Great Jim! I can't understand why people can't see the facts when they're right in front of them .
And when history shows only a 5% success rate for these types of projects, you would think that might be enough of a reason t not do it just on it's own merit.

Logic would dictate that "if"a commercial airport needs to be built to serve the north metro area that airport should be located up I-85 between Braselton and Jefferson. When You see Government officials fighting for a financially questionable project look at who is leaving office soon and follow the money. As far as Dacula is concerned I can't see Brisco Field being expandable enough to be successful and thus would be another money pit like the stadium project. I would not support it.

Tim Montgomery, DVM
Councilman
City of Dacula

At the meeting with IMG, the commissioners seemed to be open to some common sense for a change. IMG suggested that privatization and commercialization be pursued separately with public to private the goal at this time. They stated the two had not been pursued together ever and Mr. Beaudreau said - "There is always a first time." Unbelievable! IMG was hired by the county for their expertise in this area and they are working to protect the interests of the county, If the Board of Commissioners do not listen to their own consultants and pursue their own agenda, then we, the citizens of this county should take action to stop this abuse of power.

The GBOC members who are for this expansion must have some real incentive to do so. To continue to advocate for expansion in spite of the information on hand is not rational. But, after all, it is so easy to spend someone else's money. Perhaps they need some professional medical help. Further, I believe that the voters need to become more involved. We need to take charge of this issue before our scarce disposable income is flushed down the airport privy. The best way to handle the airport problem is to permanently close Briscoe and rezone the land for other uses. When is the next meeting?

If a private company will invested their own $100 million to build a terminal and improve the runway and start scheduled flights, why not let them try. It is their money to risk. Why are these ground up airports on the tax payer's backs contextual for Briscoe. Lawrenceville is on a downhill slide and we need the jobs and economic development.

With all due respect R, we do agree that the baseball park was a low return on investment and i guess , what they call crony capitalism in Texas. But once again, if you have an airport that presently cost the county money to operate and you lease it to a private company that puts its own $100 Million into, not taxpayer's money and it creates good jobs, then that is a good thing. I understand the knee jerk NIMBYism, but you have Gulfstreams and Lears flying out of there at present. Parts of Gwinnett are in a tailspin, we have lost jobs and housing has plummeted. We are ground zero for the great recession. We need good jobs and an economic engine to attract new businesses.

Right on Susan and Edward. Who is this Jim Reagan guy anyway and what makes him such an expert in the aviation business? Wouldn't be surprised if Delta Air Lines is behind this guy. Its no great secret that they are against this. Heard one of the guys on the Georgia Gang even say that Delta meddling. Big business will stop at nothing to keep a monopoly from being disrupted. Geez its sad that they are manipulating our County.

Jennifer, Ed and Susan,
Since you believe the current operations at Briscoe as it is run today is a “burden to the county”, (Second misnomer behind JOBS! claim) please provide the Budget / Expense backup detail. The taxpayers in Gwinnett have been told continuously that the airfield as it operates today is a “zero sum game”, meaning it pays for itself with NO county burden whatsoever. (It just doesn’t bring in a profit – since it wasn’t designed to) Privatization of a General Aviation model may make sense, but that won’t bring in the quick “high dollars” a small set of folks think are out there.
Now to Commercial Passenger Traffic:
If you can find a firm that will; Invest four BILLION over 10 or 15 years or so while not owning the asset at the end of a contract, Stay independently solvent and provide all the investment of infrastructure at NO cost share with taxpayers, including NO tax incentives or bonds, All the while also returning an increased revenue stream to the county each year. Of course, it will have set aside at the very start, (adjusted upwardly each operational year) a sufficient private performance bond to allow the county to both fund and run passenger operations for 10 years in event of the private operator default while Gwinnett closes the airfield down. In this case, it may be a moot point - because Pigs will Fly.

As to Jim being an expert, have you even looked at the detail he has provided? It’s been independent and verifiable. As long as factual truth is posted, attempting to smear a position because of where the facts MAY come from really doesn’t DISPUTE those facts. There appears to be large number of proponents of commercial passenger traffic that spend FAR more time personally attacking the integrity of opponents, instead of posting factual proofs of the claimed benefits of mass commercial passenger traffic. At the same time, opponents are providing real world locations that demonstrate the position that commercialization is a very risky proposition. The long range viability would ultimately depend on a MARTA link to Hartsfield.

Other posters here may actually live in Gwinnett and would rather it a “residential centric community” and NOT become a forgettable “pass through” location. Coldwell Banker NATIONWIDE ad – they may know a thing or 2 about the subject. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHhOCcb2OTI&NR=1

Susan please turn your binoculars around - your looking into them from the wrong end. I am sorry for the masses w/unemployment woes, sincerely I am. Those issues are not going to be magically fixed as it pertains to Brisco . Have you heard back from Propellers re: you resume yet?