Citizens for a Better Gwinnett Calls for Airport Vote
Group spokesperson Jim Regan calls Propeller Airports’ press conference an “admission that they know they're going to lose.”
Photos
A local citizens’ group is calling for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners (BOC) to proceed with a vote on the privatization of Briscoe Field.
The vote is expected to come during the commission’s 2 p.m. business session on June 5. The Gwinnett County Department of Transportation has recommended the BOC reject the proposal submitted by Propeller Airports to privatize Briscoe Field.
Propeller Airports CEO Brett Smith has asked for the BOC to delay the vote until a new District 1 commissioner is seated. Former District 1 representative Shirley Lasseter resigned last week after pleading guilty to charges she accepted bribes in return for her support for a proposed real estate development. During the course of the investigation leading to the charges, Lasseter is accused of seeking an undercover agent's help in using her official position to gain personally from the proposed privatization of the Gwinnett County Airport.
Smith has scheduled a press conference for Monday afternoon. In a press release announcing the conference, Smith said, “Since the District 1 Commission seat is now vacant, no important issues should be voted on by the Commission until a new District 1 Commission representative is seated. It would be incredibly unfair to have a vote on a major issue affecting the whole county if that district is not represented."
Citizens for a Better Gwinnett wants the vote to move forward as scheduled.
"Today's press conference by Propeller Investments is simply an admission that they know they're going to lose," said Citizens for a Better Gwinnett representative Jim Regan in a released statement. "The proposal does nothing to make a valid business case for expansion of Briscoe Field and no amount of press conferences or delays will change that fact."
Regan said his group is calling on the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners to “do the right thing and reject this proposal and remove the threats to our Quality of Life - noise, pollution, and traffic congestion, which scheduled passenger service would bring to Gwinnett County."
Related articles:
- Fly Gwinnett Forward Seeks Referendum for Briscoe Field
- Airport Vote on Tuesday’s Agenda, Rejection Recommended
- Propeller CEO Wants Airport Vote Delayed
Don’t miss any local news. Subscribe to Dacula Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Dan
3:36 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Propeller have wasted enough of the BOC's time. They need to concede defeat gracefully and let the BOC attend to more pressing county matters. Their tenacity was admirable, but Propeller are now turning into an irrelevant and increasingly costly distraction to Gwinnett County.