Land Acquisition

Is The Purpose Of

His Nashville Trip

By AMY ROSE

Staff Writer

Don Henard, chairman of the Greeneville-Greene County Airport Authority, spoke May 8 to the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission and requested a $200,000 grant for the Greeneville-Greene County Municipal Airport.

The Aeronautics Commission met at the Aeronautics Division Headquarters Building at the Nashville International Airport.

The requested grant is for land acquisition related to the runway realignment project, which would correct safety issues at the existing airport runway.

If approved, the state would finance 90 percent of the grant, of $180,000, and the local government would provide a 10 percent match, or $20,000, Henard said.

This $200,000 is part of the $4 million first phase of the runway realignment project.

In addition to the grant request, Henard reported to the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission on the preliminary engineering study for the proposed runway realignment project.

He told the commission that the engineering study had progressed to the point that the Airport Authority was prepared to begin construction of phase one of the project during fiscal year 2008-09.

Henard said he was asked only one question by the commission, "We understand that there has been some controversy within the local government about funding this project. Do you have approval from the two local governing bodies to proceed with this project?"

"I was able to answer in the affirmative," Henard said, producing letters from both Greeneville Mayor Darrell Bryan and Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles stating that their respective governing bodies had approved the project and agreed to provide local matching funds for phase one.

Henard said he is scheduled to return to Nashville in July for the first Aeronautics Commission meeting of 2008-09 fiscal year and to request the remaining $3.8 million for phase one of the project.