Taking the airport? Backer says bill offers a choice

The St. Mary Parish Council may soon have a decision to make about how Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport is governed.
HB 743, introduced by state Rep. Vincent St. Blanc III, R-Franklin, offers the opportunity to create the Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport District. A seven-member board of commissioners would assume “control and management” of the Patterson-area airport now effectively in the hands of St. Mary Parish government.
Creating the district would require the approval of the St. Mary Parish Council and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The bill passed the House 88-2 April 20 and, as of Tuesday, was awaiting action in the Senate Highways, Transportation and Public Works Committee.
The proposal has already caused some consternation at the parish level. At the April 22 Parish Council meeting, the bill was described as taking the airport away from parish government.
But that’s not the case, said state Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin.
Allain pointed to commissions that oversee the Houma-Terrebonne and Acadiana Regional airports. Those commissions are in position to take advantage of programs and grants that could help the airport, Allain said.
He depicted the bill as one way to move the parish forward in light of recent economic development initiatives.
“Everybody’s talking about what changes we can make,” Allain said.
In any case, the Parish Council can reject creation of the airport district if it chooses, he said.
Parish President Sam Jones said he wants to examine the bill before taking a position. Jones, a former state representative, said he was surprised by the way the proposal was handled.
“Usually when you do stuff like this, you talk to the local people,” Jones said.
As a practical matter, at least as far as the FAA is concerned, the airport is already owned by the state. The FAA’s description of the airport lists its owner as “the state of Louisiana.”
It appears to be another case, like voting administration and criminal justice, in which the parish is a provider of a state service.
The same FAA description lists the manager of the airport as “Paul J. Governak.” The parish’s chief administrative officer is Paul J. Governale.
Under the terms of the bill now awaiting action, whether to levy taxes would be up to the Parish Council.
The council would also appoint the seven commissioners. The commissioners must be residents of St. Mary and “have experience in aviation, business, accounting, finance, marketing, engineering, law, real estate, economic development, management, or another field of value to operation of the airport.”
The district’s commission would be given “exclusive responsibility to study and plan any improvements, expansion, or enhancements that affect the airport and commission planning, engineering, economic, and other studies to provide information for making decisions about the location, design, management, and other features of the airport or airport facilities.”