Davidson County commissioners reduce Airport Authority Board
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners has decreased the number of members on the Davidson County Airport Authority at the request of the organization.
During its regular meeting on Monday, the county commissioners unanimously voted to lower the number of members on the Davidson County Airport Authority from nine members to seven.
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Rick Phillips, chairman of the Davidson County Airport Authority, told the commissioners that one long-time member of the board will be retiring at the end of his term this year and another member is leaving early for personal reasons.
“We believe as a board feel that we could operate satisfactorily with seven members,” said Phillips.
According to the N.C. House Bill 1680 establishing the Airport Authority in1993, the board will consist of five members appointed by the Davidson County Board of Commissioners. It also stated the county commissioners, at the request of the airport authority, may increase or decrease the membership to no more than nine members and no less than seven members.
Current members of the Davidson County Airport Authority are Phillips, John Gray, Jim Myers, Tim Simpson, William Altenpohl, Ted Myers, Thom Hege, Todd Yates and Jay Temple.
More:Commissioners consider adding $3.8 million for corporate hangars at Davidson County Airport
Phillips also took the opportunity to thank the Davidson County Commissioners for their interest and support of the airport over the past few years.
In January, the county commissioners allocated $3.8 million to the airport in economic development funds left after repaying a N.C. Department of Commerce community block grant earlier than expected after EGGER chose to purchase property within the new I-85 Corporate Center instead of leasing.
This was in addition to the $1.2 million appropriation of sales tax overages in 2021, making an overall investment of $5 million. Previously, Davidson County Manager Casey Smith stated the investment was to support the airport authority's capital project to build several new corporate-size hangars at the Davidson County Airport.
According to county calculations, a corporate jet valued at $30 million which was housed at one of the corporate hangers created $145,000 in county tax revenue in one year. These corporate tenants would also increase revenue for the airport itself through hangar leases, fuel sales and other expenses.
“I would like to say thank you to this commission for the help you have given our airport in the last two years especially. We have always known that we have a huge economic driver in that airport, but we never had the money to do anything with it. You guys jumped in last year and really were able to help us get this thing jumpstarted. The growth that we have seen and the potential that we have seen coming from it has been enormous,” said Phillips.
More:Lexington fire department left in limbo after de-annexation from Davidson County Airport
The change in the board members of the Davidson County Airport Authority comes roughly four months after a local bill removed the airport property from within the city limits of Lexington.
In May, North Carolina Senator Steve Jarvis, who represents Davidson and Montgomery counties, submitted Senate Bill 908 which removed the Davidson County Airport from the corporate limits of the City of Lexington effective on July 1.
He previously stated the bill was to eliminate “double-taxes” on aircraft owners. This means any person or company housing an aircraft on property owned by the airport will no longer have to pay property taxes to both Lexington and Davidson County and instead just pay the county.
This bill also required the sale of the building currently occupied by Lexington Fire Station #2 and as a result no longer includes the airport in its coverage area. The Davidson County Commissioners recently named Linwood Volunteer Fire Department as its official fire department to cover emergencies at the airport.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson County commissioners reduce Airport Authority Board
