Council to consider refueling at Washington-Warren Airport

Published 8:48 pm Sunday, June 25, 2017

Washington’s City Council, during its meeting today, will considering amending the regulations for aircraft refueling at Washington-Warren Airport, which is owned by the city.

The change is recommended by the Airport Advisory Board, which discussed the issue at its June 13 meeting. The amendment would allow aircraft refueling while an aircraft’s auxiliary power unit is in use. “APU allows for the electrical system and air conditioning system to remain in operation while the aircraft engine is not in operation. Currently, the Airport Rules do not address APU operations during the fueling of aircraft,” reads a memorandum from Frankie Buck, the city’s director of public works, to the mayor and council members.

The fueling or defueling of an aircraft while an APU is in operation may occur, provided the operation follows the procedures published by the manufacturer of the aircraft and its operator to assure the safety of the operations according to the memorandum.

In other business, the council will consider awarding a $56,450 contract to Dudley Landscaping to replace storm-drainage pipes in Oakdale Cemetery.

There have been several pipeline cave-ins at the cemetery during recent years, according to another memorandum from Buck to the mayor and council members. The 30-inch concrete pipeline is about 45 years old. The cave-ins are a hazard to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the cemetery, according to the memorandum.

Dudley Landscaping was the low bidder on the replacement project, followed by B.E. Singleton & Sons with a $97,500 bid and KBS Construction Co. with a $140,350 bid.

Also, the council will consider leasing city properties to Sound Rivers, B.E. Singleton & Sons and Mark Gray.

Sound Rivers has been leasing office space on the second floor of the building that houses the Washington Tourism Development Authority (the former railroad depot at 108 N. Gladden St. Because of the benefits Sound Rivers provides to the city, Beaufort County, their residents and the public at large related to protecting the Pamlico-Tar River and its basin, the city forgoes charging fees for the use of the property.

B.E. Singleton & Sons wants to lease city property near the city’s wastewater treatment plant near National Spinning to store equipment and materials. In exchange for use of the property, the company will maintain the property and keep the drainage way on the property clean.

Gray plans to use city property and use it for outdoor dining and access to Ribeyes restaurant by handicapped people. “In exchange, this will boost the local economy and tourism in the downtown area,” according to a third memorandum from Buck to the mayor and council members.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “City Agendas.” Locate the appropriate agenda (by date) under the “Washington City Council” heading, then click on that specific agenda listing.

 

About Mike Voss

Mike Voss is the contributing editor at the Washington Daily News. He has a daughter and four grandchildren. Except for nearly six years he worked at the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va., in the early to mid-1990s, he has been at the Daily News since April 1986.
Journalism awards:
• Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service, 1990.
• Society of Professional Journalists: Sigma Delta Chi Award, Bronze Medallion.
• Associated Press Managing Editors’ Public Service Award.
• Investigative Reporters & Editors’ Award.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Public Service Award, 1989.
• North Carolina Press Association, Second Place, Investigative Reporting, 1990.
All those were for the articles he and Betty Gray wrote about the city’s contaminated water system in 1989-1990.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Investigative Reporting, 1991.
• North Carolina Press Association, Third Place, General News Reporting, 2005.
• North Carolina Press Association, Second Place, Lighter Columns, 2006.
Recently learned he will receive another award.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Lighter Columns, 2010.
4. Lectured at or served on seminar panels at journalism schools at UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Maryland, Columbia University, Mary Washington University and Francis Marion University.

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