Cook County EDC | Airport provides ‘economic gateway’ to community

Airport provides ‘economic gateway’ to community

Article Source Link By: Charles Shiver

August 6, 2014

The County is nearing completion of major airport improvement projects. Local officials say the upgraded airport will foster economic development and create more jobs.

Paving was finished for taxi lanes recently, and the construction of 26 new hangars was expected to be finished soon. Meanwhile, two 12,000-gallon aboveground fuel tanks were expected to be installed for the fuel farm.

The tanks will hold aviation gas and jet fuel, said County Commission Chairman Michael Dinnerman. “We have never had jet fuel at the airport before.” He anticipates that the new hangars, the taxi lanes, the new jet fuel offering, and a planned avionics shop with a new Fixed Base Operator will help bring more individual and corporate air traffic to the airport, thus increasing Cook County’s visibility for economic development across the Southeast.

Cook County is proud of the new state-of-the-art airport terminal, dedicated in memory of the late World War II ace fighter pilot Donald “Bush” Bryan.

A $55,950 Rural Business Enterprise Grant was used to purchase equipment for the setup of the offices, lobby and waiting areas, and pilots’ planning area including electronics in the terminal building. One side of the building will house offices of the airport’s FBO. The other side houses offices of the Cook County Economic

Development Commission. Lisa S. Collins serves as Cook County economic development director. DOT money, generated by the aviation fuel tax, and One- Georgia (tobacco settlement fund) grants – including $488,000 for the terminal building - have funded most of the airport improvements. Government regulations allow the fuel tax funds to be used only for upgrades at the 104 airports in the State of Georgia. Nashville recently extended the airport runway using that source. Meanwhile, Turner and Colquitt Counties are in the process of extending and improving their runways.

The aircraft hangar construction was made possible with a $1,123,000 Rural Development Community Facility Loan. About 90 percent of the loan will be reimbursed through the Georgia Department of Transportation; Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) proceeds will pay for the remaining 10 percent.

The local contribution to the airport projects from SPLOST will be 2 ½ cents on the dollar for Phase I improvements; 5 cents on the dollar for Phase II improvements, including more paving, added parking, more taxi lanes, and the two large fuel tanks; and 10 cents on the dollar for the hangars, according to Dinnerman. SPLOST proceeds also provided a portion of funding for the terminal building project.

“No money for these airport improvements comes from ad valorem tax or the County’s general fund,” Dinnerman said. “The funding is from sales tax, grants, and the hotel-motel tax, the latter through the Cook County Economic Development Commission and the Adel-Cook County Tourism Authority. The County did $5 million worth of improvements at the airport for less than $500,000 in sales tax funds.”

He added, “The Georgia Department of Economic Development thought it was brilliant to put the Cook County EDC at the airport. We have had a lot of positive comments from industries that use the airport. We have taken a proactive approach to economic development. It has really been a catalyst.”

One example of industrial recruitment that has benefited from the airport improvements is Catalina Tempering, accord-ing to USDA officials. The company purchased 189,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space in Adel for their new glass tempering facility.

The California based company opened a new plant in Adel, creating 30 direct local jobs. “We have 11 plants across the country,” said Dennis Jasmer, COO of Catalina Tempering Inc., “and we don’t even consider a location for a new facility unless it has the ability for our corporate plane to fly directly to the city where our facility is located.”

Cardinal CT Company, a subsidiary of Cardinal Glass Industries, recently purchased Catalina Tempering Inc.’s assets. The resulting increase in the glass tempering operation is expected to create even more jobs.