Warren County is moving forward with condemnation of property to use for the airport, as well as using funds to supplement a future airport expansion.
On Monday, the full Warren County Commission voted on a resolution “authorizing the use of Warren County funds to supplement the cost of the expansion of the Warren County Memorial Airport and to authorize and further supplement previous authorizations of the county to initiate condemnation litigation.”
The item, presented to the court by the county’s Economic and Agricultural Development Committee, passed 22-2. Voting in favor of supplementing the cost of expansion and initiating condemnation litigation were commissioners Terry Bell, Morris Bond, Carl E. Bouldin, Carlene Brown, Wayne Copeland, Randy England, Billy Earl Jones, Gary Martin, Ken Martin, Michael Martin, Carolyn Miller, Charles Morgan, Gary Prater, David Rhea, Tommy Savage, Diane Starkey, Melissa Yancy, Carl D. Bouldin, Teddy Boyd, Ron Lee, Kenny Roberts and Scott Rubley.
Offering the only descending votes were commissioners Michael Shane Wilcher and Blaine Wilcher.
Blaine says his vote against the measure stems from a county Economic and Agricultural Development Committee meeting held just prior to the 6:30 p.m. full commission meeting. Blaine asked committee chairman Ron Lee what benefit the expansion would provide for the county.
“Do we have studies that show a larger airport is going to bring more industry in?” asked Blaine.
Lee replied, “Common sense would say it would. Right now, we have a business in Warren County and their planes are too big to land here. They have to land in Shelbyville. The Gaithers. Right there is one example in the need for an extended runway.”
In April, airport manager Richard Crawford informed members of the Economic and Agricultural Development Committee the airport was ceasing its seven-year negotiation efforts to acquire 6.16 acres from a neighbor and wanted the county to authorize its attorney to begin eminent domain proceedings. The effort, he said, included numerous written correspondences, several meetings with the landowner, hiring a professional negotiation firm, and increasing the purchase offer from $37,000 to $47,000.
Crawford said the airport was losing business to other communities because of its size.
“Our goal is to try and get larger planes coming in,” he said. “We sell a lot of fuel. It’s amazing how much fuel that’s sold at Warren County Memorial Airport, which goes back into the general fund. We are about halfway between most of the cities up north and the south, so they usually stop somewhere around here to fuel up. If we can get the longer runway, we can get the larger airplanes. We are losing business to other counties and states.”
Blaine says someone’s belief that a larger airport would improve the local economy is not enough for him to take someone’s land.
“There’s not enough proof of what the county would gain,” said Blaine.
A resolution requires only one passing vote.