• Budget Information
• History
• Facts & Issues

Budget information

FUNDING SOURCE: 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

HISTORY

• October 7, 1997 – The ACC Mayor and Commission approved the airport to conduct an update to the Airport Master Plan which, in part, would address the need of a runway extension to the primary runway 9/27 (east/west runway).
• May 1999 - Airport planners completed two supplemental studies for the airport in reference to the possible extension of runway 9/27. The first study was a Runway 9/27 Length Analysis. The second was a Runway 9/27 Extension Feasibility Study.
• November 21, 2000 – The Airport Authority approved the "Community Preferred" runway length option as outlined in the Runway 9/27 Length Analysis Study which includes a 6,500' X 150' runway and reserves the airspace for a future 7,000' runway and recommended that it be submitted to the Mayor and Commission for action.
• February 13, 2001 – The LPA Group, Inc. made a presentation at Mayor and Commission Work Session to review the results of the supplemental studies and runway options available for the Athens Airport and to discuss runway length options, environmental impacts and projected costs.
• April 3, 2001 - The Mayor and Commission approved the "Community Preferred" runway length option and authorized it to be incorporated into the on-going Airport Master Plan update.
• August 13, 2002 – At the Mayor & Commission Work Session, airport staff and planners gave a presentation to the Mayor and Commission on the completed Draft of the Airport Master Plan.
• September 3, 2002 – The Mayor & Commission approved the Draft Airport Master Plan and authorized it to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for their review and approval.
• September 2003 – The FAA approved the Airport Master Plan which included the "Community Preferred" runway extension option.
• March 2, 2004 - The Mayor & Commission approved airport planners to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed extension of runway 9/27. An approved EA is required by the FAA prior to authorizing and funding a runway extension project.
• August 25, 2005 and April 17, 2007 – Two public information meetings were held at the airport to provide the public with information pertaining to the proposed runway extension and the EA. Between the two meetings, only one person from the public attended and the airport received no comments on the project from the public. The delay in time between 2005 and 2007 was caused by the FAA changing personnel that were assigned to the EA requiring the new person to revisit the previously completed portion of the project.
• March 2008 – The Environmental Assessment for the proposed runway 9/27 extension was completed and approved by the FAA including justification for a runway extension of 9/27 by 600 feet which will result in a finished runway of 6,122' x 100'. Widening the runway to 150' is currently not justified according to information provided in the EA.
• March 3, 2009 – The Mayor & Commission approved the concept for the East Terminal Area Tie Down Project, authorized the Mayor and appropriate staff to sign all documents related to the project, including the FAA and GA-DOT grant applications and to accept the grants.
• May 5, 2009 – The Mayor & Commission approved the preliminary plans for the East Terminal Area Tie Down Project and authorized staff to prepare the final construction plans and advance the project into the bid and award phase.
• May 26, 2009 – The Athens Airport Authority met at its regularly scheduled meeting and voted to recommend that the Mayor & Commission approve the Runway Extension Phase I Project Concept; authorize the project to move into the Preliminary Design Phase; authorize the LPA Group to provide professional services in an amount NTE $671,052; and authorize the Mayor and appropriate staff to apply for and accept grants for this project and to sign all related documents.
• June 10, 2009 - Representatives from the GA-DOT met with airport staff and requested that Athens postpone the East Terminal Area Tie Down Project and allow funding in the amount of $572,450 designated for that project to be returned to the FAA. The FAA would then reallocate that funding to the runway extension project, which when added to other available FAA discretionary funding, would provide adequate funding for the design of the runway extension project. The plans for the East Terminal Area Tie Down Project would be kept on the shelf and the project would be completed at a later date.
• July 7, 2009 - The Mayor & Commission:
  • Approved the Concept for the Runway 9/27 Extension Project (Phase I) as described (see attachments); and
  • Approved the project to move into the Preliminary Design Phase upon FAA approval of discretionary and/or ARRA funding; and
  • Approved the LPA Group, Inc. to provide professional services for the Preliminary Design in an amount NTE $671,052; and
  • Authorized the Mayor and appropriate staff to sign all documents related to this project, including the FAA, GA-DOT and ARRA grant applications and to accept the grants; and
  • Rejected all bids for the East Terminal Area Tie Down Project, postpone the project until further notice and designate its funding to be used toward the Runway 9/27 Extension Project.
• Five airports in southern Georgia received ARRA funding, but Athens-Ben Epps Airport did not. However, the FAA is providing $560,434 in discretionary funding and GDOT is providing a 2.5% match of $14,011 for the design of the runway extension project.

