“'F a

GRAND PRAIRIE, TEX., AIRPORT

y+

"GOV ERNMEN T

.Oh 8/4 storage

H E A R I N G

BEFORE A

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE 

. HOUSE OF REPR ESEN TATIVES

KSU LIBRARIES

□

O'

ru

c

EIGH TY -EIG HT H CONGRESS

FIR ST SESSI ON

OX

H.R. 625 4

B IL L TO A U THO RIZ E T H E CO NV EY AN CE O F CER TAIN REA L 

ROPE RTY OF T H E U N IT ED ST ATE S H ER ETO FO R E GRA NT ED 

O T H E CI TY OF GR AN D P R A IR IE , TEX ., FO R PU BLIC A IR PO R T 

URP OSE S, CONTI NGEN T UP ON ACC EP TA NC E AN D APP RO VAL 

Y T H E D IR ECTO R OF A IR PO RTS, FE D E R A L AVI AT IO N 

GENC Y, AS PR OTECTOR O F T H E IN T ER E STS O F T H E U NIT ED 

ST ATE S, AN D TO CONVEY TO T H E U N IT ED ST ATE S CER TA IN 

R EA L PR O PER TY NO W USE D FO R PU BLIC A IR PO R T PU RPO SES

MAY 15, 1963

20 732

U. S. GO VE RN MEN T PR IN TIN G O FFIC E 

W AS HI NG TO N : 1903
r W'I*

COMMITTEE ON INTE RSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE

ORBN HA R RIS, Arkansas, Chairman

JOHN BEL L WILLIAMS, Mississippi

KENNETH A. ROBERTS, Alabama

HARLEY O. STAGGERS, West Virginia

WALTER ROGERS, Texas

SAMUEL N. FRI EDEL, Maryland

TORBE RT IL MACDONALD, Massachusetts

GEORGE M. RHODES, Pennsylvania

JOHN JARMAN', Oklahoma

LEO W. O’BRIEN , New York

JOHN E. MOSS, California

JOHN 1). DINGELL, Mi higan

PAUL G. ROGERS, Florida

ROBERT W. HEMPHIL L, South Carolina

DAN ROBTENKOWSKI, Illinois

JAMES C. HEALEY, New York

HORACE R. KORNEGAY, North Carolina

W. R. HULL, J r., Missouri

GILLIS W. LONG, Louisiana

LION EL VAN DEERLIN , California

JOHN B. BENNETT, Michigan 

WILLIAM L. SPR ING ER. Illiaoe. 

PAUL F. SCHENCK , Ohio 

J. ARTHUR YOUNGER, California 

MILTON W. GLENN, New Jersey 

SAMUEL L. DEVINE, Ohio 

ANC1IER NELSEN, Minnesota 

HASTINGS KEITH , Massachusetts 

WILLARD S. CUR TIN, Pennsylvania 

ABNER W. SIBAL, Connecticut 

GLENN CUNNING HAM , Nebraska 

JAMES T. BROY11ILL, North Carolina 

DONALD G. BROTZMAN, Colorado

W. E. Williamson, Clerk

Kenneth J. Painter, Assistan t Clerk

Andrew Stevenson

Kurt Borchardt

Professional S taff

Georoe W. P erry

J ames M. Menoer, Jr.

S u bcom m it tee on T r a n spo r ta tio n and A er o n a u tic s

JOHN BELL WILLIAMS, Mississippi, Chairman

SAMUEL N. FRIEDEL, Maryland WILLIAM L. SPR ING ER, Illinois

TORBERT H. MACDONALD, Massachusetts SAMUEL L. DEV INE, Ohio 

JOHN JARMAN , Oklahoma ABNER W. SIBAL, Connecticut

ROBERT W. HEMPHIL L, South Carolina

II
C O N T E N T S •

Page Text of M.R. 6254_________________________________________ j

Report of Federal Aviation Agency__________________________ 2

Statem ent of—

Hart, Louey W., Office of Chief of Engineers, Department of the

Arm y_________________________________________ __ 57

Johnson, Clifford A., city manager, Gran d Prairie, Tex____________ 46 Kelso, Lt. Col. Winchester, Jr., Office of Chief of Legislative Liaison,

Depar tment of the Army____________________________________ 57

Schneider, Douglas, General Counsel’s Office, Federal Aviation

Agency.----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55

Scott, Brig. Gen. James D., assista nt ad jutant general, Texas National Gu ard___________________________________ _________ 53

Spurgeon, Chet, on behalf of Federal Aviation Agency____ ZZZZZZZZ 56 Waggoner, Hon. C. P., mayor, Grand Prairie, Tex________________ 46 Wright, Hon. James C., Jr., a Represe ntative in Congress from the

Sta te of T exas___________________________________________ 1 55 Additional information submitted for the record by—

5 arborough, Hon. Ralph W., a U.S. Senator from the Sta te of Texas,

statem ent of_________________________________________ 5

in

GRAND PRAIRIE, TEX., AIRPOR T

WED NE SD AY , MA Y 15, 196 3

H ouse of R ep re sent at ives,

Subcommittee on T ranspor tation and Aeronautics

of th e C omm ittee on I nte rstate and F oreign C ommerce,

Washington, D.C.

Th e subcom mittee met at 10:20 a.m ., pu rs ua nt to recess, in room

1334, L ongw orth Building, Ho n. Jo hn Bell William s (ch airma n of the 

sub com mittee) presiding.

Mr. William s. Th e comm itte e will pro ceed to con sider th e bill 

intro du ced by our colleague, Mr. W rig ht of T exa s, H.R . 6254, havin g 

to do wi th lan d for an airp or t at Gr an d Pra irie, Tex . Mr. W rig ht, I 

believe you intro du ced one bill and subseque ntly int rodu ced an othe r 

bill.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES C. WRIGHT, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE 

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

Mr. Wrig ht. T hat is exact ly correct, Mr. Ch air ma n.

Mr. William s. D o you have copies of bo th bills?

Mr. Wrig ht. We do have copie s of bo th bills . I believe copies 

have been ma de available for the comm ittee of the origin al bill and 

its successor which is H.R . 6254.

(H .R. 6254 an d the re po rt from the FAA follows:)

H.R . 6254 [8Sth Cong., 1st sess.]

A BIL L To authorize the conveyance of certain real property of the United States heretofore granted to the 

City of Grand Prairie, Texas, for pub lic airpor t purposes, con ting ent upon acceptance and approval by 

the Dire< tor of Airports, Federal Aviation Agency, as p rote ctor of the inte rests of the U nited States, and 

to convey to the United States certain real property now used for pu blic airport purpo ses

Be it enacted by the Sena te and House of Representatives of the United State s of

Am er ica in Congress assembled, T h at, su bje ct to th e pr ov isions of s ec tio n 2 of th is 

Act, th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , Te xa s, sh all be auth ori ze d to co nv ey to t he hi gh es t 

bid der all righ t, ti tl e, and in te re st of su ch ci ty in and to ce rt ai n real pro pert y 

tr ansf err ed to su ch ci ty for pul lie air port pu rp os es by th e U nited Sta te s. Su ch 

real pro pert y co ns ists of a tr a c t of la nd co nt ai ni ng 127.39 ac res, mor e or less, out 

of t h e 19 5.8 2-a cre t ra c t si tu ate d in th e co un ty of Dallas, S ta te of Te xa s, th e e xa ct 

leg al de sc ript io n of which pro pert y is co nt ai ne d in th e de ed date d M ay 22, 1962, 

en te re d in to be tw ee n th e U nited S ta te s as gra nto r, acti ng by and th ro ugh th e 

Sec re ta ry of th e Arm y, and th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , Tex as , as gr an te e.

(b) T h at, su bje ct to th e pr ov isio ns of section 2 of th is Act, th e ci ty of G ra nd 

Pra irie , Tex as , shall he au th ori ze d to co nv ey to th e U nited Sta te s, ac ting by an d 

th ro ugh th e Sec re ta ry of th e Arm y, all righ t, ti tl e, and in te re st of such ci ty in 

and to ce rt ai n real pro pert y tr an sf err ed to su ch ci ty fo r pu bl ic air p o rt pu rp os es 

by th e U ni te d Sta te s. Su ch re al pro pert y co ns ists of a tr a c t of la nd co nt ai ni ng 

65.99 ac res, mor e or less, out of th e 19 5.82-ac re tr a c t si tu ate d in th e co un ty of 

D al la s, S ta te of Te xa s, th e ex ac t leg al de sc ript io n of which pro per ty is co nt ai ne d 

in t h e d ee d date d M ay 22, 1962, e nte re d i nto b etw ee n th e U nited S ta te s a s g ra nt or , 

act in g by an d th ro ugh th e Sec re ta ry of th e Arm y, and th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , 

Tex as , as gr an te e.
2 GRAND PRA IRIE, TE X. , AIRPORT

Sec . 2. (a) The sale re fe rre d to in th e firs t section of th is Act sh all be au th o rized in writ ing by th e D irec to r o f A irpo rts, Fe de ra l A viatio n Ag ency, aft er a cceptan ce an d ap pr ov al by him of su ch w ritten as su ra nc es fro m th e city of G ra nd 

Pr ai rie , Te xa s, as he may de em ap pro pri ate to pro te ct th e in te re st s of t he U ni te d 

S ta te s w ith re sp ec t to th e pr oc ee ds of su ch sal e an d to as su re th a t such pr oc ee ds 

will be used by su ch ci ty s ole ly fo r th e p ur po se o f a cq uir in g r ea l pr oper ty , im pro ving an d op er at in g same for use bv such city as a pu bl ic ai rp ort .

(b) Th e real pr ope rt y ac qu ired un de r auth ori ty of s ub se ction (a) of th is s ec tio n 

sh al l be su bj ec t to su ch term s, ex ce ptions , re se rv at io ns , re st rict io ns , co nd iti on s, 

an d co ve na nt s as th e Dire ctor of Airp or ts, Fe de ra l A vi at io n Ag ency, af te r co nsu ltat io n with th e Se cr et ar y of th e Arm y and th e A dm in is tr at or of th e Fed er al 

Aviation Ag enc y, may deem appro pri ate to assu re th a t su ch pro pe rt y will be 

held an d used by th e city of G ra nd Pra irie , Te xa s, for pu blic air port pu rp os es , 

su bj ec t to th e same term s, ex ce pt ions , re se rv at io ns , re strict io ns , co nd iti on s, an d 

co ve na nt s co ntaine d in th e de ed of M ay 22, 1962, referre d to in th e first section 

of th is Act.

(c) Th e city of G ra nd Pr airie , Te xa s, sh all c on ve y “w ithout m on et ar y co ns id er ation th er ef or ” to th e U ni te d S ta te s, ac ting by and th ro ugh th e Se cr etar y of th e 

Ar my, t h at tr act of la nd c ont ai ni ng 65 .99 acre s, mo re or less, si tu ate d in th e co unty 

of Da lla s, Sta te of Te xa s, as de sc rib ed in su bs ec tio n (b ), section 1, of th is Ac t, th e 

ex ac t legal de scrip tio n of which pro per ty is co nt ai ne d in th e de ed dat ed M ay 22, 

1962, en tere d in to be tw ee n th e U ni te d Sta te s as gr an to r, ac ting by an d th ro ugh 

th e Se cretary of th e Arm y, an d th e ci ty of G ra nd Pr airie , Te xa s, as gr an tee.

Sec . 3. Th e D irec to r of A irpo rts, Fed er al Avi atio n Ag ency, sh all issu e an d ob ­

ta in su ch w ritten in st ru m en ts as m ay be ne ce ssary to ca rr y ou t th e forego ing 

prov isi on s of th is Act.

F ed er al Aviat ion Age nc y,

Off ic e of th e Adm inistr at or,

Washington, D.C., Ma y 2Jt, 1963.

Hon . J ohn Bel l Wil li am s,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Transpo rtati on and Aeronautics,

House of Representatives, Wash ington, D.C.

Dea r C hairm an Wil lia m s: Thi s is in resp on se to yo ur re qu es t for th e vie ws 

of th is Agency on H .R . 625 4, a bil l to au th ori ze th e co nv ey an ce of ce rt ai n real 

pro per ty of th e U nited S ta te s he re to fo re gra nte d to th e ci ty of Gra nd Pr airie , 

Te x., for pu blic a ir port pu rp os es , co nt in gen t up on ac ce pt an ce a nd ap pr ov al by t he 

Dire ct or of Airp or ts, Fe de ra l Aviatio n Ag ency, as pro te cto r of th e in te re st s of 

th e U nited St at es , an d to co nv ey to th e U ni te d S ta te s ce rt ai n real pro pe rt y now 

used for pu blic ai rp ort pu rp os es .

By le tt er of May 13, 1963, we sta te d ou r vie ws re ga rd in g H .R . 5259, th e bill 

for w hich H .R . 6254 is a s ubst it ute . We sta te d in th a t le tt er th a t civil av ia tion at 

Gra nd Pr airie wo uld be be ne fit ed by enactm ent of H .R . 5259, but th a t th e 

Co ng res s ou gh t also to co ns id er th a t pro pert y co nv ey ed un de r section 16 of th e 

Fed er al Airp or t Ac t no rm ally re ver ts to th e U ni te d Sta te s wh en it cea ses to be 

used for airp or t pu rpos es, an d th a t th e bill wo uld allow for disp os al of pro pert y 

ou tsid e th e us ua l su rp lu s pro pert y disp osal ch an ne ls. Th os e co ns id er ations ar e 

ap plicab le also to H .R . 6254.

The new bill prop os es th e sale of on ly 127 ac res an d use of th e proc ee ds for 

ac qu isiti on an d co ns truc tion of a new air por t, whe reas th e original bill pr op os ed 

th e sal e of th e en tire ai rp ort , 195 ac res. The qu es tion now po sed is w he th er th e 

sal e of on e- th ird less pro pert y th an wo uld orig inally ha ve been sold will pr od uc e 

en ou gh mo ney to ac qu ire la nd fo r an co nst ru ct an adeq uat e air port for G ra nd 

Prairie w ith ou t ad di tion al Fe de ra l fund s. The st ate nen t in ou r re po rt on H .R . 

