January and February saw many items on the agenda of the Walterboro-Colleton County Airport Commission.
In a Special Meeting in February, the Commission updated rules and regulations regarding refueling for some of the personally owned aircraft at the airport. The new refueling protocols will be closely monitored on a trial basis.
A large order of business was discussion of the runway rehabilitation project of Runway #523. The Commission was hoping to get this particular project underway during this summer as this is the slower time of year for the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will assist with funding for this project. The report from the FAA is they have not received their funding from Congress, and they do not know when the funding will come through. As a result, they cannot commit the funding to the rehabilitation project, because they do not know when the funds will be available. Estimated projections for the beginning of construction put the project beginning in a time frame in November-December which is the busiest time for operations. While the timing is not ideal, the Lowcountry Regional Airport does have a secondary runway, which is a feature not many general aviation airports in the surrounding areas have. However, this runway does not have lights nor Instrument Landing System and this would take away the airports night operations, and the airport does have a number of planes that come during the night. The busier time frame coupled with it becoming darker earlier during that time of year narrows the window for operations even further. In the upcoming meeting(s) the Commission will look further into the logistics of how to move forward with the runway rehabilitation project for runway #523 occurring during that time frame.
Addressing personnel matters, Senior Lineman David Wilson was promoted to Operations Manager for the Lowcountry Regional Airport. Congratulations Mr. Wilson.
The Walterboro-Colleton County Airport Commission meets regularly once a month at Lowcountry Regional Airport.
