Airports to receive millions in stimulus money

Two Horry County airports will receive nearly seven million dollars for improvements. According to a press release, the grants are from part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Myrtle Beach International will receive nearly 5 million for terminal improvements and the Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach is set to receive a little more than two million for lighting improvements.
The Horry County Department of Airports projected the estimated economic impact of the stimulus money to reach tens of millions of dollars and bring an estimated 105 new jobs to the area. That's welcome news for the thousands of unemployed people in the region.
Horry County Airports received 90 percent of the total aeronautics money given to South Carolina. Ed Warneck, President of Myrtle Beach Direct Air said he's happy anytime money is given to Horry County projects. Though he thinks, at least half of the money should have gone to marketing. He believes the number one goal right now is to get passengers to the airports, not improve the airports. His airline brought in 67,000 passengers to Myrtle Beach last year in its first year of operation. He's expecting to hit the 200,000 mark this year with a projected impact of more than 100 million dollars to the area.
"Even in a downturn like this, when people are pulling back, vacations play an important role and we think if we get out there and market to them properly and keep the pricing down and sensible, people will come,” said Warneck. “They may cut back on the time they stay and the amount they do, but I do believe, the numbers show that we can get them here.”
Myrtle Beach Direct Air added 8 cities in 2008, including areas in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. Brad Dean of The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce said, “We’re pleased to see the federal commitment to our local airports. The projects are shovel ready and will create jobs immediately, in addition to benefiting the entire Grand Strand economy over time.” Dean said in the past few weeks, several airlines inquired about coming to Myrtle Beach International, as early as this year.
He said any new airlines would need to offer cities different from Myrtle Beach Direct Air in order to maximize the new visitors to the area. This is especially important due to the cutback in tourism dollars from the state this year.
The Department of Airports said, as for the additional jobs, the county is currently in bidding process and the contractors are not yet secured. The departmetny offered the following statement in response to utilizing a portion of the money for marketing. “It is important to note the significance between funds that can be used for marketing purposes and funds received for the express intent of capital improvements. Horry County Department of Airports (HCDA) received 2 grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This act provides detailed and extensive requirements for project funding and is limited in scope to capital improvements and cannot be used for any other purposes, i.e. marketing. The HCDA is thrilled receive this funding to improve our facilities - this will ultimately provide cost savings to our airlines and passengers. HCDA has submitted funding requests for marketing funds in the past; we will continue to do so, so that we can continue to enhance air service to Myrtle Beach.”