Airport eyes new control tower
Apr. 27—VALDOSTA — Valdosta Regional Airport is seeking additional funding for a new air traffic control tower.
Jim Galloway, the regional airport's manager and executive director, said the current air tower is more than 70 years old and the airport needs an upgrade.
Back in April 2017, the airport had submitted a figure of $2.7 million to the Georgia Transportation Investment Act for the project, deeming it to be a "good number" at the time but the current rough order of magnitude cost is estimated at $6.61 million.
Galloway informed the Airport Authority that he had spoken to the TIA regional manager and the manager requested a letter from Mayor Scott James Matheson outlining the various sources of funding and the shortfall in order to address it.
"Clearly, there's a gap between $2.7 million and $6.6 million for funding. So, the mayor signed out a letter to the TIA office and let them know any additional funding would be greatly appreciated. That also included a $1 million pledge from the authority," he said.
Galloway said since he had been the regional airport's manager, he was misinformed about the project's ability to receive federal funding, and the airport now has more options to receive additional funding for the tower.
"Ever since I've been here, I was told that our tower was not eligible for federal funds, being that it's a private tower. Well, with the infrastructure that's been built, it is now eligible for federal funds," he said.
Galloway said an application was submitted "for a grant request to the Federal Aviation Administration that excludes the $1 million pledge and asks for the full amount between the 2.7 and 6.6."
The control tower was originally advertised by the airport as "no federal funds involved," which falls under a different set of rules and limitations for how funding is allocated. After speaking with the regional airport's FAA planner, the Airport Authority decided to submit a change order request stating that if the region airport were to procure federal funds, they would cede to federal procurement guidelines.
When Airport Authority member Anthony Payton questioned whether that would affect the construction of the tower, Galloway said changes would be felt more on the administrative backend.
"Basically, they (FAA) look at the scope of work, what it is, who's available in our area that's registered under a certain business enterprise and they'll have a certain percentage that would be desired to be performed by these folks. If they can't, we have to show there was a good faith effort to try to meet that goal," he said.
"Typically, we've never not reached or exceeded that goal. The tower is a different animal in that there's not a lot of site work because the tower is only 21 feet by 21 feet. I doubt there'll be any additional work but that's for our sub-contractor to review."
The current level of funding for the new air traffic control tower is $2,705,000 from TIA, $500,000 from Georgia Department of Transportation-Aviation, and $1 million from the regional airport funds. The next Airport Authority meeting is scheduled for May 9.
