By Jeff Whitten. correspondent.

Newly-appointed Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority Chairman Trip Addison kicked off the board’s first-ever meeting by telling those who attended he was “dedicated to engaging every voice in this process,” as the board moves forward on a potential general aviation airport on Rayonier-owned property off Highway 17 near Belfast Keller Road.

Most of those engaging with the Authority at Monday’s meeting at Richmond Hill City Hall were at best skeptical of plans to build the facility, questioning everything from who it would benefit to what it would cost, how it would be funded and what the environmental and safety impacts would be.

One resident, Julie Pecenka, even questioned the makeup of the 11-member board – all of whom are white and male.

“Of all the county and city citizens, there was not one single female or person of color who could’ve served on this board?” she asked. “Not one? I look at you and you’re all the same.”

Pecenka, the last of seven residents who signed up to speak at the first meeting, added, “This looks like the Stepford Wives, gentlemen,” before questioning whether the airport would be restricted to general aviation and citing what she said was a published report that FedEx would be using the site.

And, Pecenka asked why the meetings aren’t being livestreamed.

Others, such as retired educator Gloria Shearin and Bryan County Democratic Committee Chairman Corey Foreman, lamented the lack of transparency and said the proposal wouldn’t survive if it were put on the ballot.

“If we had had any kind of ballot initiative, I’m pretty sure this would’ve been turned down,” said Shearin, who also raised concerns over flooding she said has been caused by clear-cutting of forests for subdivisions in the rapidly growing part of Bryan County.

Longtime Richmond Hill resident Cindy Hatala told the Authority the community has needs that haven’t been addressed.

“I do not understand why we’re going ahead with new projects when we have not fixed current infrastructure problems,” she said, listing drainage, flooding and traffic congestion.

Stephanie Falls, who is vice chairman of the county’s planning commission, raised the point of the cost of wetlands mitigation and told Authority members the county’s residents have “taxed and bonded” enough after the recent building of a new Richmond Hill High School.  

Not all who spoke Monday were against the airport, though they weren’t for it, either.

Meredith Gibson, who ran unsuccessfully as a write-in for County Commission Chairman in 2024, said she wasn’t sure whether she would support an airport, but it was important to remember this was the first meeting of the Authority, just “Day 1.”

Gibson told the board’s members they need to do a better job of communicating with residents and volunteered to help.

Theresa Timmons, whose late husband was a military pilot, said she is undecided whether the community needs an airport, but she is for “making sure we have enough expertise to answer the questions and have proper debate and not just make it aviation enthusiasts promoting it.”

Proponents of a small airport, first reported in the Bryan County News in March 2023, say it will bring in additional property tax revenue to the county without adding additional burdens on local governments or demands on infrastructure, such as traffic. They also lament what they say is misinformation, much of it on social media, on the size and scope of the airport – which they say is intended solely for general aviation, meaning small aircraft.

And, Addison noted the airport’s proposed location on an approximately 300-acre site owned by Rayonier’s real estate subsidiary, Raydient, is already slated for either subdivisions or warehouses – each of which comes with its own costs to residents.

If built, the airport, which could have a 5,000 foot runway and 14 hangers, is expected to cost some $128 million, with about 95 percent of that funding coming from federal and state, officials say, and take at least four years to build. Richmond Hill and Bryan County have each funded a phase of a study by Holt Consulting on the feasibility of the airport, and the Georgia Department of Transportation has also given the project a go-ahead after a one-year study. Georgia Tech is currently conducting a study on its financial impact, which could be finished soon, but Addison told those at the Authority’s first meeting that he expected both taxes on airplanes kept at the airport and the vertical construction – which would be done through private companies – would raise enough revenue to pay for the local contribution to the cost of the airport and for its operation.

And while some who spoke at Monday’s meeting said it appeared the airport is a done deal, one Authority member, Bryan County District 5 Commissioner Dr. Gene Wallace, said his mind isn’t made up and that’s why he volunteered to serve on the board.

“We have got to make sure that we can afford to do this,” he said, adding that the county’s special option sales tax revenue, after increasing for five straight years, hasn’t become flat, meaning the Commission is talking about tightening its belt this year and will likely vote against the project if it isn’t financially feasible.

But Wallace also acknowledged local officials have “done a horrible job of communicating and educating the public about what’s happening.

“And when people don’t know what’s happening, because there’s such a distrust of government in general, people immediately assume you must be doing something wrong, or doing something that’s not right. Hopefully that’s not what’s happening here. I don’t think it is.

“I hope this (airport) thing works out,” Wallace said. “But I’ve got to be convinced, and I think the citizens need to be convinced that it’s a good thing for them and that it’s going to make our community better.”

The Richmond-Hill Bryan County Airport Authority will next meet at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Richmond Hill City Hall. A third meeting will be held Dec. 15 at 3:30 p.m. at the same location. Both meetings are open to the public.

The Authority is also soliciting input on the proposed airport by email at airport@bryancountyga.gov.