5259 th at th e bill wo uld se rv e th e in te re st s of civil av ia tion at Gra nd Pr ai rie pre ­

su pp os ed th at a new an d b ett er ai rp ort wo uld be bu ilt with th e fund s fro m th e 

sal e of th e old pro per ty a t no ad di tiona l co st to th e Fe de ral Gov er nm en t. T est imo ny on H .R . 6254 in di ca te s th e belie f th a t th e proc ee ds fro m th e sale of on ly 127 

acres will be ad eq uat e to pr ov id e ful ly for a co mpl ete new ai rp ort, but th a t te sti ­

mo ny is based on es tim at es of th e va lue of th e pro per ty to be sol d an d th e est im at es co nt ai n a wide dis pari ty be tw ee n th e m in im um and max im um . Likewi se 

th e cost of la nd at a new si te is on ly es tim at ed . The re fo re , no ve ry prec ise ba sis 

exist s for co nc luding th a t th e proc ee ds fro m th e sale of th e 127 acres will pay fo r 

th e new ai rp or t.

In or de r to as su re th a t th e sal e of th e ex istin g pro pert y will pr ov id e fu lly fo r a 

new and b ett er air port at Gra nd Pra irie , we pr op os e th a t th e bill, in th e ev en t it
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 3

is enac te d by Co ng ress, be am en de d to in co rp ora te th e following as co nd itio ns to 

th e sale:

1. A s ite fo r th e n ew a ir p o rt ha s be en se lected an d th e Fed er al Aviatio n Ag enc y 

ha s de te rm in ed th a t th e si te is ca pa bl e of be ing fu lly de ve lope d as an air port to 

se rv e G ra nd Pra irie , incl ud in g a det er m in ati on th a t th e si te is ac ce pt ab le f ro m an 

ai rs pac e utiliza tion st andpoin t an d th a t it will const it ute a b e tt e r air port f ac ility;

2. The co st of ac qu irin g th e new si te has be en de te rm in ed an d a pl an fo r co nst ru ct io n of fa ci lities ba se d on firm bi ds fo r th e co nst ru ct io n of th os e fa cilit ies 

ac ce pta ble to th e Fed er al A vi at io n Agency has be en de ve lo pe d;

3. Firm bi ds are o bta in ed f or th e 127 a cr es to be sold a nd th e b id to b e ac ce pt ed 

on th e 127 ac re s is re as on ab le in th e op inio n of tw o ap pra is er s, on e ap poin te d by 

th e Fed er al A vi at io n Ag ency an d on e appoin te d by th e city of G ra nd Pra irie, an d 

eq ual to or g re ate r th an th e a m ount ne ce ss ar y to d ev elop t he a ir p o rt in a cc orda nc e 

w ith th e ap pr ov ed pl an ;

4. If th e sale o f th e 127 ac re s pro duc es mor e mon ey th an is ne ed ed to bu y land 

fo r an d bu ild a new air port , th e re m ai nder will be plac ed in a tr u st ac co unt sol ely 

fo r use in th e oper at io n an d m ai nte nan ce of and fu tu re co ns truc tion a t th e new 

air p o rt ; an d th a t if, aft er th e 127 ac re s is sold, it sh ou ld for an y reason de ve lop 

th a t th e mo ne y de rive d fr om th e s ale is in ad equate t o co ve r th e co sts of ac qu irin g 

th e new si te an d const ru ct in g air port fa ci lities th er eo n, th e city of Gra nd Pra irie 

will su ppl y th e mon ey to m ee t th e sh or ta ge an d will not re ques t Fed er al fu nd s 

th er ef or.

O th er am en dm en ts , te ch nic al in natu re , wh ich we wo uld sugg es t:

1. S u b st it u te “A dm in is tr ato r” fo r “ D irec to r of A ir port s” ;

2. Describe th e 127.39 ac re s as co nst it uti ng, with th e 65.99 ac res, th e en tire 

19 5.8 2-acre tr a c t, and in cl ud e a de sc ri ption of th e 65.99 ac re s to be co nv ey ed 

ba ck to th e D ep art m en t of th e Arm y so th a t th e b ill i tself will refle ct w hat p recise 

pa rc el s of la nd ar e to be di ps os ed of in th e di ffer en t way s (it shou ld be no ted 

th a t 65.99 an d 127 .39 do not add up to 195.82. T hi s sh ou ld be c larified an d mo re 

prec ise fig ures i ns er te d in th e b il l) ; a nd

3. E xt in gu ish th e re ve rsion in se ct io n 16 of th e Fed er al A irpo rt Act an d in th e 

de ed of M ay 22, 1962, so th a t G ra nd P ra ir ie ’s ve nd ee of t h e 127 ac res will g et c lea r 

title.

Fin al ly , we em ph as ize th a t no th in g co nt ai ne d in th is re port , or in ou r re port on 

H .R . 525 9, sh ou ld be co ns true d to mea n th a t th is Agenc y ha s de te rm in ed th a t a 

new air port si te is av ai la bl e to se rv e G ra nd Pra irie or th a t an y si te th a t may be 

se lected wou ld be su itab le for dev el op m en t of an air port an d wou ld be ac ce pt ab le 

fro m an airs pa ce ut iliz at io n st andpoin t. Alth ou gh th e su bco m m itte e ha s he ard 

te st im on y on t his bill th a t tw o alt ern ate s ite s ha d been g iven a irsp ac e clea ra nc e by 

th is Ag ency, no f or mal r eq ues t ha s been mad e fo r s uc h clea ra nc e an d no c learan ce , 

fo rm al or info rm al , ha s been giv en . T h at qu es tion , lik e th e oth er av ia tion 

qu es tion s po sed by co ns truc tion of an ad ditio nal air port a t ( Ir an d Pr airie , can be 

adequate ly co ns idered on ly aft er lo ca tio n of th e new air port ha s be en de te rm in ed 

and th e pr op os al ha s been ci rc ul at ed in ac co rd an ce w ith p art 157 of th e Fe de ra l 

Aviation Reg ulat ions .

The follo wi ng am en dm en ts of H .R . 6254 will ac co m m od at e th e su gg es tio ns 

mad e ab ov e:

Cha ng e “ D irec to r of A irpo rt s” to “ A dm in is tr ato r” w he re ve r foun d.

Dn lin e 5 of pa ge 1 de lete “ to t he hi gh es t bid der .”

Dn pa ge 2, lin e 3, de lete “ out of ” an d su b sti tu te “ wh ich wh en co mbi ne d w ith 

th e 65.99 ac re s de scrib ed in se ct ion 1(b) of th is Act co n st it u te ” .

Dn pa ge 2, lin e 16, de lete e ver yth in g be ginn in g w ith th e word “s it u a te d ” to th e 

en d of th a t se ct ion an d su b st it u te “ na m ed in se ction 1(a) of th is Act an d de sc rib ed 

as fol low s:

“ A tr a c t or pa rc el of land lying an d si tu ate d in G ra nd Pra irie , Dall as C ou ntv , 

Te xa s, an d a p a rt ot th e M cK in ne y an d Willi am s Su rv ey , A bst ra ct No. 1645 an d 

th e Eliza be th G ra y Su rvey , A bst ra ct No . 517.

“ Be ginn ing a t a po in t said po in t be ing th e nort heast co rn er of th e W. C. M ay 

Sur ve y A bst ra ct No . 890.

“ The nc e N. $9° 26 ' \ \ . alon g th e N ort h B oun da ry line of sa id M ay Sur ve y a 

di st an ce o f 1091.0 feet to th e so uth w es t co rn er of said air port tr act.

“ Th en ce , N. 0°2 2'3 0" E. a dis ta nc e of ap pro xim at el y 1,162.45 fee t to a po in t 

in line w ith th e no rthw es t ed ge of th e m os t wes terly as ph al t m at ex tend ed .

“ The nce, N . 29°3 2' 30" E. alo ng th e no rthw es t ed ge of said mat a di st an ce 

of 981.1 5 fe et to a po in t pe rp en di cu la r to an d 400 fee t W es t of th e ce nt er line of 

th e nort h-s outh ru nw ay .
4 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

“Thence, N. l°19 '30" W. along a line parallel to and 400 feet west of the said 

centerline a distance of 1,476.75 feet to a point on the sou th boundary line of 

most western ramp.

“Thence, N. 81°59'30 "E . a distance of 614.10 feet to a point.

“Thence, S. 0°24' E. a distance of 3,578 feet to the place of beginning a nd contain ing 65.99 acres of lands.”

On page 2, line 23, delete everything beginning with the word “in” to the end 

of the prese nt section 2(a) and substitute “only after:

“1. A site for a new airp ort has been selected and the Adm inistrator, Federal 

Aviation Agency, has determined th at such site is capable of being developed 

and used as an airport adequate to meet the needs of Gran d Prairie;

“2. A plan for construction of airp ort facilities at the new site has been submitted and approved by the Adm inistrator, Federal Aviation Agency;

“3. The city of Grand Prairie has, thro ugh adve rtising and sealed bids, contrac ted for construction of air port facilities in accordance with the plan sub mitted 

to and approved by the Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency; and

“4. The city of Gran d Prairie has, after advertising, received sealed bids on 

the 127.39 acres to be sold and determines th at the bid to be accepted is in an 

amount equal to or grea ter tha n the combined costs of acquiring land for a new 

airport site and constructing the airpor t facilities thereon in accordance with 

plans submitted to and approved by the A dministrator, Federal Aviation Agency.’*

On page 2, add a new subsection 2(b) to read :

“Any proceeds of the sale of the 127.39 acres in excess of the amount needed 

for acquisition and construction at the new site shall be held in a trus t acco unt 

and be available for expenditure only for operation , maintenance, and future developm ent of the new a irp ort .”

Renumber subsections 2(b) and 2(c) as (c) and (d) respectively.

On page 3, line 11, delete the phrase “and the Administrator of the Federal 

Aviation Agency.”

On page 3, line 25, delete everything beginning with the word “th e” to the end 

of present section 2(c).

On page 3, add a new section 3, to rea d as follow’s:

“The righ t to reversion of title now’ held by the United States pursu ant to the 

provisions of section 16 of the Federal Airport Act (60 Stat. 179, 40 U.S.C. 115), 

and contained in the deed of May 22, 1962, referred to in th e first section of this 

Act shall be ex tinguished insofar as it relates to th e 127.39 acres authorized to be 

sold by this Act a t th e time sale is consummated in accordance with t he provisions 

of this Act.”

On page 3, renumber section 3, section 4.

We appreciate the opportu nity to comment on H.R. 6254. The amendments 

proposed are considered as providing orderly steps to protect the public interest 

if Congress is to approve of the transfer of land which otherwise would rev ert to 

the United States if put to a nonairport use.

This repo rt, like our report on H.R. 5259, goes only to th e effect of th e bill on 

civil aviation ma tters at Grand Prairie. Since th e Departme nt of th e Army has 

determined only t hat the use of this land for public airp ort purposes would not be 

inconsistent with the needs of the D epartment, and has not determ ined tha t it has 

no need for the land, the committee should consult the Depar tment of th e Army 

as to the desirability of the sale of th e land by Grand Prairie.

The Bureau of the Budget has ad\ ised th at there is no objection from the 

standp oin t of the adm inistration’s program to the submission of this report to 

your committee.

Sincerely,

N. E. ITalaby, Administr ato r.

Mr. Wright. Mr. Chairman, I believe t hat we have made a successful effort to meet all reservations and objections that wrere posed to the 

original bill. I believe tha t in joint meetings with the representatives 

of the Federal Aviation Agency and of the Department of the Army 

we have arrived at an agreement on principle. If there remains in the 

new bill, H.R. 6254, any lack of provisions desired by any of the related agencies I should like to ask the committee simply to hear us 

today.

These agencies have promised me tha t they will go over the new 

bill with a fine-tooth comb and tha t if they have additional recommen-
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 5

dations or provisions to make they will bring them to me and together 

there is a disposition on the part of all parties, including the city of 

Grand Prairie, to make it wholly agreeable with everybody involved.

If it should be necessary for me to recommend to the committee 

before it takes action in its executive session any amendatory language 

1 will undertake to bring tha t to the chairman and to the committee.

Since these gentlemen, three of them, have come from Texas, I 

appreciate the committee’s hearing us briefly today.

Before I make my brief statement 1 should like to submit for the 

record a state ment from Senator Yarborough, who is the author of a 

companion bill in the other body. The Senator wishes he could have 

been here, had planned to be here, but due to unavoidable commitments on the other side has asked that I submit this statement for 

him for incorporation in the committee’s reeord.

Mr. Williams. We will be glad to receive it.

(The stat ement referred to follows:)

Statement of Hon. R alph W. Yarborough, a U.S. Senator From the State

of Texas

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opp ortuni ty to app ear before you today and 

endorse the proposal th at will be presente d to you by the represen tatives of the 

city of Grand Prairie, Tex.

Congressman Wright a nd I introduced companion bills, II.R . 5259 and S. 1220, 

to auth orize the city of Grand Prairie to sell their present airp ort and reloc ate it 

to a bette r site, free from the deed restrictions found in the conveyance of the ir 

presen t a irport site by the United States to the city. I unde rstand th at Congressman Wright has introduced a clean bill, H.R. 0254, to the same effect as the 

previous one, but return ing a portion of the present airport site to the National 

Guard so th at it may continue the use of its facility at the airp ort. I wholly 

endorse this change, and shall see to it th at a corresponding amendmen t is made 

to the Senate bill at the app ropriate time. I think we are all in agreeme nt th at 

the proposed bill should be worded so as to have no detrimental effect on the 

Nation al Guard operations there.

The representativ es of Grand Prairie will detail this proposal to you fully. 

As I understand it, the bill would allow a means by which the city can relocate its 

presen t somewhat dated airport to a less congested locatio n and comply with the 

Federal airport plan withou t cost to the Federal Governm ent in a irport subsidies. 

I am sure the comm ittee will share my inte rest in reducing unnecessary costs to 

the Government.

Grand Prairie is situated between Dallas and Fo rt Worth in the heart of a 

gre at and growing industrial complex. There is no question but th at i t will need 

a bette r airport; this bill seems the reasonable way to supply it.

Mr. Wright. Mr. Chairman, T have a prepared state ment but in 

the interest of conserving the time of the committee, I should like 

simply to submit my prepared state ment and then proceed lo summarize briefly what it entails.

Mr. Williams. It may be included in the record.

