The weeks that follow Thanksgiving may be a time for many to slow down and take it easy, however, there’s no rest for the weary staff and leadership of Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) – even at this time of year.
The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority – the board that oversees the airport – met on Tuesday, Nov. 28, no doubt with the taste of turkey and dressing still in their mouths, and proceeded to undertake a lot of projects on top of the many already going on at PTIA.
At the meeting, the board agreed to enter into a contract with Level Solutions Group, LLC for the company to sell and install computer equipment as part of a half-million-dollar upgrade to the airport’s video surveillance system.
The board also awarded a contract to Mots Landscaping and Lawns LLC to beautify the area around the airport by planting new plants and conducting other landscaping as part of the Airport Authority’s “Plant Replacement Project.”
That project will cost about $110,000 – plus the cost of mulch, which the airport gets at a cost of $45 per cubic yard.
The Airport Authority also approved a contract with RDM International, Inc. to develop an updated Pavement Management Program (PMP) for the airport’s airfield. The Federal Aviation Administration defines a PMP as “a set of defined procedures for collecting, analyzing, maintaining, and reporting pavement data” which “assists airports in finding optimum strategies for maintaining pavements in a safe serviceable condition over a given period for the least cost.”
At the post-Thanksgiving meeting, the Authority also voted to extend PTIA’s retail merchandise concession agreement with Paradies-Triad, LLC until June 30, 2026.
The seven-member board also hired Hamlett Associates, Inc. for a $7.3 million construction project, which will result in a new hanger to serve Causey Aviation. In addition, the board hired Lindsey Architecture, P.C., to provide construction administration services for that project. The estimated cost of that contract is just under $325,000.
Passenger traffic was also a topic at the meeting. There have been a lot of flyers using the airport in recent months due to the holidays and the furniture market in High Point, which Airport Authority Member Bill Bencini said was a success and overall appeared to be well attended.
All this activity comes on the heels of recently completed projects and others that started this year. In recent years, the airport has conducted runway renovations, begun work enhancing the passenger terminal, put in new escalators and security scanners, moved to a high-tech parking system and repaved the area in front of the airport’s terminal.
Projects currently in progress at the airport include the construction of the facility for Boom Supersonic. The contractor on that job has installed the roof and the sheeting on the sides of the facility and is now working on the concrete slabs inside the hangar.
The contractor for Marshall Aerospace has placed stone for the building pad as well as excavated for the foundations, and the NC Department of Transportation is working on new access roads at the airport.
Oh yeah, and PTIA is continuing to build out a giant aviation megasite that has already proven to be a major success.
And when are they going to get a cell phone lot??
Golly gosh, this all sounds simply splendid!
The only part I really understood was the switch to “a high tech parking system”. This means that instead of slipping a Quarter into a parking meter and getting half an hour of parking (enough for dropping off and picking up), now we have to surrender our credit card details, our license plate, and our duration of stay to the authorities who can review all our data, as and when they wish.
And we have to pay the new minimum price… four times the previous price.
If that’s “high tech’, give me back low tech.
Everything “Smart” is extremely stupid.
Just another way to extract more money. Airlines, Banks, Credit card companies, Utilities, and more, teach us how to nickel-and dime us to death.