The push to construct a county airport got off the ground barely Monday when Cherokee County Council approved a resolution that creates a Municipal Airport Authority.

Cherokee County Council members Charles Mathis and James Batchler opposed the resolution. Mathis said there were more pressing needs in the county.

Council chairman Hoke Parris gave lukewarm support to the resolution, saying he reserved the right to vote against the project in the future.

Cherokee County Councilman Bailey Humphries, a strong proponent of an airport, said the resolution was needed before the state would free up $22,500 for a feasibility study.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce/Aeronautical Commission failed to act on the county's application for a feasibility study at its March meeting.

The study would identify potential users, analyze market needs and identify findings, including runway length and width and terminal size.

Humphries said, according to the resolution, council must approve any expenditure regarding the airport.

"It doesn't bind us at all but tells (state officials) we are serious," Humphries said.

The resolution creates the Municipal Airport Authority, which consists of three voting members and the mayors of Gaffney and Blacksburg. The mayors would be non-voting members.

Blacksburg and Gaffney councils have approved similar resolutions.

Cherokee is the only county in the state without an airport.