(The statement referred to follows:)

St a t e m e n t o f I I o n . J im W r ig h t, a R e p r e s e n t a t iv e in C o n g r ess F ro m t h e

St a te o f T ex a s

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this subcommittee, I appreciate 

the o ppo rtunity to appear here this morning for the purpose of being heard on m y 

bill, H.R. 5259.

My purpose in intro ducing H.R . 5259 is to assist the city of Gran d Prairie, 

Tex., in obtaining a irport facilities capable of meeting th e demands of a progressive 

and growing community.

This bill will m ake it possible to have a larger and safer airport, with a longer 

runw ay and a better approach patte rn, farther removed from traffic congestion, 

at no cost whatev er to the Federal Government.

2 0 - 7 3 2— 63 ------ 2
6 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

The Fed er al Aviation Agency, in its long -ran ge st udy of air port needs, has 

reco m men de d th a t G ra nd Pr ai rie ne ed s a new an d bett er air port for ge ne ral 

m un icipal ai rp ort pu rpos es.

G ra nd Pra irie lies in th e p ath of ra pid gr ow th , direc tly be tw ee n th e citie s of 

Dallas an d F ort W or th . It s po pu la tion ha s gro wn fro m ap pr ox im at el y 14,000 

in 1950 to ap pr oxi m at el y 42.000 to day . T hi s gr ow th ha s en cr oa ch ed di re ctly 

up on th e bo rd er s of th e pr es en t air por t.

Le gisla tio n is ne ce ssary be ca use of th e fa ct th a t th e pr es en t G ra nd Pra irie 

A irpo rt was co nv ey ed to th e ci ty by th e Fed er al G over nm en t un de r te rm s th a t 

re qu ire its re tu rn unles s th e si te co nt in ue s to be us ed for ai rp ort pu rp os es . Thi s 

is in co nf or m ity w ith th e re ve rsiona ry clau se of section 10, Fe de ra l A irp or ts Ac t 

(49 U.S.C . 1115). The re is ab so lu te ly no de sir e to es ca pe th is re ve rs io na ry 

cla use. M y bill wo uld tran sf er to th e new an d mor e ad equate site wh ich th e 

ci ty prop os es to pu rc ha se th os e sa m e re st ri ct io ns co nt ai ne d in th e old deed. 

Thus th e in te re st s of th e U.S . G ov er nm en t wo uld co nt in ue to be pro te ct ed .

PR OP OS ED AM EN DM EN T

As originally in trod uc ed o n M ar ch 28, 1963, H .R . 5259 ca lle d for th e pe rm issive 

ri ght on th e p a rt of th e city of G ra nd Pra ir ie to sell th e en tire 195-acre la nd tr a c t 

to th e high es t bi dd er, w ith th e as su ra nc e th a t all proc ee ds de rive d fro m th e sal e 

will be us ed s olely for th e pu rp os e of ac qu irin g re al pr oper ty , im pr ov in g and op er ­

at in g same for use as a pu blic ai rp ort .

Now, ho wev er, a t th e c om mon re ques t of th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie, th e D epart ­

m en t of th e Arm y an d th e Te xa s Arm y N at io na l Gua rd , 1 re sp ec tful ly ask th a t 

th e bill be a m en de d to p er m it th e sa le of only 127 acres, mo re or less, of th e original 

tr a c t an d th a t th e re m aini ng 65 ac res, mor e or less, now used by th e Te xa s Ar my 

N at io na l G ua rd , be de ed ed ba ck to th e Fe de ra l G ov er nm en t an d plac ed un de r 

th e co nt ro l of th e Sec re ta ry of th e Arm y. The N at io na l G ua rd wo uld co nt in ue 

to use th is 65-ac re tr a c t in clud ing ha ng ar s, ar m or y, su pp ort in g facilities, an d th e 

main nort h-s outh ru nw ay of 2,6 00 fe et in leng th , in ca rryi ng on its trai nin g an d 

op er at io ns .

I in trod uc ed a clean bill in th e H ou se y es te rd ay to ref lec t th is c ha ng e, and c opies 

ha ve be en fu rn ishe d to th e s ub co m m itte e.

The Te xa s Arm y Natio na l G ua rd ha s been usi ng th is si te sin ce 1957. When 

H .R . 5259 wa s in trod uc ed , it wa s my under st an din g th a t th e c it y o f G ra nd Pra irie 

and th e Te xa s Arm y N at io na l G ua rd we re in co nc er t th a t th e la tt e r or ga ni za tion 

wou ld be giv en sim ila r use of th e ne w site th e ci ty wishe s to de ve lop as a ge ne ra l 

m un ic ip al air port re su lti ng from enac tm en t of my bill. Co nferen ce s be tw ee n 

th e cit y an d th e N at io na l G ua rd , ho wev er, de ve lope d th e p ert in en t poin t th a t 

du e to th e in ve st m en t th a t ha s be en mad e on th e pr es en t si te for tr ai nin g an d 

oper at io na l pu rp os es of th e Te xa s Arm y N at io na l Gua rd , it wou ld be more econo mically fea sib le to allo w th e Fe de ra l G ov er nm en t to ac qu ire ti tl e to th e pre se nt 

65 -ac re tr a c t an d re ta in it for use by th e N at io na l Gua rd . This wo uld co st fa r 

less th an att em pti ng to bu ild new facilit ies for th e N at io na l G uar d a t a new site, 

an d wo uld lik ew ise be mo re econ om ica l th an at te m pti ng to mov e th e ex ist ing 

ha ng ar , arm or y, an d su pp or tin g fac ilitie s to a new locatio n.

A dd iti on al ly , su ch an arr an gem en t wo uld p ro te ct th e U.S . in te re st in tw o way s. 

Fir st , it wo uld insu re th a t co nt in ue d tr ai ni ng facilities of an adequate natu re 

co nt in ue to be re ta in ed by th e Tex as Ar my N at io na l G ua rd . Se cond , it wou ld 

br in g ba ck in to th e Fe de ra l in ve nto ry a va luab le 65-ac re tr a c t of la nd w ith exte nsive fron ta ge on Jefferso n Ave nu e, a principa l th oro ug hf ar e be tw ee n th e citie s of 

G ra nd Pra irie a nd Arli ng ton. It ha s been e st im at ed th at th is 65-a cr e tr a c t m ig ht 

be va lu ed as hig h as $7,000 pe r ac re ex clu ding th e w or th of bu ild ings , ru nw ay s, 

and su pport facilities th er eo n.

A t th e s am e tim e, th e ar ra ngem en t wo uld no t do violence to th e ba sic ne ed s of 

th e ci ty of G ra nd Pr ai rie to (1) de ve lop a larg er air port w ith long er ru nw ay s; 

(2) rem ov e ai r tra ffi c an d ope ra tion s to a site mo re de sirable fr om th e st an d p o in t 

of air sa fe ty fa ct or s; (3) per m it th e commercial gr ow th an d de ve lo pm en t of th e 

ci ty pr op er in th e ar ea of th e pre se nt Gra nd Pr ai rie A irpo rt; an d (4) in cr ea se th e 

annual ta x re ve nu e of th e city by vir tu e of such grow th an d de ve lo pm en t.

ST AT EMEN T OF CIT Y OF GR AN D PR AIR IE

The de sir es of th e ci ty , an d th e re as on in g be hind th os e de sir es, were well ex ­

pres se d in a le tter , dat ed Ap ril 9, to Sen at or M on ro ne y, ch ai rm an of th e Sen at e 

Aviatio n Su bc om m itte e, an d sign ed by th e H on or ab le C. P. W aggo ner, m ay or of 

th e ci ty of G ra nd Pr airie .
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 7

Des cribing th e pr es en t G ra nd Pra irie A irpo rt si te as “e xt re m el y ha za rd ou s, inad eq uat e, an d dete ri ora te d,” M ay or W ag go ne r ad ded :

“ * * * th e Fe de ral Avi atio n Ag ency, in a long -ran ge st udy of air port needs, 

ha s reco m m en de d th a t G ra nd Pra irie, Te x., needs a new an d bett er ai rp ort for 

ge ne ral m un ic ip al pu rp os es .

“ Sp ecifically , th e ci ty is lo ca te d be tw ee n Dallas an d Fort W or th , Te x., wh ose 

ci ty lim its a t th e ne ar es t poin t ar e ap pr ox im at el y 6.4 miles ap art . In ge ne ral, 

10 to 12 m iles se par at es th e tw o ce ntr al citie s w ith su bu rb s su ch as G ra nd Pr ai rie 

si tu ate d be tw ee n.

“ Due to th e specific ge og ra ph y of th e ci ty , th e lo ca tio n of th e 6,0 00 -acre G re at 

Sou th w es t In d u st ri al D is tr ic t part ia ll y w ith in its lim its an d Lin g- Te m co -V ou gh t 

pla nt lo ca te d adja cent th ere to , th e ci ty ha s en jo ye d trem en do us ly ac ce le ra ted 

gro w th ; ha vi ng i nc re as ed from 14,594 in 1950 to an es tim at ed 42,00(i at th is tim e. “ M uc h of th e gr ow th ha s em br ac ed th e ex isting G ra nd Pra irie A irpo rt, to th e 

poin t th a t it is re ta rd in g th e natu ra l gr ow th tr ends of th e city .

“ In ad ditio n, be ca us e of no pr ev io us zo ning co ntro ls, re si de nt ia l an d co mm ercia l co ns tr uc tion ex ists unde r th e m aj or ru nw ay , an d ha za rd ou s w at er towers 

ar e lo ca te d a t both en ds th er eo f. The su rfac e of th e pr es en t ru nw ay has det er iora te d to th e poin t whe re air cra ft is fr eq uen tly da m ag ed by sm all pieces of 

ag gr eg at e.

“ The curr ent nort h-s outh ru nw ay is on ly 2,6 00 fe et in le ng th , an d th e w at er 

to w er a t th e nort h en d an d re side nt ia l and co mmercial co ns truc tion is in th e 

di re ct gli de an d ta ke of f p ath . T he so uth en d te rm in at es di re ct ly ag ai nst an 

es ta bl is he d re si den tial ar ea . The re is lite ra lly no p os sibi lity of ga inin g zo ned an d 

co nt ro lled ap pr oa ch es a t th e curr ent loca tio n.

“ The gre ate st ass et of th e ex istin g air p o rt is its ra w la nd va lue. G ra nd 

P ra ir ie ’s gr ow th ha s appre cia te d th e va lue of th e pro pert y to ap pro xi m at el y 

$4,00 0 pe r ac re.

“ Ne w loca tion s m ay be obta in ed appr ox im at el y 3% miles so uth of th e pr es en t 

air p o rt to es ta blish a mod er n ge ne ra l pu rp os e air p o rt w ith adequate facilit ies 

and zo ne d ap pro ac h ar ea s, whi ch I as su re yo u will be ac co m plishe d if th e su bco m m itte e co nc urs on th e c it y ’s de sires. Lan d ac qu isitio n co sts sh ou ld n ot exceed 

$1,00 0 pe r ac re * * *.

“ In ad ditio n, tr ansf er of th e air p o rt to a new si te wou ld en ab le co ns truc tion 

of n o t less th an $20 mi llio n of re si den tial an d re ta il st ru ctu re s; pr ov id in g su bsta n ti al annual ta x re ve nu e to th e cit y; an d incr ea sing th e den si ty on ex istin g 

uti li ty fa ci lities , su ch as w at er and sewe r, wh ich n atu ra ll y en ha nc es th es e in vest ­

m en ts by th e ci ty and redu ce s th e ov erall bu rd en of ou r to ta l co m m un ity * * *.

“ Fin al ly , in pr el im in ar y unoff icial sc an ni ng of th e ar ea , th e po ssible alt ern ate 

lo ca tion s will m at er ia lly re du ce co nflic t of th e pre se nt air p o rt w ith Hen sle y 

Fi el d N av al Air Sta ti on an d G re at er Sou th w es t In te rn ati onal A irport of F o rt 

W or th .

“ In su m m ar y, th e ci ty , fro m a ca sh sa le of th e pre se nt ob so le te and ha za rd ou s 

air port , can pu rc ha se and const ru ct a new, mod ern ge ne ra l pu rp os e air port w ith 

zo ned ap pr oa ch es a t no addi tion al co st to th e U.S. G ov er nm en t. Su ch new ci ty 

air port is a ne ed al re ad y reco gn ized an d re co m men de d by th e FA A in its m as te r 

im pr ov em en t plan * * * an d th e city will realize ta x re ve nu e by pri vat e deve lo pm en t of an est im at ed $20 t o $25 millio n of re side nt ia l an d re ta il str u ctu re s.”

It is my un der st an din g, ge ntle m en of th e su bc om m itte e, th a t th e ci ty prop os es 

to bu y some 200 a cres t o d ev elop a co m pl ete class II air port a t th e n ew site . Thi s 

wo uld co ns ist of es se nt ial ru nw ay s, ta xi way s, an d a co m bi na tion ha ngar -t er m in al 

bu ild ing. Run way s wo uld ha ve an in itia l le ng th of 3,2 00 fe et— some 600 feet 

long er th an th e pr es en t ru nw ay s.

Assu ming , as it has been es tim at ed , th a t th e ci ty co uld obt ai n th is la nd a t a 

m in im um pr ice of $60 0 per ac re, or a t a max im um of $1,00 0 pe r ac re, la nd acquisitio n co st wo uld rang e be tw ee n $120,00 0 an d $200,000 . The ci ty feels it could 

sell th e 127 ac re s it wishe s to disp os e of for an es tim at ed $4,00 0 pe r ac re an d I 

unders ta nd th e Fed er al Aviation Ag ency feels th e land m ig ht br in g up to $7,000 

an ac re . T h a t wo uld me an th e c ity m ig ht ho pe t o realize f ro m $508,00 0 to a hig h 

of $989,00 0.

Thu s, it is ap p are n t th a t th e ci ty co uld ha ve an yw he re from a low of $308,00 0 

to a high of $869,00 0 to be in ves te d solely for th e pu rp os e of mak in g im pr ov em en ts on th e ne w la nd for air p o rt pu rp os es .

