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TPAC to consider adopting county transportation needs assessment; airport extension flagged as uncertain
Summary
Public Works asked TPAC to adopt a county transportation needs assessment derived from an October report by Stantec; staff said a previously-budgeted $5 million airport item in Penny 1 may not proceed in the Penny 2 timeline and that a runway extension would require environmental review.
Richland County Public Works Director Michael Maloney told the Transportation Pending Advisory Committee that staff will ask TPAC next month to adopt the county transportation needs assessment based on a Stantec report and that a previously planned airport-related Penny 1 allocation may be uncertain for Penny 2.
Maloney said the county received the Stantec report on Oct. 14 and used it in developing the referendum principles document. He asked committee members to review the full needs-assessment document, which he said is large (about 19 MB) and can be emailed or printed for members. "What we'd like to do with this is ... adopt the entire needs assessment," Maloney said.
On a separate item, Maloney described the county airport (the downtown/Columbia airport) and said earlier discussions with the FAA explored extending the runway by "4, 5, 600 feet" (as described in the meeting record). He said the runway extension would require major environmental documents before any work could begin and that Penny 1 included a $5,000,000 allowance tied to an access road around a potential expansion. Maloney said the county does not foresee that runway extension occurring in the next five years under the Penny 1 timeline, and that no specific Penny 2 airport allocation has been identified yet; taxiway improvements and drainage work are immediate priorities.
Maloney said staff will seek outside counsel guidance about whether Penny funds can be used for the airport-area transportation items being discussed, emphasizing that the county is focused on transportation-related improvements (runway, taxiway, landing pads) rather than building security or fencing. He asked TPAC members to expect an action item next month after members have had several weeks to review the materials.
No formal vote occurred at the meeting; staff indicated it will circulate the needs-assessment document and a summary of airport-related options in the coming week so TPAC can act at its next meeting.
