May 9, 2012

Mr. Kevin C. Willis

Manager Airport Compliance

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Ave., SW.

Washington, DC 20591

Dear Mr. Willis:

Gwinnett County is in your receipt of your letter dated April 10, 2012 requesting an updated 

timetable on Gwinnett County’s preliminary application in the Airport Privatization Pilot 

Program for Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field, accepted by the FAA on April 26, 2010 

and review completed May 26, 2010. Please accept this response on behalf of Chairman 

Charlotte Nash. We apologize for the oversight and assure you the County has been 

diligently working on this process. 

Please allow us to bring you up to date one what we have done and where we are:

July 8, 2010: Gwinnett County advertises for Request for Qualifications of firms for a 

Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the operations, development and maintenance of 

the Gwinnett County Airport – Briscoe Field

August 16, 2010: Gwinnett County opened three responses to a Request for 

Qualifications (RFQ) from American Airports Corporation, Gwinnett Airport, LLC, and 

Propeller Airports Briscoe Field, Inc. 

October 19, 2010: The Board of Commissioners postponed a decision on requesting 

specific proposals until early 2011. 

April 28, 2011: A special called meeting for the purpose of receiving public comments 

on the issue of airport privatization was held by the Board of Commissioners. No vote 

was held at this meeting. 

May 3, 2011: The Board voted on a motion directing staff to develop guidelines for a 

Request for Proposals (RFP). 

May 17, 2011: The Board authorized a change order with Infrastructure Management 

Group, Inc., (IMG) for assistance with the potential privatization process as part of the 

preliminary application to the FAA Airport Privatization Pilot Program. 

August 23, 2011: Commissioners authorized work to issue an RFP and affirmed a 

commitment to openness and public participation in the process for considering 

privatization of Briscoe Field, including the formation and role of a citizen advisory 

committee. 

August 31, 2011: Gwinnett County entered into a contract with IMG to develop the 

RFP.
Letter to Kevin Willis

May 9, 2012

Page 2

September 20, 2011: The Board met with IMG representatives to discuss the 

privatization process. The consultants recommended separating privatization from 

commercialization and developing the RFP with a short term focus on continued 

operation of Briscoe Field as a general aviation airport. The RFP also would 

consider a long term vision for the airport, which may or may not include scheduled 

commercial service. 

October 4, 2011: Commissioners voted to reject all three SOQ (statement of 

qualifications) responses and expanded the contract with IMG to assist with 

preparing and evaluating the RFP and to maintain contact with the FAA. The Board 

also created the Gwinnett County Airport Privatization Citizen Review Committee 

(APCRC) and began appointing members.

November 8, 2011: The Gwinnett County APCRC held its first meeting.

December 8, 2011: Gwinnett County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit 

proposals from qualified airport management and development firms or consortia for 

a public-private partnership for the lease, operation, and improvement of Gwinnett 

County Airport – Briscoe Field. The deadline for proposal submissions was February 

8, 2012. This procurement process is running parallel with the work of the APCRC. 

February 8, 2012: Gwinnett County opened one RFP response from Propeller 

Airports Briscoe Field, Inc. and evaluation process was begun and is underway. 

The APCRC has met continually (13 times as of 4-30-12). 

As you can see the County and the community have been very active in this process. We 

are not yet at a point to provide you a projected timeframe for next steps including final 

application submission to the FAA. The County respectfully requests an extension on 

submitting this updated timetable for 90 days from the date of this letter so we can 

provide you a reasonable, realistic and accurate schedule. 

We appreciate your consideration in this matter and if you have any questions, please 

contact me at 770.822.7417.

Sincerely,

Martin K. Conroy, P.E.

Director

c: Charlotte J. Nash, Chairman

Glenn P. Stephens, County Administrator