The re is, as yo u will no te, quite a differen ce in w hat th e ci ty feels it mig ht 

rece ive from, selling th e la nd an d in w hat th e Fe de ra l A via tion'A gen cy feel s it 

m ig ht rec eiv e. In a co nferen ce w ith Mr. Co le Morrow, D irec to r of A irp or ts for 

th e FA A, I po in te d ou t to him th a t se ction 2(a ) of H .R . 5259 giv es him al m os t 

car te bl an ch e au th o ri ty in ap pro vin g te rm s of th e sale of th is la nd . The “ cl ea n” 

bill co nt ai ns th is sa m e auth ori ty .
8 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

SA FEG U A R D S

Although Mr. Morrow agreed, he did suggest th at certain safeg uards will be 

required in several matters of proper concern to him.

The first of these would be the requirem ent th at the land be evaluated by 

FAA appraisers to determine its fair market value.

Second, th at the FAA exercise the power to approve or disapprove, the proposed sale price and also to approve, or disapprove, the a irport plans for the new 

proposed airport.

Third, Mr. Morrow would like to make certain th at the present Gran d Prairie 

Airport will not be abandoned or turned over to the purchase r until such time 

as the new proposed airp ort site is capable of handling normal traffic.

Fou rth, the FAA will desire assurance th at none of the proceeds from the 

sale of th e present airp ort property will be paid to any attorn ey, real estate firm, 

or any individual, save and except the normal fees th at might be expected for 

proper routine services performed.

It is my feeling th at section 2(a) of the bill invests sufficient autho rity in the 

Director of Airports for the Federal Aviation Agency, since he is charged with 

approving the specific transactions, th at the Agency can effectively bring abo ut 

all of these safeguards in its adm inistration of the bill. However, I would be 

agreeable to having amendments included in this bill to spell ou t each of these 

matters in detail if the subcomm ittee should so desire.

It is, after all, my purpose to see t hat (1) the best possible airport is provided 

for the least possible amoun t of money and th at (2) the inte rests of the U.S. 

Government, and the city of Grand Prairie be protecte d. If these ends are 

gained, the n the public inte rest will be served and the tax payers’ dollar safeguarded.

E X H IB IT S

I shall subm it to the subcommittee today as exhibit A, th e legal description of 

127.39 acres of land the city proposes to sell to the highest bidder. Exhibit B 

contains a description of 65.99 acres of land to be transferred to the control of the 

Secretary of the Army, by deed to the Federal Government. Exhibit C is a map 

of the en tire tra ct. Five 8-bv-lO glossy ph otographs, m arked to reflect the various 

parcels of land under discussion, are respectfully sub mitted as exhibit D. As 

exhibit E, I would like to leave for the record a document giving th e history of the 

Grand Prairie Airfield, and summaries of the discussions between the city of 

Gran d Prairie and the Texas Army National Guard, in the hope th at this document might be helpful to the subcommittee members in answering any questions 

which might arise in their minds.

I will say to the members quite frankly th at the FAA was not favorably disposed towa rd this bill at th e o utset, but I believe th at conferences between myself 

and Mr. Morrow have largely removed reservations the FAA earlier felt.

Quite frankly I feel th at Mr. Morrow might have been concerned over the fact 

th at only a little over a year ago the city received final title to this land, and he 

feels his agency might be criticized should it so promptly go on record as approving 

the sale of the land for commercial development. I think such criticism cannot be 

properly directed because (1) the bill would retain for the United States perh aps 

the most valuable of the acreage on the tract, (2) the explosive growth of the 

Gra nd Prairie area is such th at time factors cann ot be expected to conform to 

norm al pattern s, and (3) the FAA can, under th e terms of the bill, satisfy itself on 

all questions of price, utilization of funds, safety factors, proposed new airport 

plans, and so forth before putting the final s tam p of approval on the sale.

I think Mr. Morrow was correct when he said to me in our conversation th at 

the FAA “wan ts to build the best airports that it can. Th at is our mission.” 

He went on to add th at this bill contains th e potentia l to provide a bigger, better, 

and safer airport at no expense to the Federal Government and could, in effect, 

bring abo ut a saving of G overnment funds over the long haul.

I subm it tha t, with all other factors involved, no better reasons can be given for 

the approval of this bill. I earn estly and respectfully ask the members of this 

subcommittee to give i t favorable consideration.

Exhibit A

D E SC R IP T IO N OF 127.39 ACRES OF LA ND

Being a tra ct or parcel of land lying and situated in Grand Prairie, Dallas 

County, Tex., and a part of the McKinney and Williams survey, abstract No. 

1045, and the Elizabeth Gray survey, abstract No. 517.
BUILDING INDEX

NO. NAME

1. Gatehouse

2. Operation s Hangar

3. A & R Hangar

4. Fi re St atio n

5. In st ru ct io n

6. Ships Ser vice

7. Pump House

8. Water Storage Tank

9. Garbage Shed

10. Subsistence

11. E.M. Barr

a cks 12. E.M. Barrack s

16. Gasoline Storage

17. P.W. Warehouse

24. Well House

25. Night Vision Train er

26. Line Shack

27. Operation Shack

28. Sentry Shack

2Q. Ilore Reel House

30. A th le tic Fie ld

31. Fire Hose House

32. Hose Reel House

33. Sen try Shack

34. Flap Pole

Exhibit C

N— O

Under lice ns e to U.S. Air Force

fo r use of Civil Air Pa trol U.S.NAVAL OUTLYING FIEL D 

NO. 26 8 0 3

G R A N D P R A IR IE , TE X A S 

SCALE IN FE ET

o iyy ^oo 400 gJC sqo

195.82 ac res deeded to City of Grand P ra ir ie , Texas 

under prov isi on s of Fed eral Airp ort Act fo r pu bli c 

a ir p o rt purpo ses .

20 -732 0 - 63 (F ac e p. 9)

GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 9

Beginning a t a point on the east right-of-way line of Carrier P arkway (formerly 

Southwest Eigh th Street) where it intersects the south bou ndary line of the 

McKinney and Williams survey, abstract No. 1015, said point being the no rth ­

west corner of lot 17, block 9, of the Indian Hills Park addition to the city of 

Grand Prairie.

Thence S. 0°3 3'3 0" W. along the east right-of-way line of Carrier Parkway a 

distance of 2,683.0 feet to the southeast corner of Gran d Prairie Airport.

Thence N. 89°34 '30" W. a distance of 1,557.3 feet along the south bounda ry 

line to a point where property line bears due north.

Thence N. 0°02' W. a distance of 138.4 feet to a point where property line turns 

west, said point being the northeast corner of the W. C. May survey, abstr act 

No. 890.

Thence N. 0°24' W. a distance of 3,578.42 feet to the southea st corner of the 

Texas Army National Guard 42.39-acre tra ct.

Thence N. 8°20'30 " W. a distan ce of 691.70 feet to a point on the so uth rightof-way line of Jefferson Avenue.

Thence N. 81°39 '50" E. along the south right-of-way line of Jefferson Avenue 

a distance of 249.06 feet to the northwest corner of land known as General Services 

Adm inistration land acquisition.

Thence S. 8°20'30 " E. a distance of 330 feet to a point for GSA land’s so uthwest corner.

Thence S. 44 °31'3 0" E. following GSA land’s south b oundary line a distan ce of 

2,016.45 feet to the place of beginning and containing 127.39 acres of land.

Save and Excep t

D ESC R IP T IO N OF 6.1 6 A CRES OF LA ND, C A R R IE R PARK W A Y RIG H T-O F-W A Y

Being a trac t or parcel of land lying and situ ated in Grand Prairie, Dallas 

County, Tex., and a pa rt of the McKinney and Williams survey, ab str ac t No. 

1045, and The Elizabeth Gray survey, abstract No. 517.

Beginning at a point on the east right-of-way line of Carrier Park way (formerly 

Southwest Eighth Street) where it interse cts the south boundary line of M cKinney 

and Williams survey, abstract No. 1045, said point being the northwest corner of 

lot 17, block 9, of the Indian Hills Park addition to the city of Grand Prairie.

Thence S. 0°33' W. along the east right-of-way line of Carrier Parkwa y a 

distance of 2,683.0 feet to the southea st corner of Grand Prairie Airport.

Thence west a distance of 100 feet along the south boundary line to a point in 

the west right-of-way line of Carrier Parkway.

Thence N. 0°33' E. along the west right-of-way line of Carrier Par kway a 

distance of approximate ly 2,810 feet to a point in the south boundary line of 

GSA l and’s 40.3 acre tract.

Thence following GSA lan d’s south boundary line in a south easterly direction 

a distance of approximate ly 120 feet to the place of beginning and containin g 6.16 

acres of land.

Exhib it B

D E S C R IP T IO N O F 65.99 A C R ES O F LA ND

Being a tra ct or parcel of land lying and situated in Grand Prairie, Dallas 

Cou nty, Tex., and a pa rt of the McKinney and Williams survey, abstr ac t No. 

1045, and the Elizabeth Gray survey, abstract No. 517.

Beginning at a point said point being the northeast corner of the W. C. May 

survey, abstract No. 890.

Thence N. 89°26' W. along the north bou ndary line of said May survey a 

distanc e of 1,091 feet to the southwest corner of said airport tra ct.

Thence N. 0°2 2'30" E. a distance of approximately 1,162.45 feet to a poi nt in 

line with the northwest edge of the most westerly asp halt ma t extended.

Thence N. 29°32'3 0" E. along the northwest edge of said, mat a distance of 

981.15 f eet to a point perpendicular to and 400 feet west of the centerline of the 

nor th-south runway.

Thence N. l°19 '30 " W. along a line parallel to and 400 feet west of the said 

centerline a distance of 1,476.75 feet to a point on the sou th boundary line of 

most western ramp.

Thence N. 81°59'30" E. a distance of 614.10 feet to a point.

Thence S. 0°24' E. a distance of 3,578 feet to the place of beginning and containing 65.99 acres of land.
10 GRAND PRAIR IE, TE X., AIRPORT
GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 11
12 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT
GRAND PRAIRIE , TEX., AIRPORT 13

E xhib it E

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT 

A us tin, Te xa s

GRAND PRAIRIE AIRFIELD 

Gr an d Pra ir ie , Te xa s

A nal ysi s of Tex as N at io na l Gu ard Situat io n in R el at io n To 

Sen at e Bill 12 20 , 28 M arch 1963,

Hou se Res ol ut io n 5259 , 28 March 1963 

U ni ted S ta te s Congre ss 

8 M ay 1963

Sec tion I Brief H is to ry an d Sum mary of Gr an d Pr ai rie Airf ield Situat io n

Sec tion II TWX SWFRM 12 8,15 April 1963 from U. S. Army D is tr ic t

E ngin ee r, Fort W or th , Te xa s to th e Adj ut an t G en er al of T ex as.

TWX 11452 , 17 April 1963 from th e Adj ut an t G en er al of Tex as 

to U. 5. Army D is tr ic t Eng in ee r, Fort W or th , T ex as .

Sec tion III Co py of Sen at e Bill 1220, 28 M arch 1963

Co py of Hou se R es ol ut io n 52 59 , 28 M ar ch 1963

Sec tion IV Resum e of confe re nces with U. S. Army D is tr ic t Eng in ee r,

Ft Worth an d May or C . P. W ag go ne r of Gr and P ra ir ie ,19 April 63

Sec tion V Estim at e cf Funds Req uired to Pr ov ide Ade qu ate Av iatio n 

F ac il it ie s to Te xas Army N at io na l Gu ard

Sec tion VI Re sum e of C onfe re nce with Mayor C . P. W ag go ne r of Grand

Pr ai rie an d Maj Ge n Thomas S. Bisho p, Adj Ge n of T ex as, 1 May 63

Sec tion VII Co py of Let te r from C ity Mgr C . A. Jo hn so n of Grand Pra irie 

to Con gr es sm an Jim W right, 8 Ma y 63

Sec tion VIII Re comm end ed C han ges in Sen at e Bill 1220 

Sec tion IX Recom me nded C han ges in Hou se R es ol ut io n 5259 

Sec tion X M ap s an d ph ot os of Gr an d Pr ai rie Airfield

2 0 -7 32 0 - 63 - 3
14 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Sec tion I

Brie f H is to ry an d Sum mary of Gr an d Pra irie Airf ield Situat io n

1. a . The la nd pop ul ar ly kno wn a s Grand Pr ai rie Airf ield w as ac quir ed 

du rin g World War II as a par t of U . S. N av al Out ly ing Fi eld Numb er 26803 an d 

w as use d for m ili ta ry purp ose s by th e Dep ar tm en t of th e N av y. In 1953, af te r 

be in g vacate d by th e U. S. Nav y, it w as occu pie d un de r li c e n se by th e Te xa s 

Army N at io nal Gu ard as a tr ai nin g fa cil it y for th e avia ti on el em en ts of the 

49 th Armored D iv is io n, Tex as Army N ati onal G ua rd . In 1957 , th is pr op er ty was 

tr an sf er re d to th e Dep artm en t of th e Army by th e Dep artm en t of th e Nav y and 

the use by th e Tex as N at io nal Gu ard w as continued un de r li c e n se from D epa rtm en t of th e Army. Gen er al Serv ic es Admin is tr ati o n re q u est ed ap pr ox im at el y 

40 acre s of th is pr op erty to be u se d a a a n a re a upon w hi ch to co n st ru ct w ar eh ou si ng 

an d motor po ol fa c il it ie s . How ev er , th eir pla ns for buildin gs di d no t m ate ri alize 

an d the 40 acre s was sold to the h ig h est “bid der by G en er al Serv ic es Adm in istra tio n 

ra th er th an be in g re tu rn ed to 'm il it ary contr ol.

b . In 1960-1961, d is c u ssio n s w er e hel d bet w ee n th e C ity of Gr an d 

Pr ai rie an d th e Te xa s N at io nal Gu ard co nc er ni ng th e p o ssib il it y of th e C ity of 

Gr and Pr ai rie op er at in g a public ai rp ort in conju nct io n with m ilitar y use by the 

Te xa s N at io nal Gua rd . The se d is c u ssio n s re su lt ed in a mutua l ag re em en t whe reby 

th is co ul d be ac co m pli sh ed an d re co m m en da tion s w er e fo rw arde d to hig her au th ori ty for co nv ey an ce of th e pro pe rty to th e C ity of Gr and Pr ai rie su b je ct to a lon g 

ter m le a se ag re em en t from th e C it y of Gr an d Pr ai rie to th e Tex as N at io nal Guard 

for exclu si ve u se of a po rtio n of th e pro pe rty for m ilitar y purp ose s an d jo in t use 

of la nd in g a r e a s , ru nw ay s an d ta x iw a y s. The le a s e ag re ed up on fu rthe r ^prov ide d— 

th at sh ould the City of Gr an d Pra irie d ecid e to se ll th e ex is ti n g Gr an d Pr ai rie 

Ai rport th at th e pro ce ed s from th e sa le wou ld be use d for th e purc has e of a new 

ai rp ort ; th at eq uiv ale nt sp ace at th e new lo cati on wo uld be pr ov id ed to the 

Tex as Nati onal Gu ard ; th at a ls o from th e pro ce ed s of th e sa le th er e wou ld be e x ­

pen de d for im prov em ents on th e Tex as N at io nal Gu ard po rtion an am ou nt n e ce ssa ry 

to const ru ct bu ildi ng s an d im prov em en ts equiv ale nt to the ex is ti n g buildin gs an d 

lmpro vfim ents u se d by th e Tex as N ational G ua rd . How ev er , it w as de te rm in ed at 

Dep artm en t of th e Army le vel th at su ch a le a se ag re em en t wou ld je opard iz e th e 

C ity of Grand P ra ir ie 's ti tl e to th e pro per ty . Th is det er imination re su lt ed in a dee d 

in Jun e 1962 to the C ity of Grand Pr ai rie from th e Dep artm en t of th e Army for a po rtion of th e pr op erty co n si st in g of ap pr ox im at el y 195 acre s in cl udin g th e la nd in g

a re a s , runWa ys an d ta x iw ay s. Dep artm en t of th e Army re ta in ed ap pro xim at el y 42 

a cre s of th e pr op er ty in cl ud in g a ll buildin gs an d a ls o re ta in e d , by sp ecif ic pro ­

vis io n s in th e d eed , jo in t u se of la nd in g a re a s, ru nw ay s an d ta x iw ay s. Dep artm en t 

of th e Army co nt in ue d th e li c e n se to th e Te xa s N at io na l Gu ard of th e 42 a cre s an d 

b u il din gs, ex ce pt for min or use by th e U. S. Air Fo rce for el em en ts of C iv il Air 

P atr o l.

