Is County Meeting Transparency and Fair Competition Goal in Effort to Privatize Briscoe Field?

Documents obtained through open records requests show that one stakeholder on the Gwinnett Chamber Airport Privatization Task Force Committee was quoted as saying, “Don’t let it be an effort just from Chamber of Commerce. Thinks website is a good idea.” After that, Fly Gwinnett Forward was formed and launched their website.

County employees working on the FAA application interviewed community leaders to learn their opinion on privatizing Briscoe.

Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks said that commercial service would “have no impact on individual schools” and the “additional tax generation would be good for schools.” Perhaps those asking for his opinion failed to tell him that the authority that operates Teterboro Airport, an airport mentioned in Propeller’s presentation as a model for what could be envisioned for Briscoe, reports that it has spent $400 million soundproofing schools. Who will pay for soundproofing Gwinnett schools?  

The CEO of Gwinnett Medical System said that he supported commercial service at Briscoe, but asked for a No-Fly-Zone over the hospital. When told of his comment, homeowners asked for a No-Fly-Zone over their homes, too. If there are no health or noise issues, as airport supporters claim, why does the CEO of our hospital want a No-Fly-Zone? 

On the Fly Gwinnett Forward website, they actually called soundproofing that would be required in homes near the airport a “home improvement.” We have yet to locate a real estate agent who agrees that soundproofing is a “home improvement."  The website also discussed policies and procedures that could be implemented to reduce the number of people exposed to “unacceptable noise levels.” What do they consider an acceptable number of people to be exposed to “unacceptable noise levels”? What kind of outdoor soundproofing is available for patios, playgrounds and schoolyards?

Gwinnett County sent this laudable statement to the FAA:

“The County is committed to an exceptionally fair, transparent, methodical and efficient competition process that may serve as a model for general aviation ("GA") airport competitions, since Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field would be the first GA airport to be privatized through the FAA Airport Privatization Pilot Program.”

Do you believe the county has lived up to that commitment?