Cleveland airport to resume fuel sales

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Thanks to a replacement pump, the Cleveland airport has fuel to sell again.

Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority members who met Friday discussed what Chairwoman Lynn DeVault called a “comedy of errors” that diverted some pilots to other airports.

Assistant Public Works director Gloria Malone said things started to go wrong after a new fuel pump recently was installed.

“Evidently there was sediment in the tank and because it was a stronger pump, it was pulling that,” she told the board. “So that started tripping the breakers.”

The tank was cleaned, but the breakers continued to trip. City workers found there was some damage to the new pump.

Another new pump was being installed Friday morning.

Over the past few days some pilots have diverted to other regional airports for fuel, said Taylor Newman of Crystal Air, the airport’s contract operator.

Ms. DeVault commended the City Public Works Department for its quick action.

“It’s been sort of a comedy of errors,” she said. “But when things like this happen, I feel like Public Works is working just for us. At least that’s the way it seems.”

Ms. DeVault said the lesson to be applied when the new airport is built is keeping a systematic maintenance schedule for equipment such as the fuel tank. That action has already been taken, Ms. Malone said.

In other business, authority member Lou Patten said most of the permit process is complete now to be able to accept $8 million in grants toward construction of the new airport.

The authority hopes to have bid packages out by August.

Members also learned that their telephone listing in the white pages of the phone book is wrong. It will be corrected in the new book, they said.