The Port of Little Rock will spend almost $1.2 million to help transport a new aircraft navigation aid that will eventually free up nearly 1,000 acres of port land for economic development.
The money will be used to break down, transport and store a new radio beacon at the port until a new site for it is ready, Bryan Day, the port executive director, said Wednesday.
The navigation aid is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide network of VHF Omni Directional Radio Range stations, commonly called VORs.
The beacons are slowly being phased out because of new technology, but the FAA wants to keep a few operating as a backup. The beacon at the port also is important to Little Rock Air Force Base, which is a worldwide training facility for the Lockheed C-130 military transport aircraft.
The port needed to commit the money under the third memorandum of understanding between the port and the FAA, which has agreed to work with the port to move the navigation aid.
The agreement "actually brings the VOR cone to Little Rock," Day told members of the Little Rock Port Authority's board, which unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Day to enter into the agreement.
"My hope is by this time next year, that we have possession of the property, we're putting infrastructure in place -- utilities, fiber optic lines, roads -- and the cone will be relocated," he said.
The new navigation aid, its computers and electronics will be stored in the port's Foreign Trade Zone warehouse, Day said. The actual cone will be stored inside the fence surrounding the warehouse.
Once this phase of the project is completed, "it'll have it basically ready to pick up and move to the site and turn on," Day added.
Board member Joe Bailey asked Day what the chances are that the FAA will pick up any of the costs.
In addition to the $1,178,872 authorized in Wednesday's action, the port has committed $100,000 for basic engineering -- just $40,000 has been spent, according to Day -- and $90,000 to conduct an environmental study of the new site, which is a 140-acre tract off Interstate 440 in North Little Rock the port purchased for $450,000 earlier this year. The environmental review is underway, Day said.
Day said it's possible the federal agency could pick up some expenses. The U.S. Senate transportation bill has more than $3 million set aside for the costs of relocating the navigation aid, he said. The bill still needs to pass the U.S. House and be signed by President Donald Trump.
Day estimates the total cost of relocating the equipment to be $6 million.
Day said he and Jay Chesshir, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, are scheduled to go to Washington next month to meet with members of the state's congressional delegation to discuss the bill.
The current beacon sits on a 55-acre tract within the port's industrial park. Rules governing the operation of a navigation aid don't permit heavy industrial development around it. It will be dismantled after the new beacon in North Little Rock is operating.
A new location would free up the surrounding property at the port for development of a potential shovel-ready "super site" that would be big enough to accommodate a heavy manufacturing company, such as a vehicle manufacturer.
The nearly $1.2 million will be paid from the port's real estate account, which contains about $2 million, Day said.
The account is separate from the port's operating budget. The 2020 operating budget the board adopted Wednesday projects total revenue of $3.6 million, $3 million in expenses, which would leave the port with a $600,000 surplus.
Board member Bobby Brown called the budget "very conservative."
The port had a surplus of $1.7 million through October.
Day agreed that the budget was conservative, but he said it has to be, considering the port relies on Welspun Tubular LLC for up to half of its annual revenue.
Welspun opened on a 740-acre site within the port in 2009. Employing 400 workers, Welspun's $150 million facility can produce up to 350,000 tons of spiral welded pipe annually for the oil and gas industry.
"Welspun is our largest user of rail and river -- while the percentages change every year, they generate about 45-50% of our annual revenue," Day said.
Business on 11/21/2019