During the Airport Advisory Meeting this month, Community Development Director Jim Smith announced that Gilmer County will now operate the Gilmer County AirportThe arrangement, he said, was effective May first. Previously, the airport was operated by Fixed Based Operator (FBO) Gilmer County Aviation Inc. Wife of late owner of the company, Nancy Isom closed the business in April, leaving the county responsible for the operations of the airport. In a recent open letter published on FYN, Isom asserted the airport was impossible to run under the current county administration, citing numerous criticisms.

“As of May the first,”

Smith said,

“Gilmer County Aviation Inc. and Gilmer County Board of Commissioners reached an agreement.”

Smith added that Gilmer County Aviation Inc. exited the situation as the fixed based operator.

“Their last official day,”

he noted

“was April the 30th and the county now has the responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations of the airport.”

Typically, funding for general aviation airports, like Gilmer’s, comes from several sources, including Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, state funding has significantly decreased over the last four years, Smith said. He explained that four years ago Georgia appropriated $16 million for general aviation airports and this year has appropriated only $1.6 million for the 104 airports in the state. By comparison, neighboring Tennessee appropriates $25 million for 59 general aviation airports.

What will it cost the county to operate the airport? According to Gilmer County resident knowledgable of airport operations Dallas Miller, the county as operator will be responsible for a myriad of items. In a recent email to FYN Miller indicated the following items as expenses:

“Fuel, utilities, labor, Insurance, grounds and building maintenance, Security and Airport expansion projects.”

On the other side of the ledger, the county will now receive revenue from

“Fuel sales, tie-down fees, hanger fees, office leases, state DOT Funds, and FAA Funds,”

Miller noted. FYN requested an operation cost estimate from Mrs. Isom and will report those figures upon receiving a response.

When FYN asked if the county would open RFPs (requests for proposals) for a new FBO (operator), Smith said that would be a decision for the board of commissioners. Smith is a liaison between the advisory board and the board of commissioners. His answer, though, leaves a few question marks regarding the operations of the airport. Will the county continue to operate the airport? Or will the county pursue another FBO? Smith did not speculate on whether the topic would be placed on the board of commissioners’ agenda for the next meeting.

FYN will follow this story as details develop.