\

/
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 15

c . The above arrangem ents we re in effe ct upo n re tu rn o f the 49th 

Armored D iv is io n from the a ctive m ilit a ry serv ic e of the Unite d States in Au gust 

1962 . The re la tionship between the Tex as N ational Guard and the C it y of Grand 

Pra irie under these arrangem ents has been ve ry cord ia l and co oper ativ e and no 

majo r pro ble ms have de ve lope d on the jo in t usage pro vis io ns of the pro perty.

In fa c t, the Texas N ational Guard has va ca ted some fa c il it ie s fo r a tempo rary 

pe rio d to pe rm it us e by the C it y of Grand Pra irie for c iv ic purp ose s.

2. The above b ri e f ch ro no logy brings de ve lopm en ts up to the date of

15 A pril 1963, the da te o f re ceip t of a TWX by the Adjut an t Ge neraPs De partm ent 

from the U . S. Arm y D is tr ic t En gin eer at Fort W or th advis in g of proposed le ­

g is la ti o n and the TWX re ply th ere to , which .fo llo w in Sec tio n II o f th is do cu men t.

3. As exp la in ed in the TWX referre d to , the le g is la ti o n pro posed in Sen ate 

B ill 1220 and House Res olution wou ld pe rm it the C it y of Grand Pra irie to s e ll its 

195 acres in clu din g land ing are as, runw ay s and ta xiw a ys, thus depriving the Tex as 

N ational Guard of essential train in g fa c il it ie s .

4. As a re su lt o f co nferen ce s w ith the U. S. Arm y D is tr ic t Engineer at 

Fort W or th and w ith M ay or C . P. Waggoner and oth er re pre se nta tives of the 

C it y o f Grand P ra irie , a plan has been wo rked ou t w hic h w il l pe rm it the C ity

o f Grand Pra irie to acc om plis h its obje ctive and als o perm it the Tex as Army National Guard to co ntin ue its tr ain in g and opera tio ns at the a ir fi e ld . B ri e fly, the 

plan pro vides th at the pro posed SB 1220 and HR 5259 be amended to pe rm it the 

C it y o f Grand Pra irie to s e ll appro xim ate ly 127 acres of the a ir fi e ld ra th er tha n 

195 acres and return appro xi m ate ly 65 ac res by dee d to the Un ited States under 

control of the Sec re tary o f the Army. The 65 ac res to be re turn ed in cludes the 

ma in north-s outh ru nway. It is co ns ider ed ve ry im po rtan t th at the re tu rn of the 

65 ac res be in clu ded in the le g is la ti o n in orde r to pre ve nt an unce rtain status 

deve lo pi ng on the sa id 65 ac res w hic h might pr ev en t it s co ntin ue d and unin te rrupted use by the Texas N ational Guard due to the p o s s ib il it y of adm in is trative 

problem s in handl in g the tr ansa ction in an y othe r manner.

5. A su gg es ted change to SB 1220 and HR 5259 is included in th is br ochure . Other deta ils are als o in cl uded w hic h makes a co mpr eh en sive refere nc e 

to the entire matter fo r the co nv en ienc e and re ad y re fe re nc e of thos e co nc erne d.

M ajo r Gen eral Tex ARNG 

Adju ta nt Gen eral
16 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Section II

TWX SWFRM 12 8, 15 Ap ril 1963 fro m U. S. Army D is tr ic t E n g in eer,

For t W o rt h , T ex as to th e A dju ta nt G e n e ra l of T e x a s .

TWX 11452, 17 Ap ril 1963 fro m th e A dju ta nt G en era l of T ex as to U . S.

Arm y D is tr ic t E ng in eer, For t W o rt h , T e x a s.

W F AO18WFX046 RR RUWFCX DE RUWFZK 21 ZNR R 152200 Z

FM DISTENGR USAENGR DIST FTW FTW TEX

TO RU WF CX /TH E ADJUTANT GENERAL OF TEXAS ADJUTANT GENERALS DEPT

AUSTIN TEX

IN FO ZEN/DIVE NG R USAENGR DIV SOW EST DAL TEX

ZEN /C G US ARMY FOUR FT SAM HO US TO N TEX

DA GRNC

BT

UNC LAS FROM SWFRM 128

REFERENC E TELEPHO NE CONVERSATION THIS DATE BETWEEN GENERAL

SCO TT CM M ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL OF TEXAS CM M AND MR WHITE 

TH IS OF FIC E CO NC ER NI NG PRO VISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION INT RO DU CED

BY SENATOR RALPH W YARBOROUGH /S B 122 0 / AND CON GRESS MAN JIM WRIGHT

/H R 5 2 5 9 / IO N 28 MARCH 19 63 . THIS LEGISLATION IS DE SIG NE D TO

AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE CM M TEXAS CM M TO SELL CERTAIN

LAND PREVIOUSLY CONVEYED TO THE CITY BY THE GOV ERNMEN T FOR PUBL IC

AIRPORT PURPOSE S AT GRAND PRAIRIE AIRFIELD UNDER DEED DATED 22 MAY

1962 . THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION WO UL D ALSO ALLOW THE CITY TO

USE THE PROCEEDS FROM SAID SALE TO ACQ UIRE SUBSTITU TE REAL

PROPERTY TO BE LIKEWISE USED FOR PUB LIC AIRPORT PURPOSES UNDER THE

SAME CRITERIA SET FORTH IN SAID DE ED . IT IS REQUESTED THAT THE

VIEWS C MM CO MM EN TS AND RECOMM ENDATIO NS OF YOUR HEADQUARTERS

CO NC ER NI NG THE TWO SEPARATE BUT CO MP AN ION BILLS BE IMMEDIATELY

FU RN ISH ED THIS OFF IC E. YOUR INF ORMA TIO N WIL L BE PROM PTLY RELAYED

TO HIG HER AUTHORITY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY FOR CON SIDERA TION

IN DETERMININ G THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PO SIT ION WI TH RESPECT

TO SAID LEGIS LATIO N.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 17

RR DE 51 2- 45 2- 06 31 UW FX 46 R 1 7152 3Z

FM TAG OF TEX AU SI IN TEX

TO DISTRIC T EN GINE ER , U . S . ARMY

ENGIN EER DI ST RICT , FT WORTH , TEX

UN CL AS TX 11452 FROM AGTEX THIS REPLIES TO YOUR INQ UIR Y ON PRO POS ED 

LEGIS LATIO N CO NTAIN ED IN SENATE BILL 122 0 BY SENA TOR RALPH W . YARBOROUGH 

AND HO USE RESOLUTIO N 52 59 BY CO NG RESSM AN JIM WRIGHT DATED 28 MARCH 

63 CO NC ER NI NG SALE OF GRAND PRAIRIE AIRFIELD PROPERTY.

UNDER CUR RENT ARRANGEMENTS TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD US ES 

42 ACR ES IN CL UD IN G BU ILDI NG S OF GRAN D PRAIRIE AIRFIELD UNDER 

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY LI CE NSE AND HAS JOINT US E OF LAN DIN G AREAS, 

RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS. THE CITY O F GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS HAS A DEED DATED 

22 MAY 1962 ON THE BALANCE OF THE AIRFIELD CONSI ST IN G OF 195 ACRES 

IN CLU DIN G ALL LAND ING AREAS RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS. RESTRIC TIO NS IN 

THEIR DEED REQUIRE JO IN T US E WIT H TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OF LAN DIN G 

ARE AS, RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS W ITH RIGH T OF IN GR ES S AND EG RE SS .

THE PRO POS ED LEGISLA TIO N IN ITS PRE SENT FO RM , IF EN AC TE D, WO ULD 

DEPRIVE THE TEXAS ARMY NATIONA L GUARD OF ESSENT IAL TRAINING FA CI LITI ES .

IT WOU LD PERMIT THE CITY OF GRA ND PRAIRIE, TEXAS TO SELL ITS 195 ACR ES 

IN CLU D IN G ALL LAND ING AREAS, RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS THEREBY LEAVING THE 

TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUA RD 42 ACR ES OF THE AIRFIELD IN CL UD IN G BU IL D IN GS, 

BUT WITHOU T LAND ING AREAS, RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS WHICH ARE ESS ENTIA L TO 

THE OPERATION OF THE TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD AVIATION EL EM EN TS.
18 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

THE DEED AND PROPOSED LEG ISLATION APPEAR TO REQUIRE THE CITY OF GRAND 

PRAIRIE, TEXAS UPON SALE OF SU BJ EC T 195 ACR ES OF GRAN D PRAIRIE A IRFIELD,

TO USE THE PRO CEEDS TO ACQ UIRE ANOTHER PU BLIC AIRPORT AND TO PROVIDE 

JOINT USE OF LAN DIN G AREAS, RUNWAYS AND TAXIWAYS WITH THE TEXAS ARMY 

NATIONA L GUARD AT A NEW LO CA TION . HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO PROVISIONS 

TO PROVIDE THE TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD WITH ANY BU ILDIN GS,LA ND UPON 

WHICH TO CO NS TR UC T BU ILDI NG S OR ANY OTHER OPERATING FACIL ITIES WH ICH

APE ESSENTIA L TO CO ND UC T TRAININ G AND OPE RATIONS.

THE TEXAS ARMY N ATIONAL GUA RD DESIR ES TO CO NT IN UE TO WORK WITH THE

CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE AS IN THE PAST ON MATTERS OF MUTUAL BE NE FIT .

IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE STATED FACTS IT IS URGEN TLY REQUEST ED THAT

THE UN ITE D STATES CO NG RE SS BE REQU ESTED TO 'W ITHH OL D ALL ACTIO N ON

LEG ISLATION PERTAINING TO THE GRAND PRAIRIE AIRFIELD PE ND ING RECEIPT OF

ADD ITIO NAL INFORM ATIO N AND RECO MM ENDA TIO NS TO PROTECT THE INTEREST

OF THE TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GU ARD, WH ICH WIL L FOLLOW WITHOUT DELAY.
GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 19

Sec tion III

Copy of Sen ate Bill 1220, 28 March 1963 

Copy of House Resolution 525 9, 28 March 1963

8 8 th CONGRESS 

1 s t S e s s io n

S. 1220

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

March 2 8 , 1963

Mr . Y arb oro ugh in tro d u c e d th e fo ll o w in g b i l l ; w hic h wa s re a d tw ic e an d 

r e f e r r e d to th e Com m itte e on Commerce

A BILL

To a u th o r iz e th e con v ey an ce o f c e r t a i n r e a l p r o p e r ty o f th e 

U n it e d S t a te s h e r e to f o r e g r a n te d to th e c i t y o f Gra nd 

P r a i r i e , T ex a s, f o r p u b lic a i r p o r t p u rp o s e s ; c o n tin g e n t up on 

a c c e p ta n c e an d a p p ro v a l by th e D ir e c to r o f A i r p o r t s , F e d e ra l 

A v ia ti o n A gen cy , as p r o t e c to r o f th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e U n it e d 

S t a te s o f A m eri ca.

1 ®e

 I t e n a c te d by th e S e n a te an d Ho us e o f R e p re s e n ta -

2 t i v e s o f th e U n it e d S t a te s o f A m er ic a in C o n g re ss a sse m b le d ,

3 T h a t, s u b je c t to th e p r o v is io n s o f s e c ti o n 2 o f t h i s A c t, th e

4 c i t y o f Gra nd P r a i r i e , T ex a s, s h a l l be a u th o r iz e d to convey to

5 th e h ig h e s t b id d e r a l l r i g h t , t i t l e , an d i n t e r e s t o f su c h c i t y in

6 an d to th e r e a l p ro p e rty t r a n s f e r r e d to su c h c i t y f o r p u b lic

7 a i r p o r t p u rp o se s by th e .U n ite d S t a t e s . Su ch r e a l p ro p e rty
20 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

2

c o n s i s t s o f a t r a c t o f la n d c o n ta in in g 195.8 2 a c r e s , more o r 

l e s s , s i t u a t e d in th e c o u n ty o f D a lla s , S ta te o f T ex as, th e e x a c t 

l e g a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f w hic h p ro p e rty is c o n ta in e d in th e de ed 

d a te d May 22, 19 62 , e n te r e d i n to betw ee n th e U n it e d S ta te s 

as g r a n to r , a c tin g by an d th ro u g h th e S e c r e ta r y o f th e Army, 

an d th e c i t y o f Gra nd P r a i r i e , T ex as, as g r a n te e .

