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Propeller and the airport authority believe that the one
agenda item which passed, to withdraw Paulding County
Commission support for the Part 139 Certificate request
from the Federal Aviation Administration, will not
hinder the future of commercial service at the airport.
There are two sponsors for the Certificate, the county
and the airport authority and both parties must jointly
agree to remove the request. The Paulding County Airport
Authority does not agree to withdraw its request.
However, the more serious initiative was the
introduction of two agenda items which sought to remove
several Paulding County Industrial Building Authority
and Paulding County Airport Authority board members who
support the commercialization of Silver Comet Field and
replace them with people who oppose that plan. Those
items were tabled to allow the county attorney time to
investigate whether the Paulding County Board of
Commissioners has the authority to remove and replace
members of these two boards without cause.
After conferring with various experts in constitutional
law and county board appointments, it is believe the
Board of Commissioners does not have the authority to
make those changes. The Paulding County
Airport Authority and Propeller is looking forward to
the completion of the environmental assessment and the
day when limited commercial air service and related
economic growth at Silver Comet Field is a reality.
Completed in 2008, Silver Comet Field, located in Metro
Atlanta, is one of only a handful of new airports built
in the United States
over the past two decades. The primary motivation for
its construction was economic development, vis-à-vis
leveraging the substantial aerospace talent in the
region, and offering a high-quality platform to attract
aerospace firms.
The county is committed to having one of the most
business-friendly environments in the United States, as
well as being the nation's most aggressive in order to
create a solid foundation for future generations. As
such, county leadership has taken a unique approach to
developing Silver Comet. While local governments and
public authorities administer almost all
U.S.
airports, a private company operates Silver Comet with
commercial principles. In
2012 the Paulding County Airport Authority (PCAA)
entered into a long-term agreement with Propeller
Investments, an aerospace and transportation-focused
private equity firm. Silver Comet is operated by
Propeller Airports LLC, a subsidiary of Propeller
Investments.
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