Gwinnett considers privatizing airport

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett County is considering privatizing Briscoe Field, the county-owned airport near Ga. 316 in Lawrenceville.

Word leaked at a public hearing Monday night that the county is negotiating with a private company to take over operation of the 507-acre airport.

County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said Tuesday the county has been fielding a number of private offers for the airport, and talks with a major contender should resume next week.

"This would enlarge Gwinnett County as a member of the region," he said. "It would probably lend a great deal toward revenues and economic development, but we have a long way to go."

Briscoe Field has one runway and ranks as the fifth-busiest in Georgia. Owned by Gwinnett County, the airport operates with its own enterprise fund, meaning the money it generates remains within the department for maintenance and improvement. It has a yearly operational budget of $1,021,721.

The unnamed company involved in negotiations wants to convert the airport into a private enterprise under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Privatization Pilot Program, county officials said. That program allows private companies to own, manage, lease and develop public airports. It authorized the FAA to permit up to five public entities to sell or lease an airport and to exempt them from certain federal requirements that could otherwise make privatization impractical.

If a deal is worked out, Bannister said, the airport's $1 million operating fund would be transferred back into the general fund, and the lease contract would create a revenue stream for the county.

Federal guidelines provide for allowing five airports, including one major hub, to participate in the pilot program. As of now, seven airports have applied, but five have withdrawn their application. A sixth airport deal involving Chicago's Midway has all but collapsed. The $2.5 billion privatization deal fell apart last April when a business consortium was unable to borrow the money needed to proceed.

Bannister said participation in the program would occur only after the Board of Commissioners studied all proposals thoroughly and aired the plan for public comment. He said the process may be drawn out longer than the current suitor would like, possibly into next year.

“The county has gotten other offers regarding Briscoe Field in the past," he said. "We want to make certain that the outcome of this offer is what’s best for Gwinnett.”

Georgia's busiest airports

Figures based on 2008 takeoffs and landings

Atlanta: Hartsfield-Jackson, 979,777

DeKalb-Peachtree, 191,587

Fulton County-Brown Field, 102,827

Savannah/Hilton Head, 95,545

Gwinnett: Briscoe Field, 90,933

Cobb: McCollum Airport, 79,691

Source: Federal Aviation Administration