Some 40 people with inside knowledge of the Charlotte airport and the effort to strip it from city control have been interviewed at length by a consultant hired to review the issue. Now, that consultant – Bob Hazel – wants your opinion.
The public is invited to weigh-in during a hearing at 7 p.m. tonight at city hall. Hazel plans to provide a brief overview of the $150,000 study the city is paying him to do, but says his goal at the hearing is just to listen.
"Basically my view is this is an input session only," says Hazel. "I’m not going to answer questions about best-practices in airport governance because those are the questions of the final report and that's where they will be addressed."
The final report is due May 1, after which state lawmakers say they'll resume debate on a measure to create a regional oversight authority to for the Charlotte airport. The measure has already passed the state senate against opposition from Charlotte city council members and Mayor Anthony Foxx. They hired Hazel to look into the motivation for the bill and what it might mean for the airport.
About half of the nation's 20 largest airports are run by authorities, with the other half operating as a department of local government, like Charlotte.
AIRPORT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday, April 16
7 - 8:30 p.m. Room 267, Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center
Submit comments online at http://airportstudy.charlottenc.gov
