Reading Between The Lines On the Airport Study Committee Meeting

After attending the first two hours of the State sponsored committee meeting, examining whether or not to overhaul the current management at Myrtle Beach International Airport, I quickly got bad vibes from the Horry County Council’s delegation over the first motion. A simple motion that the committee “would not present any sort of impediment to the current estimated 135 million dollar plan to expand and renovate the current facility”, brought forth at least and hour of back and forth conversation and amendments, then retraction of some of those proposed amendments before passage of the first motion. It was the words and phrases coming out of the Horry County Council members that had me concerned, because it was not what I expected to hear. The Horry County Council delegation to the committee consisted of Harold Worley, Carl Swartzakopf, Howard Barnard, Marion Foxworth, with Liz Gilland ready to lend a hand. To be fair to all because of my vantage point in the room, I’m not sure of who was making what comment, but that each County Council member expressed same concern. I will convey those comments and you can decide for yourself.

When we go behind the curtain in that ballot booth to vote, we go there with the intention of voting for the best available “leader” in the election. After Horry County Council voted to construct a new terminal costing hundreds of millions of dollars more on the West Side of the runway, those same Horry County Council Members now express concern over following through with the current proposal. That’s right, amid concerns over “one million a month in inflation cost” the “coming deadline in March for FAA funding for the upcoming year” the “loss of 17 million on the last project” (plus I think 9 million back to the FAA). Also mentioned was the “threat of an Airport Authority hanging over their heads” and (this is a good one) “because it’s an election year” they did not feel comfortable voting to spend 135 million dollars, with a chance of the project being “yanked out from under them”. Let’s see, so when it’s not an election year, you can vote to spend 350 million dollars plus. Now with an election coming up, they really are afraid of which way to go, even though according to Rick Ott, from MB Kahn calling Myrtle Beach International the fastest growing airport in our state. Of course, I have never heard back on information where Mr. Ott obtained those statistics. So I must ask what kind of leadership is that to you? Or could it be the realization with the historic rise in the price of oil, not only being detrimental to the airline industry, but also the everyday consumer and their increased cost across the board. The consumer will thereby decrease the amount of time and money they can spend for vacations or getaways, just like realignment and tightening up on flights that continues almost every day by the airline industry. With the loss of 2 carriers this year, that will be detrimental, in my and many others opinion, to incoming flights at Myrtle Beach International Airport.

Should we remodel and should we expand? By the airport management’s own admission, with the exception of the weekends when people are coming in and out for their stay, the airport is underutilized.
With this in mind, and considering the profit margin of business by MBI shown by the millions of dollars currently held in what is called their “Enterprise Fund”, the management of the airport should implement a plan that is maybe more “feasible” with the current economy and direction of the airport industry. I always hear that the current building does not meet with the current building codes and the seismic criteria and has to be brought up to code. I all my years in real estate and appraising, many commercial businesses and buildings that were sold or transferred were exempt from changes and “grand fathered” in because of their construction date. Could this also be the case with the current terminal building?? If the Horry County Council is so afraid now of moving on with this project, maybe we should do this expansion in stages, instead of all at once. First and foremost would be the renovation of the current terminal that has been allowed to “decay” by the current management team. The terminal has a leaking roof; a bad heating and A/C system and more, existing money in the “Enterprise Fund” could be utilized for that. The current building was allowed to fall into disrepair by the current management, so sure the new West Side terminal was going to be built. Hire the extra people and scanning equipment needed to keep people moving in and out during these busy weekend periods to speed up arrivals and departures and the handling of baggage. Keeping in mind the plans that are presently on the table, get a road into the airport from Business 17 as well as the current access off the Highway 17 By-Pass. Start work on a two or three tiered parking garage to accommodate the current and future traffic at the terminal. After these more “fiscally responsible” changes are implemented, we can then concentrate on adding more gates if the need exists.

County Administrator Danny Knight and his crew mentioned that 400 acres have been set aside to try and attract some “air freight” business and although there appears to be some interest, no contracts or proposals have been signed. Mr. Knight also talked about having some news from some airlines concerning Myrtle Beach coming in the next 2-3 weeks but did not expand on that either. Mr. Knight also talked about a 2006 Louis Berger Group study on the airports management and 16 items that were listed that could improve the operation of MBI. At the time of the meeting, Mr. Knight said that 14 of the 16 items presented by the study were addressed and they were working or the last two items. One of those items was to hire a “Marketing Director” for the airport, a position critical to attracting “new business” for the airport. That position has just recently been advertised, and would “beef up” the current marketing done by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. It was the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday that paid for the Boyd Group study concerning what needs to be done to attract and keep business here in Myrtle Beach. If you recently read in the news about the “FAILURE” of the Hard Rock Park, the lack of funds for marketing was also listed as a reason for their failure along with the sagging economy. Since Horry County knew 2 years ago that a Marketing Director was needed, and did not act until just recently, it makes me wonder if the State sponsored Airport Study Group was the reason this item, one of the 16 listed was finally acted upon. Since the media present were not provided with a copy of this Louis Berger Group Study, I don’t know what all of the 16 items were or I would have listed them.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 16, the public is welcome and should attend…


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