At a called meeting Feb. 12, 2008 the Greene County Board of Commissioners approved a contract to receive a $3.515 million General Aviation Entitlement Grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for airport improvements. The amount represents 95 percent participation from the federal government, with the state government and Greene County Airport Authority contributing 2.5 percent each in matching funds.
The grant is meant to pay for a larger airport safety improvement plan that includes extending the airport runway 500 feet and finishing the parallel taxiway.
“We basically voted to match their 95 percent funding with 2.5 percent funding from the Airport Authority’s account—money that is already there thanks to the voter-approved SPLOST IV,” said Chairman Dene Channell. “You couldn’t be in a better position on funding a project like this. This project will contribute to the local economy in a big way, and we’ve hardly sacrificed anything to see it become a reality.”
The only stumbling block on financing the project is rising costs. Since the project was first conceived, asphalt prices have skyrocketed, along with general construction costs. Completing the entire project could be difficult, but this large grant from the FAA should go a long way in completing the Airport Authority’s improvements at the airport.
Regardless, the economic benefits from pursuing the project are numerous. While extending the runway and taxiway are great for safety, they’re especially good for business. Larger jets can land in Greene County, and lighter jets can take off with more fuel—facts that mean increased tax revenues from visitors and tourists, instead of local citizens.
Besides simply contributing to tax revenues, the benefits of having more business flying into Greene are hard to put into numbers. From people staying and spending money in Greene to businesses setting up shop in developing areas and the manufacturing districts, both often translate into more jobs available to Greene County citizens.
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