Airport's terminal will be replaced

STAFFORD — Airport officials announced Tuesday that they are going to replace the terminal building that was damaged by the same May 8 tornado that devastated portions of the England Run North neighborhood.

The F2 tornado, with maximum winds of 157 mph, did not directly hit the airport, but did rain debris onto the roof of the terminal, which clogged the building’s gutter system, according to Ed Wallis, manager of Stafford Regional Airport.

The clogged pipes allowed more than two inches of rainwater to accumulate inside the terminal building. The water then seeped behind walls and caused a dangerous black mold to form over a 24-hour period, according to Wallis. The insurance companies deemed the damage too expensive to repair.

The news came at the monthly Stafford Regional Airport Authority meeting, which was relocated to the Stafford County Administration Center for the second month in a row due to the water damage.

The insurance company that covers the terminal building has agreed to replace the entire structure with a new permanent triple-wide trailer, which could be positioned behind the old terminal site.

Wallis told the airport board members the authority would have to front the initial cost of $11,000 to $12,000 replace the trailer, and then be reimbursed the money by the insurance companies.

The money would go to pay for foundation laying, utility hook-ups and moving costs.

Insurance companies informed the airport it would be responsible for managing the terminal's replacement, according to Wallis.

“I absolutely need help," Wallis told authority members. “The airport has grown beyond the point where it is a one-man show.”

The details of the replacement are still being worked out at this time, and no date of completion has been set, according to Wallis.

William George, the regional airport's treasurer did not publicly release his monthly financial report at the Tuesday meeting due to a communication failure at the airport. George cited an e-mail problem, and said he did not receive the monthly financial statements in time for the meeting.

Wallis said that all landline phones and Internet failed at the airport Monday, leaving pilots to file flight plans by cell phone. All other airport business was also conducted over cell phones.

“Safety was never an issue during the glitch. We had an emergency communications plan in place,” said Wallis.

The airport's communication system works on a voice-over IP protocol, meaning the telephone lines and Internet lines are shared.

“We should never not be able to communicate. This is a serious issue,” said Desi Arnaiz, the airport authority board member from Prince William County.

Arnaiz was also vocal about the installation of new security lighting in the airport’s parking lot.

Wallis told the board the airport is in line to receive $300,000 to install eight light poles that would hold up to 16 lights to illuminate the parking lot after dark.

The installation of the new lights has been on the authority's agenda since the beginning of the year, and Arnaiz said he feels the contractor hired to do the job, Campbell and Paris, could be slowing the project.

“I don’t care if Campbell and Paris get a dime, if they’re holding up the project,” said Arnaiz.

Wallis said recent negotiatons between the contractor and the state on the proper installation of the lights are the reasons for the delay.