SEC. 2 . (a ) The s a le r e f e r r e d to in th e f i r s t s e c ti o n o f 

t h i s A ct s h a l l be a u th o r iz e d in w r itin g by th e D ir e c to r o f 

A i r p o r t s , F e d e ra l A v ia ti o n A gen cy , a f t e r a c c e p ta n c e an d 

a p p ro v a l by him o f su ch w r i t t e n a s s u ra n c e s fr om th e c i t y

o f Gra nd P r a i r i e , T ex a s, as he may deem a p p r o p r ia te to 

p r o t e c t th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e U n it e d S ta te s w ith r e s p e c t to th e 

p ro c e e d s o f su ch s a l e an d to a s s u re t h a t su ch p ro c e e d s w i l l 

be u se d by su ch c i t y s o l e ly f o r th e p u rp o se o f a c q u ir in g r e a l 

p r o p e r ty , im pro vin g an d o p e r a tin g sam e f o r u se by su ch c i t y

as a p u b lic a i r p o r t .

(b ) The r e a l p ro p e rty a c q u ire d u n d er a u th o r i t y o f su b ­

s e c ti o n (a ) o f t h i s s e c ti o n s h a l l be s u b je c t to su c h te rm s , 

e x c e p tio n s , r e s e r v a t io n s , r e s t r i c t i o n s , c o n d itio n s , an d co v en a n ts as th e D ir e c to r o f A i r p o r t s , F e d e ra l A v ia ti o n A ge nc y,

a f t e r c o n s u l ta t io n w ith th e S e c r e ta r y o f th e Army an d th e

A d m in is tr a to r o f th e F e d e ra l A v ia ti o n A gency , may deem 

a p p r o p r ia te to a s s u r e t h a t su ch p r o p e rty w i l l be h e ld an d 

u se d by th e c i t y o f G ra nd P r a i r i e , T ex as, f o r p u b lic a i r p o r t 

p u rp o s e s , s u b je c t to th e sam e te rm s , e x c e p tio n s , r e s e r v a t io n s ,
GRAND PR A IR IE , T E X ., AIR PO RT 21

3

1 r e s t r i c t i o n s , c o n d itio n s , an d c o v e n a n ts c o n ta in e d in th e de ed

2 o f May 2 2, 1962 , r e f e r r e d to in th e f i r s t s e c ti o n o f t h i s A ct.

3 SEC. 3. The D ir e c to r o f A i r p o r t s , F e d e ra l A v ia ti o n

4 A gen cy , s h a l l is s u e and o b ta in su ch w r i t te n in s tru m e n ts as

5 may be n e c e s s a r y to c a r r y ou t th e fo re g o in g p r o v is io n s o f

6 t h i s A ct.

20-7 32 0 - 63 - 4
22 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

8 8 th C O N G R E S S

1s t S essio n H .R .5 2 5 9

IN THE HO USE OF REPRESENTATIV ES

M a rc h 2 8 , 1963

M r. Wrigh t introduced the following b ill; which was referred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce

A B IL L

To authoriz e the conveyance of certain real property of the 

United States heretofore granted to the c ity of Grand Prairie, 

Texas, for pu blic airport purposes,contingent uponacceptanceand approval By the Dire ctor of Airports, Federal 

Av iation Agency, as protector of the interests of the United

States o f America.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States o f America in Congress assembled,

3 That, subject to the provisions of section 2 of this A ct , the

4 City of Grand Prairie, Texas, shall be authorized to convey

5 to the highest bidder all right, title ,a nd interest of such city

6 inan dtothe real property transferred to such city for public

7 airport purposes by the United States. Such real property

I
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 23

2

1 con sists o f a tr a c t o f land conta in in g 195.8 2 acr es, more or

2 less, situate d in the co unty o f D alla s, State o f Texas, the

• 3 exact le gal description o f w hic h pro perty is conta in ed in th e

4 deed dat ed M ay 22, 19 62, en tere d in to be tw ee n the U nited

5 States as gra nto r, a ctin g by and throug h the Se cretary of

6 the Arm y, an d the c it y o f Grand P ra irie , Te xas,as gr ante e.

7 SEC. 2. (a) The sale re fe rred to in the firs t se ct io n of

8 th is A ct sh all be auth orized in w rit in g by the D irecto r of

9 A ir p o rt s, Fe de ral A v ia ti o n A gency, a ft e r acce pta nce and

10 appro val by him o f such w rit te n assurances from the c it y

11 o f Gra nd P ra ir ie , Te xa s, as he may deem appro priate to

12 pro te ct the interests o f the U nited States w ith resp ec t to

13 the proc ee ds o f such sa le and to assure th at such proceed s

14 w il l be used by such c it y sole ly fo r the purpo se o fa c q u ir in g

15 re al p ro pert y, im pro vin g and opera ting same fo r use by

16 such c it y as a p u b lic a ir p o rt.

17 (b) The re al pro perty acquired un de r a u th o ri ty o f su b18 se ction (a) o f th is section sh all be subje ct to such terms ,

19 exceptions, re se rv atio ns, re str ic tions, conditio ns an d c o v -

20 nants as the D irecto r o f A irport s, Federal A v ia ti o n A gency,

21 a ft e r consultation w ith the Sec re tary o f the Ar my and the

22 A dm in is trato r o f the Fe de ral A v ia ti o n A gency, may deem

23 appro priate to assure th at such pro perty w il l b e h eld an d

24 used by the c it y o f G ra nd P ra ir ie , Texa s,for p u b li c a ir p o rt

25 purpo ses, su bje ct to the same term s, exceptions, re se rv atio ns,
24 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

3

1 re stric tions, conditio ns, an d co ve na nts co nta in ed in the deed

2 of M ay 22 , 1962, re fe rred to in the firs t se ction o f this

3 A c t.

4 SEC. 3. The D irecto r o f A ir p o rt s, Federal A via ti o n

5 A gency, sh all issue an d obta in such w ri tt e n instrumen tsas

6 may be necessary to ca rry out the fo re goin g pr ov isions of

7 th is A c t.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 25

Se ction IV

Resume of Confe re nc e w ith U. S. Army D is tr ic t En gine er, Fort W orth, Texas

1. A co nferen ce wa s held w ith the U. S. Army D is tr ic t Engin eer at Fort 

W orth, Texas on 19 A pril 1963 co nc erning pro posed le g is la ti o n in Sen ate B ill 

1220 and House Res olution 5259 co nc erning sa le o f a po rtio n of Grand Pra irie 

A ir fie ld consis ting of appro xim ate ly 195 ac res o f land deede d to the C it y of 

Grand Pra irie by the Se cretary of the Army for p ublic airport pu rp os es . Tho se 

attend in g the co nferen ce we re:

Colo nel Fran cis P. Koisc h, USA, D is tr ic t Engineer 

M r. E. B. W hite, C iv il ia n , Real Estate , Sect io n, D is tr ic t 

Engineer O ffic e

Brig Gen James D. Sco tt, A ssis ta nt Adjutan t Gen eral of Tex as 

Lt Co l Remington K. W ebst er, De partm ent Engineer, AGD of Texas 

M aj Jack M . Ple mo ns, 149th A via tion B attalio n, 49th Armd D iv .

2. The prop os ed le g is la ti o n was discu ss ed and the effe cts , if en ac te d, 

th at it would have on the tr ain in g and opera tio ns of the Tex as N ational Guard 

at the Grand Pra irie A ir fi e ld . The D is tr ic t Engineer wa s inform ed of a pro posed 

co nferen ce w ith the May or of Grand Pra irie and he requ es ted he be ke pt adv ised 

o f de ve lopm en ts. He and his sta ff we re ve ry co oper ativ e in desirin g to a ssis t 

the Tex as N ational Guard in work in g ou t a sa tisfa cto ry solu tion to th eir prob lem. 

Resume of Con ferenc e w ith M ay or C . P. Waggo ner of Grand P ra irie , Texas

1. A co nferen ce wa s held w ith the May or of Grand P ra irie , Texas on 19 

A pril 1963 co nc erning prop osed le g is la tio n in Senate B ill 1220 and House Resolu tion 5259 rega rd ing sa le of a portio n of Grand Pra irie A ir fi e ld consis ting 

o f appro xim ate ly 195 acres of land deede d to the C it y of Grand Pra irie by the 

Se cretary o f the Arm y fo r public airport pu rp os es . Those atte nd ing the co nferen ce 

we re:

The Ho no rable C. P. Wag go ne r, May or o f Grand Pra irie 

M r. C liff o rd Johnson, C it y Manag er of Grand Pr airie 

Brig adier James D. Sco tt, A ss is ta nt Adjuta nt Gen eral of Texas 

Lt Co l Remington K. W ebst er, De pa rtm en t En gine er, AGD of Texas 

M aj Jack M . Plem ons, 149th Avia tion B attalio n,4 9th Armd D iv .

2. The cu rren t situation and ba ckground wa s re vi ew ed b ri e fl y as in dic ate d. 

Prio r to the exe cu tio n of the dee d re ferre d to , the entire Grand Pra irie A ir fie ld be ­

long ed to the De partm ent o f the Army and was under lic ense to the Texas Army 

N ational Guard to pro vide tr ain in g fa c il it ie s for the Avia tion elem en ts o f the 49th 

Armored D iv is io n . The deed le ft the De partm ent of the Army 42 ac res of land in ­

clu din g a ll build in gs and thes e fa c il it ie s we re co ntin ue d under license to the
2(> GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Tex as Army N at io na l Gu ard exce pt for a minor po rtio n whi ch is un de r li cen se 

to th e United Sta te s Air Force for u se of th e Civ il Air Patr ol. The de ed fu rth er 

pr ov id ed th at th e Te xa s Army N at io nal Gu ard wo uld ha ve jo in t use of land in g 

a r e a s , ru nw ay s and ta x iw a y s. Th is ar ra ng em en t has be en ve ry sati sfa cto ry at the 

Gr an d Pr ai rie Airfield.

3. It w as poi nt ed out to May or W ag go ne r th at th e pro pose d le g is la ti o n re ­

fe rred to ab ov e wo uld pe rm it th e C ity of Grand Pr ai rie to se ll th ei r 195 acre s 

in cl ud in g la nd in g a r e a s , ru nw ay s an d ta xiw ay s an d wou ld le av e th e Te xa s Army 

N at io nal Gu ard with it s 42 acre s in cl udin g buildin gs bu t no fa c il it ie s from 

w hi ch to oper at e a ir cra ft . The pro pose d le g is la ti o n does re quir e th e C ity of 

Gr an d Pra irie to pr ov id e jo in t use of la nd in g a re a s, ru nw ay s an d ta xiw ay s at

a new airport which might be purc has ed from th e sa le of th eir 195 a c re s. Howev er, th is pr ov is io n wou ld be u se le ss to th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gu ard as 

the re~ wo ul d be no buil d in g s, la nd up on whi ch to co nst ru c t bu ild lhgs~o r~any 

x>ther fa cil it ie s re quired for th eir oper at io n excep F la n di ng a re a s , ru nw ay s 

an d t ax iw ay s. He w as fu rthe r ad v is ed th at th is info rm at ion bad bee nT urn is hed 

to the Uni ted Sta te s Army D is tr ic t En gine er a t Fort W orth in re sp o n se to an 

in qu iry co nc er ni ng th e m at te r.

4 . Altho ugh no t re fl ecte d in th e pro po se d le g is la ti o n , Mayor W ag go ne r in ­

dic ate d th er e had be en some d is c u ssio n among C ity o ff ic ia ls co nc er ni ng pr ovis io ns of ha ng ar sp ace for u se of th e Tex as Army N at io nal G u ard in a ha ng ar 

whi ch migh t be const ru cte d a t th e ne w air p o rt . How ev er , no th ou gh t ha d be en 

giv en to th e re qu irem en t for_ an armor y an d oth er su pp or ting fa c il it ie s whi ch th e 

Tex as N ational Gu3 .rd.now has a t th e A irfiel d. He fe lt th at th e City of Grand 

Pr ai rie wo uld ha ve no o b je c ti o n to pr ov id ing re quired fa c il it ie s for th e Te xa s 

Army N at io na l Gu ard pr ov id ed th at su ff ic ie n t fund s wer e ma de av ail ab le throug h 

sa le of th e ex is ting re al .e s ta te . It w as su g g est ed th at th e 42 acre s be long in g 

to th e Dep artm en t of th e Army un de r li c e n se to th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gu ard 

might als o be so ld an d pro ce ed s re su lt in g th erefrom be appli ed a g ain st co st of 

new fa cil it ie s for th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gua rd .

5 . M r. John so n su g g est ed th at Fed er al fund s be so ught for const ru ct io n 

of N at io na l Guard F a c il it ie s a s he ha d hea rd th at su ch fa c il it ie s co ul d be const ru cte d from Fe de ral an d Sta te fu nds. It w as expla in ed to him th at su ch armo ry 

const ru ct io n was on a long ra nge pla nn in g program an d th at se v era l ar m or ie s were 

alr ead y progra mm ed for Te xa s w hi ch wou ld u se all th e Fe de ral fu nd s which mi ght 

be co me avail able to Te xa s for sev era l y e a rs .

6. May or W ag go ne r ex pla in ed th at th e C ity of Gra nd Pr ai rie was st ri vin g 

fo r a ve ry sim pl e C la ss H AIrpo rt of abouX 200 acre s co n sis ti n g of e sse n ti a l ru n - 

way s an d ta xiw ay s plu s a co m bi na tio n ha ng ar te rm in al bu ildin g an d th at th e 

air port w ou ld no t be d e siq n ed fo F Ia rg e c o m m e rc ia lc arrie rs. In it ia l le ngth of 

ru nw ay s wo uld 5e~? 20 0~ fe er ;' Ap par en tly, tw o .s it e s for th e pro po se d ai rp ort ha d 

be en in ves ti gate d fro m* rea l e s ta te an d air sp ace a sp e c ts an d found a c c e p ta b le /
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 27

They are lo cate d tw o to three mile s south of the Grand Pra irie A ir fi e ld . Es tim ated 

cost of the land at these lo cations is 600. per ac re bu t th is may jum p to 1000. 

per ac re wh en negotia tio ns are st arted.

