Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/621048
DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 5, 2016 UCW 9 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville Regional Airport Direc- tor Brad Whited calls a construction project at the 47-year-old Fayetteville Regional Airport "a major makeover." It's the largest and most expensive undertaking since the airport's con- struction in 1969. Construction of Con- course B and expansion of ticketing and baggage wings took place nearly 30 years ago. Smaller improvements were accomplished in subsequent years. Now, the time has come for a new Concourse A. Construction should be underway by this time next year, according to Whited. It will include removal of Con- course A which was part of the original airport building. The replacement con- course will be a modern two-level ad- dition similar to the newer Concourse B. Three older jet ways will be replaced by six new jet bridges, eventually, to serve seven gates. A 20-foot addition to the front of the terminal will include "two new escalators, two new elevators and two new stairways to the second level," said Whited. The passenger screening checkpoint will be modernized to provide for two lanes available to the TSA. Renovation of the airline ticket wing, moving TSA baggage screening to the back side of ticketing with a modern new system, plus new and additional rest rooms throughout the terminal are included. Upgraded electrical, water and HVAC sys- tems will be installed along with a new sprinkler system. "It took us several years to get on this (federal funding) list, and when combined with our annual (FAA) entitlement, will provide $26 million dollars for the project," added Whited. The entire cost is estimated at $34 million. Airport reserves and revenues will make up the difference. No local tax money is involved. Whited expects the construction project to take about two years. It will be done in nine phases. Day-to-day airport operations will continue during construction. American Airlines (formerly US Airways), Delta and United provide 17 daily flights from Fayetteville to Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. The Fayetteville Regional Airport serves a 12-county area in Southeastern North Carolina along the I-95 corridor. The airport opens daily at 3:30 a.m. and closes briefly following the last flight of the day; airline ticket counters reopen at 4:30 a.m. A USO facility on the second level is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The passenger terminal offers Smarte Cartes, an ATM machine, wireless Internet access, a café, vending machines, rental car counters, video games and shoeshine service. Other services include rental cars and taxi cabs. Expansion of Fayetteville Airport Moves Forward by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS There's an old saying that the wheels of government turn slowly. Nine months ago, a house at 4705 Belford Road at corner of Glensford Drive in Montclair was badly burned by fire. When the new Glensford Drive extension to Raeford Road was opened by the North Carolina Department of Transportation last month, mo- torists could see that house sitting on a hill overlooking the Belford Drive round- about, creating an eyesore. When the home owner failed to make repairs, the City of Fayetteville stepped in to enforce the code. Fayetteville Code Enforcement Manager Bart Swanson searched the record for Up & Coming Weekly and found that Code Inspector James Rutherford spent a lot of time trying to resolve the issue and get the house torn down. Rutherford recorded "20 major steps that were taken," said Swanson. Rutherford's findings are that the fire occurred on March 27 of this year. Flames went through the roof before firefighters could respond, and the modest ranch- style house was a total loss. The process taken by the city to remove the house is exhausting to follow, but it's all required by law. The file was opened within a week after the fire, on April 2. The inspector gave the home owner time to file insurance and receive a settlement. Eight weeks later on May 26, the house was formally inspected by the city and declared dangerous. On May 28, a title search was requested. And on June 6, the title search came back showing the identity of the owner. A month or so later, the city held a hearing to address the dangerous building declaration. The record shows that the home owner failed to appear. The hear- ing notice had not been served on the owner, so another hearing date was set for July 15. Again, the owner failed to appear. The next day an order was issued advising the home owner to repair the house or have it razed. He was given 60 days to do so. In mid-September, the property was inspected again. The owner had failed to comply with the order to take action. Less than two weeks later, a proposed demo- lition ordinance was taken before Fayetteville City Council. It passed, and Mayor Nat Robertson signed the document on Sept. 29. At the same time, funds were allocated for the demolition. According to Hometown Demolition Contractors of Fayetteville's website, residential demolitions can cost upwards of $4 thousand to as much as $14 thousand depending on a number of variables. A lien is placed on the property to recover the cost. On Oct. 9, the demolition ordinance was recorded in the owner's property documents file at the Cumberland County Register of Deeds. A couple of days later, a letter was sent to the owner advising him to remove personal property so that an asbestos inspection could be made. That inspection was done and a report was returned to the city four days later. Demolition bid re- quests were sent out on Nov. 20 and the code enforcement division received bids and issued a purchase order to the company with the lowest bid. A demolition order was issued on Nov. 30. The contractor got a permit to proceed with the demolition, and according to Fayetteville Planning and Code Enforcement Director Scott Shuford, the house should soon come down. Code Enforcement Is a Process by JEFF THOMPSON