CLOSER LOOK — Several members of the Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors on Tuesday toured the area eyed for additional airport parking, which is being obstructed by the possible presence of a retention pond. -- Christopher Dacanay

WINTERSVILLE — The disputed presence of a retention pond stands between the Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors and creating more airplane parking spaces at the Jefferson County Airpark.

During Tuesday’s regular meeting, board member Geary Bates claimed the desired spot for more parking spaces is a designated retention pond. Although some on the board disagreed with the claim, all agreed to table conversations until it could be proven one way or the other.

Board members unanimously agreed last month that additional parking is the airport’s outstanding need, after airport manager Brian Thaxton reported maxing out parking spaces and having to direct overflow.

A grassy area in the southeast near the commercial hangars was eyed as the most feasible spot, having just been relieved of housing the airport’s wind cone. All board members saw the idea favorably, though some clashed over how best to develop the spot and possibly save money.

Bates, who apologized for his conduct during the last meeting, thanked Lance Wanamaker of engineering consultant Michael Baker International for helping him pin down the project cost at around $735,000. However, he said the desired spot was designed as a retention pond for the nearby taxiway and apron and can clearly be identified as such based on the elevation changes and drainage pipe.

The question, then, is what engineering issues the board might face in attempting to build in the area. Efforts would also be subject to the pond’s protector, which board members determined to be the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Not only that, but an existing water line would still need to be moved, as the board discussed at last month’s meeting.

Wanamaker cast doubts on Bates’ claim, saying he’d never seen such a designation in previous records. He further said that the presence of a pond wouldn’t totally dismiss prospects for parking, but an alternate system would need to be installed in its place — which could cost around $1 million, he estimated.

“From what I’ve heard today, doing any development in that area is not feasible without great expense,” board President Brandon Reese said. “So, the issue for the decision makers here in the meeting tonight is, is it worth it to the county and the airport users to spend $1 million for parking spots down there?”

“This airport has everything except parking,” board member Rich Stenzel said. “We’ve got a wildlife fence, we’re secure, we’ve got a good (fixed base operator) building, we’ve got STAT MedEvac on site, we’ve got a flight school. We have everything an airport would love to have, but we have no place to park transient jets and aircraft.”

He continued, “We’ve spent all this money so far. What’s another half-million to a million to finish this airport? I mean, it’s the last thing on our checklist that we don’t have. And yeah, it’s costing money. Like Geary said, … ‘We’ve got $3.5 million. Let’s spend it.’ I think it would really enhance the airport by having additional parking.”

Discussions shifted toward creating parking at the concrete pad that formerly held the airport’s maintenance building. Although rough estimates placed the conversion project at less than $100,000, concerns were raised about how planes would traverse the tight space.

Since planes cannot move themselves backward, a tug would be needed to help the planes back out of the space. Although the airport has such devices, once airport staff leave at 5 p.m., the planes would be stuck.

The board ultimately decided to table further discussions until the area could be confirmed as a retention pond, though no other current board member or ex-oficio board member could recall such a designation. Thaxton and Fiscal Officer Gary Folden were asked to investigate further, with one source of information being Richland Engineering, which worked in the area roughly 12 years ago and would likely have as-built drawings.

Several board members, ex-oficio members and others toured the area in question after the meeting.

Separately, Reese questioned whether the board was being “shortsighted” in the placement of its planned wildlife exclusion fence, considering excavation work planned for the future.

The board hopes, at some point, to construct a parallel taxiway, beginning at the runway’s 14 end in the northwest and concluding at the 32 end. The project’s latter portion would require filling in a ravine with dirt, which the board hoped to get from a hill on the airport’s property that overlooks county Road 33.

Reese expressed concern over whether the 10-foot-tall, 14,000-foot-long fence — now beginning its construction phase — will hinder efforts to obtain that dirt from the airport’s highest point and move it to the desired location, which the fence could also potentially interfere with.

“If we can make the fence in the best spot for that step, let’s not put it where we might put a parallel taxiway there at some point,” Reese said, “and let’s not block the dirt that we might use to fill that in at some point.”

The fence’s planned position near the 32 end may need to see some relocation if the parallel taxiway project comes to pass, Wanamaker said, but it shouldn’t need a full relocation. At the 32 end, Wanamaker said, the fence may need to be moved, though there are gates planned for the area.

In other business:

• The board approved submitting an updated Airport Capital Improvement Plan to the Federal Aviation Administration, including plans to design a parallel taxiway on the 32 runway’s end in 2028 and accomplish construction in 2030.

• Thaxton was asked to submit to the FAA a notice of proposed construction or alteration regarding a small area by the Ralph Freshwater Terminal eyed for a cost-saving solar farm.

• In October there were 642 operations at the airport, 8,077 gallons of jet fuel sold and 1,453 gallons of avgas sold, Thaxton reported, adding that there are currently three empty Tee hangars, as well as one box hangar expected to be vacated soon.

• Thaxton said the wind cone’s new location by the airport’s beacon, just northwest of the STAT MedEvac building, is “way more accurate” because of the lack of obstructions.

• Stenzel said he’d follow up with a natural gas company about the possibility of trenching a new line. The board began considering a replacement for the airport’s current geothermal heat pump, which Thaxton said tends to malfunction.