Darlington County Jetport gets repairs, new fuel truck

DARLINGTON — The Darlington County Jetport officially has a new fuel truck on the premise for patrons to use, along with a long list of repairs that county administrator Phyllis Griffitts reported to the commission.

“I have my list of things that you all gave me to do and I just want to let you know some of the things that have been completed,” she said.
At the commission meeting Thursday, Griffitts talked about the improving communication between new commission chairman Howell Jeffords and herself regarding plans with the jetport.

She said some of the items that have been addressed include putting executive chairs in the conference rooms, sweeping the runways and county inmates coming out to mow the grass.

She also said the security cameras had been fixed, along with the corner light on the terminal. She said there also was a leak in the conference room that has been corrected.

Griffitts said new tile was put down in the terminal building and a new credit reader for the pay-and-go gas pump would be installed Monday, along with jet fuel.

She also said she was working with a council member to get cut down some trees that penetrate the airspace approach on runways 10 and 34.

Jetport commission members also expressed their frustrations regarding a recent county council decision to remove one end portion of secondary runway 10/34.

At a special work session July 25, the council supported and approved a motion councilwoman Anne Warr made that stipulated council would wait until the jetport commission worked with the pilots who use the jetport and prioritize what projects need immediate attention before it would make any decisions regarding the jetport.

On Aug. 4, just one week later at a county council meeting, council voted to approve a bid for work to tear up the runway. The commission members said they never got a chance to make any recommendations and pilots present at Thursday’s meeting said they never agreed to get rid of the runway.

“(Council members) Danny Douglas, Wilhelmina Johnson and Anne Warr all sat right here and said they didn’t want to tear up that runway,” commission member Thomas Graham said. “Then they went in there Monday to that council meeting and voted to tear it up. They sat right up in here and lied, so you tell me, what kind of people do we have in there?”

Darlington County Council vice chairman Wesley Blackwell was not present at Thursday’s meeting but said during a telephone interview Thursday that he felt there was a misunderstanding about the decision to uproot the runway — although he also admitted he left the work session before the agreement was made.

“From that meeting, we concluded — along with what I thought was the commission — that we needed to go ahead with tearing up runway 34,” he said.

Commission member and chief Sonoco pilot John Welker said he felt council lied to the commission and made the whole process disheartening.

“If you vote against (the commission’s recommendations), we’ll stick by the decision,” he said. “But at least show us the courtesy of listening to what we have to say.

“If the very first recommendations we make aren’t even heard or considered, it kind of thwarts our enthusiasm. What are we here for? I could be at home playing with my grandchildren.”

Blackwell said because the decision already has been made, everyone should move on with improving the jetport.

“I think this has been a real bone of contention and I think things will calm down now,” he said. “I think there was a bit of confusion and I think if we can get over this, then council will gladly accept any of the commission’s recommendations.”

But Welker and other member, such as Jeffords, said the incident is another reason why it’s hard to move forward with progress at the jetport.

“So, now, I guess we need to figure out where we go from there and see if there is a point to having a commission,” Welker said.

In other news, the jetport commission discussed a recent meeting commissioner Jeffords — along with Griffitts and members of the Atlanta Regional Federal Aviation Administration Office and the S.C. Department of Commerce’s Department of Aviation — had regarding changing classification of the jetport to a C-2 airport.

The commission also discussed having the LPA come out to conduct a layout terminal study of the jetport. Jeffords said the LPA group conducted a study in 1995 that they could use and just update.

The commission also discussed a revised priority list of recommendations it plans to submit to council at its meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. Monday.