Dalton City Council approves airport improvement contract

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·3 min read

May 16—The Dalton City Council voted 3-0 Monday to accept a contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation, which will administer a $2.25 million grant to expand aircraft hangar space at the Dalton Municipal Airport.

Council member Dennis Mock was absent, and Mayor David Pennington typically votes only if there is a tie.

The contract calls for a $750,000 match from the city for a total amount of $3 million. The council plans to fund the match from excess Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) collections. The LOST is a 1% tax on most goods sold in Whitfield County. The city's LOST collections have been running ahead of forecasts this year, and officials expect to end 2023 with about $750,000 more in LOST funds than they projected.

City officials have wanted to expand the number of hangars at the airport for years but have been unable to find funding. On Thursday at a meeting of the city Finance Committee (made up of City Council members), City Administrator Andrew Parker said the city now has that funding. Parker said state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, and other members of the city's delegation to the state legislature were able to get the $2.25 million grant for the project in the fiscal year 2024 budget the legislature passed earlier this year.

The project hasn't been designed, so officials don't know exactly how large it will be. Dalton Municipal Airport Manager Andrew Wiersma said Thursday it should hold about 21 aircraft. The last time new hangars were built at the airport was 2007. The airport currently has 28 aircraft housed there.

Wiersma said the airport has a wait list of 45 aircraft owners who would like to lease hangars at the airport.

Parker said the hangars will provide a stable revenue stream for the airport. The airport has two sources of revenue: fuel sales and hangar rentals. Officials said fuel sales are more volatile.

Wiersma said fuel sales are currently 60% of revenue and hangar rentals 40%. Officials said their goal is to have an even split of revenue between fuel sales and hangar rentals.

The council members also voted 3-0 to:

—Approve a contract with Dalton Public Schools to provide seven school resource officers (SROs), including one sergeant, to the school system. That's an increase of one SRO over the six in the 2022 contract. One officer each will be assigned to The Dalton Academy, Dalton High School, Dalton Junior High School and Hammond Creek Middle School. Two officers will be assigned to serve the elementary schools. The sergeant will serve as a floater for all city schools and will assist other SROs if needed.

The school board has agreed to reimburse the city for 75% of the costs of salaries and benefits for the officers. When school is not in session, the officers will serve as patrol officers. The school system's estimated cost will be $471,103.

—Approve a $79,000 contract with American Consulting Professionals to design the Mill Line Pathway, which will connect the Crown Mill area to the Burr Performing Arts Park in downtown Dalton.

—Renew for one year a $4,945.92 agreement with Spectra Contract Flooring of Norcross to clean the carpet at City Hall and strip and wax break room floors.

—Appoint Jason James as Dalton Municipal Court administrator. City officials named James the sole finalist in April. For the past six years he has served as the court administrator for the city of Hiram. He holds certifications from the Georgia Council of Court Administrators including a master certificate of court administration that he received in 2018.