The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a policy, in support of Golden Triangle Regional Airport, requiring county employees on job-related air travel to use the airport.
Exceptions to the policy are allowed “if the overall cost of travel, including airfare, mileage, parking and other fees” from GTRA, “exceed $150 of the same expenses from a nearby airport.”
Exceptions also are allowed if flight connections from GTRA cause “undue delay and expense” for the county employee.
GTRA Executive Director Mike Hainsey said the exceptions ensure the county acts as a “good steward” of taxpayer money.
“The airline industry is struggling,” Hainsey said, citing massive losses by Delta Airlines. “Yet, we”ve been able to hold our own. We”re trying to grow this airport. It”s a fly-from-home (and) support-your-airport program.
“Our part of it is to keep the fares and services competitive,” he continued. “We have a very good relationship with Delta. They want us to be competitive and they want us to grow. Things have changed in the last two years. Our fares are down. We are comparable (with other airports) and our costs are down 26 percent from last year.”
Hainsey noted GTRA is the “third busiest airport in the state” and the airport sees a “significant amount of international travel.”
“That”s our niche,” he said.
The Columbus City Council Tuesday night also approved a policy requiring city employees to use the airport for job-related air travel.
In other matters, Lowndes County Sheriff Butch Howard reported the county will not reapply for authorization to house state inmates in 2010.
Current restrictions regarding the housing of state inmates have tightened, Howard said, noting the county currently is approved to house state inmates, long term, until April 1.
“We can house no more than 12 trustee state inmates,” he explained, adding the number was reduced from a previous allowance of 25. “And the legislature is considering cutting our per diem fee for housing state inmates. It”s just too big a quagmire (to house state inmates).”
The county will continue to temporarily house state inmates from the time of their sentencing until they are picked up by the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Additionally, the county will continue to house, at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center, county prisoners and prisoners sentenced to one year, for example, in the county jail, rather than a year in MDOC facilities.
Also, during the supervisors” Tuesday meeting, Charleigh Ford of the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link updated the supervisors on efforts to secure property for a proposed soccer complex in Burns Bottom.
All 15 property owners in a core group of land needed to locate the complex in Burns Bottom earlier agreed to sell their property for its appraised value.
Officials, who still are negotiating with peripheral property owners, reported most of the property owners whose land is not essential to locating the complex in the area likely will sell their property for its appraised value, as well.
“The biggest problem is getting in touch with these people,” Ford said, referring to peripheral property owners, many of which are “absentee landowners.”
The county this week will send letters, including the property”s appraised value, to each of the landowners who have not been contacted and ask them to sign the letters, indicating their intent to sell the property, in the presence of a notary public, before returning them to the county.
The total appraisal for the 70-acre Burns Bottom properties came to about $288,000.
With their land totaling about the size of a city block, three property owners, whose property is on the upper northwest corner of the site, have indicated they do not wish to sell their property for the project; the land unlikely to be sold is less than six acres.
The City Council earlier voted to donate 14.9 acres of city-owned property and provide water and sewer infrastructure already in place, as well as in-kind services, for the soccer complex.
A preliminary design of the proposed complex, which has been likened to a downtown park, is expected in about six to eight weeks, to be used as a working model for city and county officials.
Board President and District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders earlier noted officials hope to start construction on the project in July or August.
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