FACTS & ISSUES

• The purpose of the runway extension project is to provide additional runway length in order to meet the operational needs of aircraft operating from the Athens Airport. The additional runway length will also increase the safety of the airport and surrounding area by providing additional runway length to stop an aircraft in the event of an emergency on approaches and departures.
• The current length of the runway requires aircraft to operate with a penalty of having to fly as light as possible resulting in carrying a smaller payload of fuel, cargo, and/or passengers. It may require aircraft to make additional fuel stops en route to their destination resulting in a loss of time and money. The additional runway length will allow them to take off with full fuel thus allowing them a non-stop flight. The additional fuel sales afforded by the runway extension will result in additional funding for the airport enterprise fund.
• The recently completed Environmental Assessment project was the first step in the FAA approving the runway extension project and qualifying it for FAA funding. In addition to the environmental aspect of the EA, it was also the basis for determining the exact length of runway required. Using formulas created by the FAA, the EA confirmed a need for a minimum runway length of 6,160 feet and a maximum of 9,080.
• In reviewing this information along with historical flight operations data from Athens Airport, the FAA determined that an extension of 600 feet (total length of 6,122’) was justified at this time. An additional 400 feet extension will be addressed as a future project as Phase II of the runway extension. If and when Phase II of the project is constructed, it will be built on the west end of the runway. A copy of the EA is available for review in the office of the Clerk of Commission, Office of the Airport Director, or online at www.athensairport.net.
• The Scope of Work for the Runway 9/27 Extension Project (Phase I) consists of three main components allowing each to be bid individually or packaged together in order to meet the availability of funding. The three components consist of the following and are described in further detail in the attachments:
  • Grading and Drainage – This component designs the grading and drainage for the extension of Runway 9/27 by 600 feet to the east. In order to design the grading and drainage component, it shall be necessary to preliminarily design the full 1,000 feet (Phase I east end and the future Phase II west end) of extended runway. In addition to the runway grading, the parallel taxiway will also need to be extended, the Glide Slope critical area and the Localizer critical area will need to be revised, and the storm water management facilities will need to be located, so that all of these items, once completed, will be compatible with the associated FAA guidelines.
  • Instrument Landing System (ILS) Glide Slope and Localizer Replacement – This component designs the replacement of the existing ILS Glide Slope and Localizer facilities associated with the extension of Runway 9/27. The existing Glide Slope and Shelter was constructed in 1994 and is in need of replacement as it is too small to handle the current level of equipment to operate the facility.
    
  • Paving and Lighting – This component designs the paving and lighting for the extension of Runway 9/27 by 600 feet to the east. In addition to the runway paving, the parallel taxiway will also need to be extended to provide access to the new runway end, a hold apron will be constructed to facilitate air traffic sequencing of departing aircraft during peak activity periods, and a blast pad will be constructed to reduce Foreign Object Damage (FOD) potential during takeoff operations.
• Although funding has not been appropriated at this time, the FAA has qualified this project for discretionary funding and requested that the Athens Airport be prepared to receive such funding in increments over the next several years as funding becomes available. The first increment, if funded, is scheduled to become available in August 2009. Commission concept approval and authorization to receive the grant funding is required in order to authorize the airport to receive the funding in a timely manner.
• Funding for this project will be a combination of Federal Aviation Administration, ARRA, and GA-DOT Aviation grants. The FAA grant funds 95% of the project: GA-DOT will fund 2.5%; and ACCUG will fund the remaining 2.5% through Grant Matching Funds allocated to the airport’s capital budget.
• ARRA has been allocated $1.1 billion dollars to be used for airport improvements throughout the United States. The funds will be administered by the FAA and the FAA will determine which airport projects will qualify for the funding.
• Airports qualify for stimulus funding based on the same FAA process used for yearly FAA funding competitions. The Athens Airport runway extension project has been approved by the FAA and has been added to its list for possible discretionary funding.
• Currently airport staff and Airport Authority members are working with GA-DOT personnel in reviewing the rates and fees for providing professional services for this project. During these negotiations, the fees may not exceed those listed in the budget section of this agenda as they are a NTE price, but may be negotiated to a lower price if deemed appropriate.
• The LPA Group, Inc. is currently under contract with Athens-Clarke County for providing professional services to the airport. A copy of their Master Agreement is on file in the Clerk of Commission's office.
• This project is in keeping with the Mayor and Commission approved Airport Master Plan. A copy of the plan is available in the office of the Clerk of Commission, office of the Airport Director, and online at www.athensairport.net.