RICHLANDS, N.C. -- Representatives from Richlands will go before the Onslow County Board of Commissioners on Monday to ask why the county wishes to shift security responsibility at Albert Ellis Airport from Richlands police to the Onslow County Sheriff's Department.
Gregg Whitehead, the town administrator of Richlands, wrote a letter to interim county manager Alvin Barrett on March 1 asking for the matter to be placed on the agenda for Monday's meeting. Whitehead said it was the Board of Commissioner's prerogative to choose who they want to guard the airport, considering it's owned by the county.
"At the same time, if we haven't done anything wrong and we're not costing the taxpayers money, what's the issue?" Whitehead said. "We've been there. We have the experience, we have the training, we have the knowledge."
According to the contract, the agreement between Onslow County and the Transportation Security Administration was renewed in October of last year and extends through September. It totals $128,209.90, which is reimbursable by the TSA.
In June 2003, the county made an agreement with Richlands to subcontract airport law enforcement duties. That contract was later extended through September 2004.
Since then, no new contract has been drawn and Richlands has been providing security "in good faith." When the matter of the new contract was brought before the Board of Commissioners in February, Commissioner Joe McLaughlin suggested renewing the contract only through June 30, because he thought it was an appropriate time for a transition of airport duties from the Richlands police to the Sheriff's Department.
The commissioners voted 3-1 to only renew the contract through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year, an amount totaling $95,893. Board Chairman Lionell Midgett voted against the measure, and Commissioner Delma Collins was absent from the meeting.
Whitehead said he is concerned for the four members of the Richlands Police Department that were hired primarily for airport security. "It's not about the contract as much as it is the four people whose lives are affected," he said. "I'm more concerned about them. It would be unfortunate if we have to lay off four county residents over something that they don't know about."
Whitehead said he just wants an explanation. "I believe the town is owed that," he said. "We've been operating without reimbursement since October, yet we are being canceled for no apparent reason. Not just the Richlands people, but the whole county should know why."
McLaughlin said that with the airport's growth, the Sheriff's Department is better able to handle the responsibility.
"I think the sheriff is better positioned, with manpower and training," he said. "This burden it probably creates for Richlands is probably one they are happy to get rid of. If there's an emergency, who's in the best position to back it up?
"My main motive is to try to do what is in the best interest of the airport, the mission of security and the county," he said. "I'm surprised about why this contract went to Richlands in the first place. It's a county airport and a county responsibility." One question is whether the Sheriff's Department can handle the added duties without hiring new deputies. Sheriff Ed Brown said personnel matters will be dealt with if and when his office takes over responsibility for airport security.
"I'll need the commissioners to tell me they want me to do the security at the airport, then we'll deal with that issue afterward," Brown said. McLaughlin said that if new positions were available, he would think the Richlands police who currently guard the airport would be prime candidates for jobs with the county.
"Sheriff Brown is a compassionate man, so I would think those people, if they can't stay with the Richlands Police Department, will be considered on the same footing as other candidates or even greater footing for those positions," he said.
McLaughlin said the transition is the best for the airport's future. "It's not a situation that Richlands has done a bad job, but as our airport grows and matures, it will probably have its own security in the future," he said. "I see this as an interim step toward that." The Board of Commissioners is not united on this front. Midgett said that Jerry Vickers, the airport director, told him he was satisfied with the security service at the airport.
"I have a philosophy: Why try to fix something that's not broken?" he said.
