State will help fund study on airport's economic impact
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Staff Writer larry@gaffneyledger.com

When county officials proposed construction of an airport, state and federal aviation officials were skeptical.

"The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) rejected it," Cherokee County Airport Committee member Vic Sarratt told Cherokee County Council during a lengthy report on Monday.

The FAA denied the county a second time, Sarrat said.

But Sarratt said the outlook for the airport brightened Friday when state officials agreed to pick up one-half of the cost of a study that will determine the airport's economic impact here.

State officials also pledged to include Cherokee County in its state airport plan that will be forwarded to federal aviation officials.

Council then voted to cap its share of the study at $50,000. The money would come from the county's airport fund and capital projects fund.

Cherokee Council members Charles Mathis and James Batchler opposed the appropriation. Mathis argued the county can't afford the expense.

"It started out as a dribble and before it's done it will cost millions," said Mathis, a vocal critic of the project who has consistently voted against funding for the airport.

Councilman Bailey Humphries, who has supported the airport project, countered that an airport would increase the county's tax base.

Sarratt said the deadline to seek federal funding is Oct. 1.

Council also learned Monday where the proposed airport would be located. Sarratt said state officials narrowed the county's list of seven potential sites to two.

Sarratt said one site is owned by the Milliken Company and is located behind its Magnolia Plant in Blacksburg. The other parcel is located on Hwy. 18 three miles south of Gaffney. The parcel is owned by three individuals, Sarratt said.