7 . D is cussio n was held on the poss ib le procee ds to be deriv ed from sa le 

o f the Grand Pra irie A ir fi e ld pr op er ty bu t no d e fin ite concl usi ons we re re ach ed. 

-One re al est ate ag en cy fe lt th at the 195 ac res held by the C it y of Grand Pra irie 

would br ing p o ssib ly 3850. - 40 00. per ac re fo r a poss ib le to ta l o f 780,0 00 or 

possib ly more . The 42 ac res held by the De pa rtm en t of the Army and under lic ense 

to the Texas Arm y N ational Guard would possib ly br ing a much high er price per 

acre as it has exte nsiv e fron tage on Je ffe rson Av en ue , a princip al thorou gh fare 

be tween Grand Pra irie and Arlin gto n and als o co ntains a ll o f the b u ild in g s. It 

wa s the fe elin g o f the entire gro up th at the entire Grand Pra irie A ir fi e ld sh ou ld 

be so ld at the same tim e to obta in the hig hest pro ce ed s.

8. M ay or Wag go ner wa s as su red th at the Tex as Army Natio nal Guard wished 

to co ntin ue to co op erate w ith the C it y of Grand Pra irie bu t th at the requ ire men ts 

o f the Tex as Arm y N ational Guard for adequate tr ain in g and op er ating fa c il it ie s 

co uld no t be co mpr om ised . M ay or Waggoner in dic ate d th at it wa s his desire to 

wor k w it h ' the Texas Arm y N ational Guard and the C it y wa s co mmitted to do so .

9. It wa s brou gh t ou t in the dis cussio n th at the C it y of Grand Pra irie 

does no t have an y fund s appro pr iated to fin ance a new a irport as such funds 

would have to be ob tained by a bond is su e; th at funds w hic h would be used for 

the prop osed new a irport would be deriv ed from the pro ceed s of the sa le of the 

e xis tin g Grand Pra irie A ir fie ld .

10. It wa s agree d th at th e Adju ta nt G enera l's De partm ent of Tex as wou ld 

prepare estim ate s on the funds neede d to pr ov ide re quire d fa c il it ie s at a new 

lo cation and would advise the C it y of Grand Pra irie o f our est im ate s and re ­

comm en da tions .
2«S GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

Sec tion V

Estim at e of Funds Re quire d to Pr ov ide Ade qu ate Avi atio n F acil it ie s to Te xa s Army 

N at io na l Gu ard U ni ts Sta tioned a t Gr an d Pra irie Airfield a t New Loc atio n if 

Existin g Airf ield is Sold

1. The fo llo wing fa cil it ie s w ill be re quir ed a t an y new lo cati on for 149th 

Avi ation B at ta lion, 49 th A rmored D iv is io n, Tex as Army N at io nal Gu ard if the 

ex is ti n g Gr an d Pr ai rie Ai rfi eld is so ld . F a c il it ie s li s te d an d est im ate d co sts 

are base d on air cra ft all ow ance s in cu rr ent Ta bl e of O rg an iz at io n an d Eq uipmen t for an arm ored div is io n av ia ti o n b a tt a li o n . Ho we ve r th e nu mber of auth ori zed air cra ft has be en re duce d from 100% to 50% w hi ch is 10% le s s th e numb er 

no rm ally auth ori ze d un de r N at io na l Gu ard Eq uip ment G u id e s. The sp ace cri te ri a 

is base d on pu bl ic at io n en ti tl ed "S pa ce C ri te ri a Army N at io nal Gu ard Avi ation 

F a c il iti e s ."

a . C ost Estim ate On Avi ation M ain te nan ce F acil it ie s

Ite m D es cr ip tion O uart ity Unit Uni t Price To tal

Han ga r an d Al lie d Shop 292 74 sq ft 18 .0 0 5 2 6 ,9 3 2 .0 0

Han ga r ap ro n, concr ete 1555 sq yd 6.0 0 9 ,3 3 0 .0 0

W as h a r e a , co ncr et e 415 sq yd 6.0 0 2 ,4 9 0 .0 0

Tie dow n a re a , co ncr et e 6903 sq yd 6.00 41, 418.00

T ax iw ay,a sp halt (v ari able ) 888 sq yd 4.0 0 3 ,5 5 2 .0 0

Ta xiwa y ligh ting 5 ,0 0 0 .0 0

Aircraf t fu elin g sy st em 7,0 00.0 0

Flam mable St or ag e Bld g. 400 sq ft 3 ,2 0 0 .0 0

A cce ss Roads an d W al ks 4 ,0 0 0 .0 0

U ti li ti es 3 ,0 0 0 .0 0

To tal 505 ,9 2 2 .0 0

No te:' To re duce c o s ts , ha rd to p pa rk ing are as are no t in cl uded in th is est im ate 

as pa rk ing are as for ad jo in in g armory w il l be u se d .
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 29

b . C os t Estim at e on Ad joi nin g Armory Bu ild ing

Item D es cr ip ti on Q uan tity Uni t Unit Pr ice Total

!<• .i

Armory bu ildi ng * 21,360 sq ft 13 .00 2 7 7 ,6 8 0 .0 0

S h elv in g, bin s , etc a s pre sc ri bed in NGB Pa mph let 2 ,5 0 0 .0 0

Fla g po le 1 ea 700.0 0 700.0 0

Off str e et pa rk in g 20,0 00 sq ft .2 6 5 ,2 0 0 .0 0

M il itary vehic le pa rk ing 25,3 20 sq ft .2 6 6 ,5 8 3 .0 0

A cc es s Ro ads (v ar ia bl e) 15 ,400 sq ft .2 6 4 ,0 0 4 .0 0

Fence, chai n lin k 640 LF 2.5 0 1,6 00.0 0

Site cle ara n ce (va riab le ) 2 ,5 0 0 .0 0

C oncr et e cu rb ing 2,0 00 LF 1.50 3 ,0 0 0 .0 0

To tal 303 ,7 6 7 .0 0

* To re duce c o sts a 7000 sq ft dri ll hall has be en eli m in ate d. The ha ng ar 

w ill be u se d as a dri ll h a ll .

c . C ost Estim ate On O rg an iz at io nal M ai nte nan ce Sho p

Ite m D es cr ip ti on Q ua nt ity Uni t Uni t Pr ic e Toital

OMS Bld g(40 ft x 80 f t-3 ba y) 3,2 00 sq ft 7 .0 0 22,4 00.0 0

W as h Slab 80 sq yd 7 .0 0 560.0 0

P O L Bldg 100 sq ft 8 .0 0 800.0 0

H ar ds ta nd 26 ,190 sq ft .2 0 5 ,2 3 8 .0 0

2,6 10 sq ft .3 0 783.0 0

Cha in link fe nc e 688 LF 2 .5 0 1,7 20.0 0

Fuel sy st em ea 1,5 00.0 0

A cce ss Road (v ar ia bl e) 2 ,0 0 0 .0 0

To tal 35,0 01.0 0
30 GRA ND PR A IR IE , T E X ., AI RP OR T

d . Pro je ct C ost Sum mary

Avi ation M ai nte nan ce F acil it ie s

Armory Buildi ng

O rg an iz at io nal M ai nte nan ce Sho p

D es ig n

To tal C os t

e . To tal sq uar e fe et in buildin gs

605 ,9 2 2 .0 0

303,7 6 7 .0 0

35,0 01.0 0

9 4 4 ,6 9 0 .0 0

4 7 ,2 3 4 .0 0

991,9 24.0 0

54 ,3 34

2 . In ad ditio n to th e fa c il it ie s lis te d above, th e fo llo w in g wou ld be re qu ired :

a . Ap prox im ately 20 acre s of la n d , su it ab le for const ru cti on of li ste d 

fa c il it ie s , ad jo in in g a ta xiw ay on th e ne w air port co nnec te d to th e la nd in g are as 

an d ru n w ay s.

b . U ti li ti es to th e bu ildin g s ite s li ste d above.

c . Jo in t u se of la ndin g a re a s , ru nw ay s an d ta x iw ay s.

d . All w ea th er a c c e s s road le adin g to th e acre age pre sc ri bed above.
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 31

Sec tion VI

Resum e of C onf er en ce with May or C . P. W ag go ne r of Gr and Pra irie an d M ajor 

G en er al Thomas S. Bisho p, Adj utan t G en er al of T ex as, 1 May 1963

1. A co nfe re nce w as hel d a t th e off ic e cf th e Adj utan t G en er al of Te xa s at 

1100 ho ur s on 1 Ma y 1963 co nce rn in g Grand Pra irie A irfiel d, Gr an d Pra ir ie , T ex as . 

Th os e att endin g th e co nfe re nce were:

May or C . P. W ag go ne r, Gr an d Pr ai rie

M r. Clif fo rd Jo hnso n, City M an ag er , Gr an d Pr ai rie

M r. Boyd Ri dg wa y, Ridgwa y Rea l E st at e Com pa ny , Gr an d Pr ai rie

Maj Ge n Tho mas S. B is hop, Adj Ge n of Te xa s

Brig Ge n James D. S co tt , Ass t Adj Ge n of Te xa s

Lt Col Remin gton K. W ebst er, De pt Engr AGD of Tex

M r. Derrel N ic h o ls , Te xa s N at io nal Gu ard Armory Board

2 . Subje ct of th e confe re nce w as to de te rm in e a sa ti sfa c to ry so lu ti on to a 

prob lem cre ate d by pro po se d le g is la ti o n in Sen at e Bill 1220 an d Hou se R es ol ut io n 

5259 whe re by th e C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie wou ld be au th ori ze d to se ll it s 195 acre s 

of la nd in th e Gr and Pr ai rie Airfield fa c il it y . Subje ct la n d , if so ld , wou ld in cl ud e 

th e la nd in g a re a s, ru nw ay s an d ta x iw a y slh u s dep rivi ng th e Tex as Army N at io na l 

Gua rd of e sse n ti a l oper at in g f a c ilitie s . A summ ary of th e confe re nce fo llo w s:

a . A su ggest io n w as d is c u sse d th at th e City of Gr and Pr ai rie be auth ori zed to se ll th e enti re Airf ield in cl ud in g th e 42 acre s ow ne d by th e Dep artm en t of 

th e Army an d use d by th e T ex as Army N ational'G uar d an d ap ply <the p ro ceed s' to th e 

p u rc h ase an d de ve lo pm en t of a new public air port for th e C ity of Grand Pr ai rie an d 

to fa c il it ie s for th e Te xa s Army N at io nal Gu ard a t th e new Airpo rt. How ev er , it was 

poin te d ou t th at th e am ou nt of mo ney to be.d eri ved from th e sa le co uld no t be d e ­

fi n it ely de te rm in ed an d th e am ou nt ne ed ed for purc has e an d de vel opm en t of th e Airpo rt an d for co n st ru cti on of fa c il it ie s for th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gua rd wo uld pro ­

bably exceed th e am ou nt of mon ey r eceiv ed from th e sa le of th e Airpo rt. It w as e s tim ated th e C ity of Gr and Pr ai rie wou ld re quire fu nd s in th e am ou nt of 450 ,0 0 0 . or 

mo re an d th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gu ard wou ld re quir e 991,0 00. or m or e.

b . A su ggest io n w as ma de th at th e C ity of Gr an d Pra ir ie re tu rn by de ed

to th e Dep artm en t of th e Army a po rtio n of th ei r 195 acre s am ou nt in g to ap pro xim at ely 61 acre s in cl ud in g th e runw ay, an are a ex te ndin g 75 fe et e a s t of th e ru nw ay an d 

from th e ap pr ox im at e no rth en d of th e ru nw ay to th e so ut h li m it s of th e Airf ield and 

th e are a w est of th e ru nw ay w hi ch is curr entl y in cl uded in th e 195 acre s ow ne d by 

Gr an d P ra ir ie . That po rtion re urn ed to th e Dep artm en t of th e Army wo uld be co me an d 

re m ai n av ail ab le for use of th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gua rd an d be ad de d to th e Te xa s 

N at io nal Gu ard li c e n se by th e U . S. Army D is tr ic t Eng in ee r. Th is ar ra ng em en t wo uld 

pe rm it th e Tex as Army N at io nal Gu ard to co ntinue to opera te it s fa c il it ie s an d wo uld 

pe rm it th e C ity of Gr an d Pra irie to se ll th e re m ai ni ng appro xim at el y 134 a c re s . The
32 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

pro ce ed s of th e sa le of the 134 acre s wou ld be use d by th e C ity of Gr and Pra ir ie to 

purc has e la nd an d fa cil it ie s an d de ve lo p a new Airp ort. The C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie 

wou ld pr ov id e ad eq uat e land a t th e new Ai rport for const ru ct io n of Te xa s Army N ational Gu ard fa cil it ie s and jo in t use of la ndin g a re a s, ru nw ay s an d ta xiw ay s if 

th e Te xa s Army Nat io na l Gu ard d esi re d to re lo cate at th e new fi el d a t a fu ture 

d a te . Th is su ggest io n was agre eab le to May or C . P. W ag go ne r an d M aj or Gen eral 

Bisho p.

c . The City of Gr and Pr ai rie w ill make a fi el d su rv ey ma de of th e ar ea to 

be re tu rn ed by de ed to th e Dep artm en t of th e Army. The City Will a ls o w ri te a 

dra ft of pr op os ed am en da to ry la nguag e to Sen at e Bill 1220 an d Hou se Res ol ut io n 

52 59 . C opie s of th ese do cu men ts w il l be fu rn is hed to th e Adj ut an t G en er al of 

Te xa s fo r concu rr en ce . The C ity of Gr an d Pra ir ie pla ns to co n ta ct th e U. S.

Army For t Worth D is tr ic t Eng inee r re gar din g pr oc ed ur e of re tu rn in g la nd by de ed 

to the Dep artm en t of th e Army. They fe el th e dee d sh ou ld be exec ute d aft er p a ssa ge of th e le g is la ti o n auth orizi ng th e C ity to se ll th e 134 a c re s . The Te xa s Army 

N at io nal Gu ard will re qu ire a le gal in st ru m en t th at th e 61 acre s w ill be re tu rn ed 

by de ed to the Dep artm ent of th e Army an d it is beli eved th is pro vis io n sh ou ld 

be in cl ud ed in the pr op os ed le g is la ti o n .

