, said he didn't understand the priority for the funding.
The vote was split 3-3, with Amerson, Bishop and Steve Kruger voting to deny the funding and Ellis, Albert Billingslea and Ed Grant voting to provide the funds, so the motion was defeated.
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