BENTONVILLE -- Events that could draw crowds to the municipal airport have been canceled or placed on hold until the city develops a policy on what's permissible at the facility.
This includes Sheep Dog Impact Assistance's annual Patriot Day, which was held at the municipal airport the past two years. The organization will hold this year's event Sept. 10 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The family friendly event honors the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and gives people the opportunity to thank first responders and military personnel for their service while getting an up-close look at military and emergency response vehicles and equipment. It includes various activities and demonstrations.
Money raised through concession sales and private donations are used to help feed military and first responders at Thanksgiving, said Lance Nutt, president and founder of Sheep Dog.
The event initially was held in Rogers but moved to the Bentonville airport in 2014 so it could incorporate more aviation, Nutt said.
The event doubled in size from 2014 to 2015. Last year, there were 4,000 attendees, and about $10,000 was raised.
City officials told Nutt the event couldn't be at the airport this fall because there wasn't a policy to govern who could hold what events there, Nutt said.
Policy wanted
The need for a policy has nothing to do with Sheep Dog or anything they have done, said Ben Peters, airport manager.
It hasn't been one event or one issue, but the number and scale of events that have made city officials desire a policy, he said.
There were 12 to 15 events, including car and aircraft shows, in the works this year, Peters said. There wasn't anything planned at the airport three to four years ago.
Dave Powell, owner of Summit Aviation, the fixed-base operator at the airport, referred questions regarding events scheduled to Peters.
Holding events that don't meet guidelines could cause the city to become ineligible to receive FAA money, Mayor Bob McCaslin said.
Bentonville needs an event policy in place so it doesn't allow, intentionally or by default, events that could compromise the airport's ability to get FAA money for different projects, he said.
An airport using federal money may not close so it can be used for "special outdoor events, such as sports car races, county fairs, parades, car testing, model airplane events, etc. without FAA approval," according to the FAA Airport Compliance Manual.
The manual outlines certain kinds of events the FAA would support as long as the airport can remain in operation and safety is maintained. There are also conditions needing to be met in situations where part of the airport could be closed for an "unusual event of local significance."
Other cities
Springdale, Rogers and Fayetteville don't have written policies regarding events at their airports.
Someone renting a hangar at the Springdale Municipal Airport is permitted to hold an aviation-related event in that hangar, said Melissa Reeves, Springdale public relations director.
Anyone else wanting to hold an event must contact the Airport Commission, which takes requests on a case-by-case basis, Reeves said.
Rogers Executive Airport doesn't have a written policy largely because it operates as an international airport, Mayor Greg Hines said. The airport is one of three international airports in the state and is host to Wal-Mart's aviation fleet.
Events aren't held at the airport because they likely would interfere with its business operations, Hines said.
Fayetteville Municipal Airport uses the FAA guidelines, which essentially state nonaeronautical events aren't permissible, director Johnny Roscoe said.
"Some airports allow it, but they're really not supposed to," he said. "The sole purpose of the airport is to support aeronautical activities."
The FAA would have to approve any nonaeronautical activity even if a city had its own policy, he added.
Phone and email messages left for Lynn Lunsford with FFA public affairs weren't returned by Friday.
Roscoe said he's had to refuse some requests -- things such as tire testing on the runway -- because they don't have anything to do with aviation.
The airport does, however, host aeronautical activities. This weekend the American Yankee Association will fly in with 50 to 75 small airplanes and hold a conference at the Fayetteville airport.
"That is a perfect example of an aeronautical event that can happen at an airport," Roscoe said.
Vision for the airport
The need for a policy came as "somewhat of a surprise" to Bill Burckart, a member of the Bentonville Airport Advisory Board and City Council.
The Airport Advisory Board has worked diligently the last six to eight years to promote the airport and grow events to draw the general public, he said.
Board members have continuously discussed the airport's long-term vision is to become a city amenity holding events of interest to the general public. They have touted Sheep Dog Impact Assistance's Patriot Day as an event doing just that.
The vision is to make it uniquely Bentonville, Burckart said.
"It all sounds good," McCaslin said of the vision. "But we have to remember that we're an airport, and there's going to be a difference between an airport and a park."
There can still be growth in public interest while there's a continued focus on aviation, but the airport will not have mixed uses, he said.
"We have to walk a fine line and balance those things," McCaslin said.
The board was unaware of the recommendation for a policy to be developed until it was the reason Sheep Dog couldn't hold its event at the airport this year.
"I honor his (Nutt's) surprise and apologize for the short notice and the inability for him to hold the event," Burckart said. "I wish them all the success."
Burckart said his guess on why a policy was needed would be the airport's growth and the city's desire to have a clear policy on what's permissible before moving forward.
Putting events on hold until a policy is developed is a temporary obstacle to the long-term vision, Peters said.
"That's really the reason for getting this policy in place, so that we can do it, and we can do it in a controlled manner that's going to be good for the airport and good for the community," he said.
No timeline set
There's no tentative timeline on when events will be permissible at the airport.
Only events "clearly aviation-related" and would be allowed by the normal rights of use of any airport will be permitted to take place before the policy is adopted, Peters said.
City officials are working with Kaplan, Kirsch & Rockwell -- a consulting firm in Colorado with aviation experience -- on several tasks including creating an event policy for the airport, McCaslin said.
McCaslin said he couldn't give any time frame on how long it would take.
Burckart said he would like the City Council to have the option to look at a budget adjustment if more money is needed for the policy to be created in a timely manner.
"Since so many (in the) private and public sector have worked so many years to bolster the awareness of the general aviation airport, it could truly be a setback if we cancel everything and we don't have a determining end time frame on when we could let these event participants know on whether we're either on or off for next year," he said.
This year's event
This year's Patriot Day was to include a mini air show. It also has special significance as it is the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and is the centennial of the Marine Corps Forces Reserves.
The Marines are celebrating the momentous year in only 10 cities in the country, and Bentonville was one until Patriot Day was prohibited to be at its airport, Nutt said.
Little Rock "is bending over backward" to welcome Sheep Dog and its Patriot Day, Nutt said.
Yet, he said he's concerned the event won't raise as much money at a new location, which will directly impact the people the organization serves.
He said he would consider bringing the event back to Bentonville if certain conditions were met, one being a written guarantee Patriot Day could be held at the airport for five consecutive years.
NW News on 06/19/2016