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Study: Airport Needs Less Politics: Consultant Group Says Management Looks Solid

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 May 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Travis Tritten, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

May 3--Management of the $228.8 million terminal project at Myrtle Beach International Airport has become too politicized, according to an independent airport management study released Tuesday.

The study, by consultant Louis Berger Group Inc., also recommended County Council hire terminal project managers as a way to relieve those political pressures.

Council members requested the study after a year of uncertainty about a new 14-gate terminal and some infighting about how the airport is managed.

Terminal price estimates continue to fluctuate, rising to a high of $253 million at the beginning of 2005 and then dropping as low as $200 million last summer. The county has so far spent nearly $12 million but not completed enough planning to get a guaranteed maximum price from its contracted architecture and construction firms.

"The difficulties and controversies with creating a new terminal are not unusual [but] you don't want your leadership to begin making decisions based on politics," said Steven Baldwin, vice president of the Berger Group, which is based in Albany, N.Y.

The consulting group made about 16 airport suggestions to Horry County, including giving airport officials higher pay and more autonomy to make day-to-day airport decisions.

"It's generally a well-run organization lead by a qualified management team," said Baldwin, who gave the council a presentation and its first look at the long-anticipated study.

All the suggestions will now be sent to the County Council Administration Committee for consideration. No council members had yet read the study Tuesday night.

The Berger group compared the Myrtle Beach airport to five other similar airports in the United States and interviewed County Council, airport advisory board members and airport employees.

While Airport Director Bob Kemp and county airport engineer Ken Hawk are highly qualified, the county should consider hiring a project and construction manager to oversee the terminal project, the study found.

Also, the group said airport staff should have control over daily operations instead of reporting constantly to county administration. The County Council took greater oversight of the airport in the past year by moving control of operations under its Administration Division and reducing oversight by the airport's advisory committee.

Councilman Mark Lazarus, who supported the study, said the Berger Group did not interview airlines and suppliers at the airport despite a request by council when it hired the group.

"Not having that knowledge, I don't understand how you could have come to some of your conclusions," Lazarus said.

The Berger group should come to the committee hearings to answer such questions, he said.

Also at the council meeting Tuesday, members gave an initial approval of a plan to turn Cypress Bay Golf Club in Little River into a housing development. Developers agreed to decrease the number of housing units from 1,000 to 800, make sewer and storm-water upgrades, and contribute $1,000 to the county for every unit.

One more council vote is required before construction can begin.

Contact TRAVIS TRITTEN at 626-0303 or ttritten@thesunnews.com [mailto:ttritten@thesunnews.com].

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

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