Airport contract remains elusive for city of Albany

ALBANY – A funny thing happened when the Albany City Commission started negotiating a contract with the fixed-base operator at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport. The commission discovered that it had never approved the contract under which the current operator had been working.

That contract dates back to 2010, and now the city wants to do a short-term contract with the company, Eagles of America, in preparation for putting out a bid for a multiyear contract.

“In 2021 the Aviation Commission chairman signed a contract with the fixed-base operator,” City Commissioner Bob Langstaff, who is also an Albany Aviation Commission board member, said. “It was signed to come to the City Commission for approval, and they didn’t do that step. It was never a legal contract.”

That five-year contract came with renewals and, because the City Commission was unaware that it hadn’t been approved, it had not been examined for 14 years.

The improvements at the airport, including a new general aviation building under construction, and the hangars, were behind the impetus to look at the issue, Langstaff said,

“It’s a different airport than it was in 2010,” he said.

The plan now is to prepare a request for proposals seeking bids from around the country, the commissioner said. In the meantime, the commission is looking to sign an interim contract with Eagles of America, which also manages operations at Moultrie Municipal Airport.

Langstaff, who was not on the Airport Commission in 2010, said the company’s bid was the only one tendered at the time.

“They can bid on it (new contract),” he said. “But this time, do it right. Let the whole board ask questions.”

Albany attorney Chris Cohilas, who is representing Eagles of America, said that the two sides are still negotiating but have not worked out a deal acceptable to both sides.

The company currently is providing services on a month-to-month basis.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]