A proposal that has floated around for several years regarding a drag strip in Jefferson County may begin getting some traction with the recommendation by the Pine Bluff Traffic and Aviation Committee that the City Council form a committee to study the feasibility of such a project.
Also, if a proposal presented by a UAPB professor to the committee on Tuesday can gain some altitude, high school students in the area could begin receiving flight training with the help of aviation simulators.
Committee Chairwoman Joni Alexander said her intention for scheduling the Traffic and Aviation Committee meeting in person Tuesday was to discuss the issue of a drag strip in more depth, hoping that representatives of those in the community interested in a drag strip would attend the meeting. At last month's committee meeting, Alderman Ivan Whitfield asked that the discussion begin again.
"The mayor mentioned that she would like to go back and talk about one of the things we talked about last year about a race track," Whitfield said at the Sept. 15 Traffic and Aviation Committee meeting. "I want to know if, at your next meeting, if you'll permit that discussion to start back, and maybe we'll have some people here to speak on it."
Whitfield was absent from the meeting Tuesday, but Alexander said she would like the idea to be explored more in depth than her committee would be able to do.
"My recommendation is that a committee do this, form a recommendation for the Traffic and Aviation Committee, bring it back to us, and we can move on from there," Alexander said.
Alderman Win Trafford said he is in favor of such an idea but that a drag strip to be located inside the city would require a change in state law. He said he also favored the idea of a committee being formed to examine the issue, look into legislative remedies, study funding and try to elicit buy-in from potential investors.
"I think it would be great for that to come to fruition," said Trafford. "I've spoken with Council Member Whitfield about it as well and right now, unless the Legislature changes things, it can't be in the city of Pine Bluff, so we're basically discussing something that is not an option for our city."
Trafford said if legislative changes could be made and land found outside the city where noise would not be an issue, it might be possible to move forward on the idea.
"If the right land could be found outside the city limits where it would not be a noise issue, I believe we would want to find a way to annex that land into the city once things got changed in the state Legislature," he said. "We want it to be a part of our city, and we think it's a great idea, but, yeah, I think this [Traffic and Aviation] committee is not where it all gets decided."
"I think we've been talking about it a lot so it's time to formalize a plan," Alexander said. "I don't think that burden should be on the committee. I think another committee should be formed to study it."
Larry Reynolds, director of the Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, said a set of plans for such a project had been taken to his office several years ago that outlined some of the hurdles, and mapped out strategies to try and move past those hurdles.
"I've made copies for tons of people," Reynolds said, adding that he could make copies of the plan available to the Traffic and Aviation Committee. But, Alexander said, the idea was not formed sufficiently with her committee to try and move forward.
"We're not organized," she said. "We've been getting people to speak about how enthusiastic they are about it, but there's been no plan presented or pursued. I think a committee of, say, nine members to focus on different areas, whether that be legislators, investors, regulations, I think that would be the first step to it."
Reynolds said he had distributed the plan in his office several years ago to the committee, including Whitfield when he chaired Traffic and Aviation, prompting Pine Bluff Municipal Airport Director Doug Hale to note that the plan he had seen involved using farmland adjacent to the airport that is owned by the airport.
"As far as the FAA and drag strips go, that's not something they encourage," Hale said, "That farmland generates revenue for us, so if it were to be used for that purpose, it would have to generate more than it is currently generating in revenue as farmland in a lease for a drag strip, but it would also have to be approved by the FAA, ... and I'll just tell you I think that's a no sale."
"I don't think that location's even on the table anymore," Trafford said.
"Well, I just wanted to mention it because it would be a tough sell if it were to be pursued," Hale responded.
Alexander and Trafford approved sending a resolution to explore the formation of a committee to study the drag strip issue to the full council for consideration.
Sederick "Doc" Rice, a professor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff asked the committee for support of a proposal to offer virtual flight simulation training at the four high schools in Jefferson County.
Because of the pandemic and social distancing, Rice said he would like to place five virtual flight training simulators in Pine Bluff High School, Dollarway High School, Watson Chapel High School and White Hall High School.
"We're going to call it the social distancing virtual flight simulation community project," Rice said.
He said he had been in touch with Gleim Aviation, a Florida-based flight training company that offers flight training modules and training to get a cost estimate.
"I just want to give you a heads up on that, because if we set up those flight training modules," Rice said, "I think it will be very important in getting our students engaged in flight aviation and training."
The proposed cost of the simulators and installation, Rice said, is about $80,000. He said he is currently negotiating the cost of the flight simulation instruction itself with Gleim.
Hale said he had talked to UAPB and SEARK several years ago about offering flight training, but said the cost of equipment and insurance to provide such training had made it unfeasible.
"Aircraft ownership is very expensive, and when you [have] students in there for flight training, insurance goes through the roof," he said. "That kind of squashed that for our local education institutions."
However, Hale noted that three nearby options, Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., and Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La., are available for student seeking flight training.
Alexander suggested Rice talk to the city's grant writer for assistance in writing grants for funding for the project. She also suggested Go Forward Pine Bluff as a potential supporter of his proposal.
"I think it's a great idea," she said. "What else can the city do to help you?"
Rice said a letter expressing support or endorsement from the city would provide him with additional clout when seeking funders.
"Really, just sharing the resources and helping us know who to reach out to," he said. "The more people we have involved the more teeth we have and long term, I think it will work."