The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Operations Committee reviewed a consultant's noise and emissions analysis of the proposed Sky Harbor Eastside Aviation Development at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) and voted to defer formal consideration of the related lease award to the Nov. 10 Board of Commissioners meeting, with a prior stop at the operations committee.

Hunter Hines (county staff) introduced the presentation and said the analysis focuses on adding hangars to base about 16 aircraft at PDK. Gene Bridal, vice president at Harris, Miller, Miller & Hanson (HMMH), described the technical memorandum and modeling approach. HMMH used actual 2022 flight tracks for single-event analysis and relied on a Sky Harbor 2023 analysis to estimate how many repositioning flights might be eliminated if up to eight hangars and local basing reduced repositioning operations.

HMMH modeled noise using the FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool and reported the Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL). The consultant said eliminating roughly half of the estimated repositioning flights would reduce the DNL contours by about 3 decibels and that forecast emissions would decline proportionally under the study's assumptions. HMMH also presented single-event Sound Exposure Level (SEL) results showing repositioning flights produce longer, lower-altitude exposure patterns compared with typical departures and arrivals. The memorandum is dated March 6; HMMH told commissioners it used 2022 flight-track data and the Sky Harbor 2023 repositioning counts for consistency.

Several commissioners said the presentation materials lacked readable axis labels, keys and source dates. Commissioner Robert Patrick asked why the March 6 memo was presented seven months after its date and sought a clearer explanation of the underlying data. Commissioner Ted Terry and Commissioner Bolton asked for more time to review technical charts and recommended one-on-one or small-group briefings with staff and the consultant. Commissioners also asked staff to prepare a layperson-friendly version of the maps and graphs for public view.

After discussion, Commissioner Robert Patrick moved to postpone formal action on agenda item 231331 (RFP 22500625, Eastside Aviation Development multiyear lease at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport) to the Nov. 10 Board of Commissioners meeting with a prior stop at the operations committee; the motion passed on an aye voice vote. Patrick also announced a tentative town hall scheduled for the 27th would be postponed while commissioners review the material and meet with staff.

County staff said they will meet individually with commissioners who request a briefing, then return an updated, more fully annotated presentation to the operations committee. Staff said the full air-quality and noise study for PDK is under contract and scheduled for completion before the contractor's extended date of June 30, 1926, as approved earlier by the Board of Commissioners.

No final lease award or contract was approved at the meeting; the committee deferred the matter to the Nov. 10 Board of Commissioners meeting so commissioners could receive additional briefings and clearer documentation for public review.