CLEVELAND, Tenn. — As site work enters its second month at the new city airport site, people who live in the area still have questions.
The curious had a chance to question the construction manager and engineers during an informal meeting Wednesday organized by the Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority.
“We thought we would have these informal meetings just to let everybody know what’s going on,” Airport Authority Chairwoman Lynn DeVault said.
The city already has held the legally required public hearings, but the site is changing rapidly now, she said.
The questions ranged from the general, such as zoning actions already taken and whether local taxes will be affected, to the technical, concerning precautions to protect Little Chattata Creek and an unnamed tributary.
Part of the work involves moving a portion of Tasso Road and a section of Little Chattata Creek.
Ronnie Fitzgerald with PDC Consultants, the project engineers, said Wednesday was the 44th day of a 180-day site preparation contract for Wright Brothers Construction.
To protect from water runoff, there are seven sediment detention ponds on site. The ponds are lined with grass and have skimmers to trap sediments. Monitors are in place in nearby creeks.
“We don’t want anything to leave the site,” Mr. Fitzgerald said, adding that the ponds will probably be filled in when the construction ends.
But some questioners remain skeptical.
Erin Fuller, an independent candidate for county mayor in the Aug. 5 election, asked where future runoff will go from impervious surfaces such as the runway, parking lots and roofs.
“Ten acres may be the runway area, but there’s more impervious surface than that,” she said.
BY THE NUMBERS* 304: Total acres owned by airport authority* 70: Airport site acreage* $5.6 million: Phase 1 construction costSource: Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority
The construction officials said the relocated section of Little Chattata is designed to deal with more water than the existing creek.
Construction officials admitted they have encountered more subsurface rock than expected. They said residents up to a quarter-mile from the site have been notified of blasting, which has been occurring.
Ms. DeVault reassured those present that the airport will not affect local property or sales taxes. The city will sell its present airport, Hardwick Field, when the new airport is done, she said.
Some communities across the country have not been able to come up with local funds to match federal funds, she said, and that could mean the second phase of site preparation in Cleveland could begin sooner than expected this summer.
Bradley County Commission candidate Pam Edgemon asked about the cost of the airport. The Phase One work is budgeted for $5.6 million, she was told.
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