By Travis Tritten, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Dec. 9--Horry County has been passing around the collection plate for a new 14-gate terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport, and the effort has paid off.
A $10 million guarantee from the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday night pushed the grand total of committed funds to $125 million, though the money still falls shy of the $185 million to $200 million estimated price tag, according to numbers supplied by county attorney John Weaver.
The county is hoping it can make up most of that difference with funding from the state and Congress, which both will begin hammering out 2006 spending plans this winter.
'We feel good that we have been able to provide two-thirds of what is needed for the project' but getting U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-Hanahan, to corner federal funding will be crucial to getting the 14-gate terminal built, Weaver said.
The facility will create more space for what is now an airport cramped by an increasing number of fliers.
Gleaning congressional funding may be a difficult prospect because such money is becoming more and more rare, county lobbyist John Napier said.
The best way to get funding attention from Washington and win a piece of the decreasing funding is to begin raising money locally, he said.
'The more of a commitment the members of Congress and elected bodies can see, the better chance of the project being funded,' Napier said.
The county says it will complete phases of the project as money becomes available.
The $10 million committed by the Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority will be used to construct a fuel farm, where planes can fill their tanks, and for integrated ticketing stations, which will allow any airline to connect to any service counter, county officials said. Both are construction priorities the Federal Aviation Administration will not be funding.
There was one dissenting vote on the authority, member Charlie Stuart.
'We've got a big moving target from $180 million to $200 million,' Stuart said. 'I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves ... until we know where some other funds are coming from.'
Board member Wilson Cain, who voted in favor of the contribution, said he was skeptical of the county's estimated price tag. 'I can tell you it is going to be $200 [million] to $225 [million]. It is not going to be $185 [million],' Cain said.
Also at the Wednesday authority meeting, Myrtle Beach presented a plan to build a sports complex, along with Crabtree gymnasium upgrades and an Olympic-size pool, on the former Air Force base property and asked for $15 million for the project.
The six-field complex and pool would be a big tourism draw that could prop up the economy during the slow months of winter, said John Pederson, assistant city manager for Myrtle Beach.
'Myrtle Beach could be the largest sports complex on the East Coast,' Cain said.
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