Council OKs contract for airport upgrades

Published 3:48 pm Friday, August 16, 2013

The Greenville City Council approved a contract with Garver Engineers, LLC to provide engineering services for improvements to Mac Crenshaw Memorial Airport.

The city recently received funding through the Federal Aviation Administration for hangar improvements and taxilane development.

The hangar improvements would increase the facility’s capacity, while also providing patrons with increased hangar options, such as a T-hangar and corporate hangar.

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The proposed contract amount with Garver Engineers, LLC is $57,426.

In recent years, the city has used FAA Airport Improvement Program grants to extend the runway to 5,500 feet, upgrade the lights along the runway, construct a taxiway that extends the length of the runway, place a new roof on the terminal, add a new heating and cooling unit to the terminal, upgrade the terminal’s electrical and plumbing systems and make improvements to the terminal to ensure that it meets the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

“This is the next thing we need to do to bring our airport up to date,” Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon said.

McLendon, who said the city has applied for FAA Airport Improvement Program grants for the last 13 years, has stressed the importance of keeping Greenville’s airport up to date.

“The airport is vital to getting businesses to locate here,” he said. “The CEOs of these companies are extremely busy. They don’t have time to fly into Montgomery and spend an hour driving to Greenville. It means a lot of if they can land their plane here. It’s faster for them and it gives us more time with them, which increases our chances of getting them to locate their business here.”

 

In other business:

  • The city council declared a piece of property in the Knollwood subdivision as surplus and authorized its sale to Charles E. and Merle B. Newton for $578.66.
  • The city council approved the payment of $1,519 to American Tennis Courts, Inc. for windscreen installation at the municipal tennis courts, and $3,067.70 to Evergreen Concrete Company for constructing a concrete pad for an outdoor fitness station, which will be located next to the playground at the Greenville YMCA.

The next city council meeting will be held Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.