3. Add iti on al note s on th e confe re nce ar e att a ch e d .
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 33

CONFERENCE NOTES- 1 May 1963

Gr and Pr ai rie Airf ield

May or W ag go ne r: Based on est im ate pr ep ar ed by Bill Fuller , Airpor t 

Pla nner , it be ca m e obv io us th at th e C ity of Grand Pr ai rie co ul d no t bu ild an 

air port with fu nd s curr entl y-a vail able . It w as fe lt th at a bond is su e wou ld no t 

su cceed as fund s wer e ne ed ed too bad ly for str e e ts an d oth er more e sse n ti a l pu rp o se s. Prim ary r easo n be hi nd sa le of la nd w as to get acr eag e on ta x ro ll s an d 

ra is e mo ney for new air p o rt . All fund s re ce iv ed from sa le wo uld be in vest ed in 

new air p o rt . Purc has er mus t ag re e to pe rm it Te xa s N at io nal Gu ard to co nt in ue 

to use exis ti ng fa c il it ie s until re pla ce m en t fa c il it ie s ar e made av ail ab le .

M r. Rid gway ask ed if Fe de ral an d Sta te const ru ct io n fund s co uld be ad de d 

to contrib ution from C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie to const ru ct re pla ce m en t fa c il it ie s. Brig 

G en Sco tt expla in ed pro gram mi ng acti ons n e ce ssa ry to obta in ne w co n st ru cti on, 

w hi ch wou ld p o ssib ly re quire se vera l y e ars.

Ma j Ge n Bishop assu re d Gr an d Pr ai rie pe op le th at th e Tex as N at io nal 'G uar d 

w as no t tryi ng to bl oc k th ei r ef fo rt s toward obta in in g auth ori ty to se ll ai rp ort 

acre ag e .H e sta te d th e prob lem ve ry sim pl y i .e . , "W itho ut ru nw ay s an d ta xiw ay s 

we ca nnot tr ai n an d o p e ra te ." He ask ed Mayor W ag go ne r if he ha d an y su g g esti ons whi ch might le ad toward th e so lu ti on of th e pr ob le m .

May or W ag go ne r ma de th e fo llo wing pro posa l: We est im ate 200 acre s of 

la nd will be re quir ed for th e new air port . C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie is pre pa re d to 

giv e th e Tex as N at io nal Gu ard :

a . "X" numb er acre s of la nd on whi ch to const ru ct it s fa c il it ie s .

b . Jo in t use of ru nw ay s an d ta xiw ay s at pr opose d air p o rt .

C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie peeds c o n sis t of runw ay an d ta xiw ay s plu s a si ngle m et el 

bu ildin g to house ad m in is tr at io n an d m ai nte nan ce fu n d ti o n s. Balan ce of pro ce ed s 

from sa le of 195 acre s wou ld be dev ote d to N at io nal Gu ard re quir em ents . City of 

Grand Pra ir ie ca nnot guara nte e fu nd s ov er an d ab ov e pro cee ds from sa le of la nd.

W e d o n 't w an t to in it ia te a ne w bil l; w e'd pr ef er to am en d ex is ti n g bil l an d /o r 

en te r in to an ag re em en t w ith th e Tex as N at io na l G ua rd . Sa le of 195 acre s was e s ­

ti m at ed to br ing $750 ,0 0 0 .0 0 - 8 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 . The mos t fa vora ble pro pose d sit e 

c o n sis te d of appro xim at el y 300 a c re s. It w as an ti cip ate d th e purc has e pri ce wo uld 

be $ 7 0 0 /a cre for to ta l of $210, 00 0. The new fa cil it y at Ar lin gton c o st ap pro xim at el y 

$ 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 .G rand Pr ai rie est im ate d co st of it s new air port to be an est im ate d 

$ 4 5 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 . The ad m in is tr at io n an d m ai nte nan ce bu ildi ng at th e new sit e w as 

est im ate d a t $7 5 ,0 0 0 .
34 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

Brig Gen Sc ott then furn ished an analy sis of exis tin g and re qu ire d fa c il it ie s , 

cost es tim ates and proposed solu tio n s. Both side s im m edia te ly re co gn ized th at the 

C it y of Grand Pra irie wou ld be un ab le to fu rn is h fa c il it ie s acc epta ble to Texas Natio n a l Guard because o f fun d lim it a ti o n s .

M r. Ridgwa y fe lt that estim at es for new fa c il it ie s we re too hig h and stated 

th at lik e fa c il it ie s i . e . , a metel hangar co uld be co nst ru ct ed fo r $5/S F.

M r. Waggoner then began to dis cuss prop osed solu tion rjur.bar 2-and in ­

dica te d th at the Grand Pra irie Com mission or C ouncil would pr obably be amenab le to it . A t enta tive im ag inar y lin e wa s esta blished appro xim ate ly 75 ' ea st o f and 

para lle l to ea st edg e of the N /S ru nw ay te rm in ating at the a ir fi e ld bo unda ry lin e on 

the soutfc-and the so uthe as t co rner of the pre se nt Texas N ational Guard 42 acre 

tr act on the north. It wa s pro po sed th at the C it y o f Grand Pra irie would attempt 

to o’ ta in Congr es sion al ap pr ov al to s e ll a ll C ity-o w ned la nd east of the im ag inar y 

lin e and return to Federal co ntrol a ll C ity-o w ned land w est o f the lin e (a ppro xim ately 61 a cre s). Sale o f the re maining ac reag e wou ld re alize s u ff ic ie n t funds to 

eff ect cost of new a irport . This co urse of action wa s ac ce pted by bo th side s in 

p ri n c ip le .

It -w a s agree d that the Grand Pra irie group would pre pare a dra ft of amendment to cu rren t b i l l , make a fi e ld su rv ey o f acrea ge desc ribed above and fu rn ish 

co pies to AGD for re vie w and com ment prior to ta ki ng Further a ctio n . In the meantim e, the Adju ta nt ^Gen eral's De pa rtm en t would de term ine mo st ap pr opria te act io n 

to as sure th at the acrea ge ex ce ss to C it y 's needs (a ppro ximate ly 61 ac res) wou ld 

eventu ally be included in Tex as N ational Guard lice n se , from the De pa rtm en t of 

the Army.

It was als o agree d th at the C it y of Grand Pra irie would pro vide land for 

construction o f Texas N ational Guard fa c il it ie s and jo in t use o f landin g ar ea s, 

runw ay s and ta xiw ays at the proposed new airport wh en desire d by the Tex as 

N ational Gua rd.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 35

Sec tion VII

Cop y of Let te r from C ity M an ag er C. A. Jo hn so n of Gr an d Pr ai rie to Con gr es sm an 

Jim W rig ht

May 8, 1963

The Hon or ab le Jim W rig ht 

Hou se of R epre se nta ti ves 

W as hin gto n, D. C.

Dea r Jim:

A tta ch ed is a co py of a le tt er w hi ch w as w ri tten to G en er al Bishop co nc er ni ng 

the pre se nt sta tu s of H. R. 5259 an d S1220. The pro po se d am en dm en t to Se ct io n 

I, al on g with Exh ib its A an d B, is att a ch e d .

Our cit y attorn ey is of th e op in io n th at th e bill it s e lf sh ould no t be ch an ge d 

in an y way oth er th an th e fa ct th at we w ould d esc ri b e th e 127 a c re s, more or 

le s s , whi ch wo uld be so ld ou t of th e ori gin al 195-a cr e tr act as desc ri bed in 

ou r de ed date d May 22, 1962, ente re d in to by th e Uni te d S ta te s an d th e City 

of Gr an d Pra ir ie , an d ag re e th at th e re m ai ni ng 65 a c re s , more or le s s , be d eed ­

ed ba ck to th e U ni ted Sta te s G ov er nm en t. The op in io n of ou r c it y attorn ey is 

bo rne ou t by a le tt er w hi ch we re ce iv ed to da y from G en er al Bishop of th e Te xa s 

N at io nal G ua rd . Gen er al Bishop has st a te d th at he wou ld notify you an d Sen at or 

Yarbo rou gh an d var io us m ilitar y head q u art ers , in cl ud in g th e N at io nal Gu ard 

Bureau in W as hi ng to n of ou r ag re em en t.

We under st an d th at a hea ri ng has be en sc hedule d for May 14, 1963 in th e Com ­

m itte e of Co mm erc e of whi ch R epre se nta ti ve John Bell W illiam s is ch ai rm an . It 

is su ggest ed by the C ity of Gr an d Pr ai rie th at th e re co mmen de d am en dm en t to 

Sec tion I of H. R. 5259 be in troduce d at th is tim e.

We si n cere ly appre cia te yo ur ef fo rts on ou r be ha lf, in connec tion with th is b il l, 

an d if we ca n be of an y se rv ic e to you p le ase co n ta ct u s.

Sin cer ely ,

CLIFFORD A. JOHNSON 

C ity M an ag er

En c.
36 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

Se ction VIII

Recommended Changes in Senate B ill 1220 

88TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1220

Recommended Amendmen t to Se ction 1

It is recommended th at Se ction 1 o f Senate B ill 1220 be amended to rea d

as fo llo w s:

Be it en ac ted by the Senate and House of Re pres en tativ es of the

Unite d States of Am erica in Congres s as se mbled , th a t, subje ct to 

pro vis io ns of Se ction 2 o f th is A ct, the c it y o f Grand P ra irie , Te xa s, 

sha ll be au th orize d to co nv ey to the hig hest bidde r a ll ri g h t, tit le , 

and in te re st of such c it y in and to the re al pro perty transf erred to 

such c it y for public airport purpose by the U nited Sta te s. Such re al 

pro perty consis ts of a tr act of land conta in in g 127 a cre s, more or 

le ss,o ut of the 195 .82 ac re tr act situate d in the co unty of D alla s ,

Sta te of Te xa s, the exa ct le gal description of which pr op er ty is 

co ntaine d in the deed dated M ay 22 , 1962, en tered in to between 

the United States as gra nto r, acting by and throug h the Se cretary of 

the Army , and the c it y of Grand P ra irie , Te xa s, as gra nte e, w hic h 

127 acre s, more or le ss is more p a rt ic u la rl y de sc rib ed in E xhib it 

"A " he reto attach ed, and he reby in co rp ora te d here in . The remaind er 

o f the 195 acre tr act, consis ting o f 65 acre s, more or le s s , w il l be 

re turn ed by deed to the Unite d States under the control of the Se creta ry of the Army, by the c it y o f Grand Pra irie in orde r th at the sa id 65 

ac res may be co nt inue d in use for the tr ain in g of the Tex as N ational 

Guard and othe r m ilit a ry purp oses. Said 65 ac res is more p a rt ic u la rl y 

de sc rib ed in E xhib it "B ^h er et o attach ed and he reby in co rp ora te d he rein
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

EXHIBIT "A"

DESCRIPTION OF 127.39 ACRES OF LAND

Being a tr ac t or pa rcel of land lying and situ at ed in Grand P ra ir ie ,

Da lla s County, Texas and a part of the McKinney and Williams Surv ey, Abst ra ct No. 1045 and the Eliz ab eth Gray Surv ey, Abstract No. 517.

Beginning at a point on the East righ t-of -w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway (for merly S. W. 8th Str ee t) where i t in te rse cts the South boundary

li n e of the McKinney and Williams Survey, Ab stract No. 1045, sa id point

being the Northwest corner of Lot 17, Block 9, of the Indian H il ls Park

Addition to the Ci ty of Grand P ra ir ie .

Thence S0° 33* 30" W alon g the East righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Car rier

Parkway a di stan ce of 2683.0 fe et to the Sou theast corn er of Grand Pra irie

Airpo rt,

Thence N 89° 34* 30" W a di stan ce of 1557.3 fe et along the South

boundary li n e to a point where property li n e bears due North,

Thence N0° 02* W a di stan ce of 138.4 fe et to a po int where property

li n e turns West, said po int being the Northeast corner of the W. C. May

Survey, Abstract No. 890,

Thence N0° 24* W a di stan ce of 3,578 fe et to the Sou theast corner

of the Texas Army Na tio nal Guard 42 .39 acre tr a ct.

Thence N 8° 20* 30" W a di stan ce of 691.70 fe et to a point on the

South righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Je ff er so n Avenue,

Thence N 81° 39* 30" E alon g the South righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Je ffer so n

Avenue a distan ce of 249.06 to the Northwest corner of land known as Gener al Se rv ices Ad minis tra tion Land Acq uisitio n,

Thence S 8° 20* 30" E a di stan ce of 330 fe et to a point for G. S. A.

Land’s Southwest cor ner,

Thence S 44° 41* 30" E follo wing G. S. A. Land’s South boundary li n e

a di stan ce of 201 6.45 fe et to the place of beginning and conta ining

127.39 ac res of lan d.

SAVE AND EXCEPT

DESCRIPTICN OF 6.1 6 ACRES OF LAND - (Ca rrier Parkway Right-Of-Way)

Being a tr ac t or parcel of land lying and si tu ate d in Grand Pra ir ie ,

Da lla s County, Tex as, and a par t of the McKinney and Williams Survey, Abst ract No. 1045 and the Eliz ab eth Gray Survey, Ab stract No. 517,
38 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

Beginning at a point on the East righ t-of -w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway

(Formerly S. W. 8th Str ee t) where i t in te rs ec ts the South boundary line of

McKinney and Williams Surv ey, Ab stract No. 1045, said point bein g the Northwes t corn er of Lot 17, Block 9, of the Indian H il ls Park Ad dition to the

Ci ty of Grand P ra ir ie .

Thence S 0° 17* W along the East righ t-of -w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway

a distan ce of 2683.0 fe et to the Sou the ast corner of Grand Pra irie Airp or t.

Thence West a di stan ce of 100 fe et alon g the South boundary li n e to a

point in the Wtest righ t-o f-w ay of Ca rrier Parkway,

Thence N 0° 17* alon g the West righ t-of -w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway a

di stan ce of approxim ately 2810 fe et to a po int in the South boundary line

of G. S. A. Land’s 40.3 acre tr a ct.

Thence follo wing G. S. A. Land’s South boundary line in a So uthe asterly

dir ec tion a di stan ce of app roximately 120 fe et to the pla ce of beginning and

conta ini ng 6.1 6 ac res of lan d.

Exhib it "A" to Senate B il l 1220 and House Re solutio n 525 9, 88th Congress,

as amended.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT 39

EXHIBIT *3"

DESCRIPTION OF 65 .9 9 ACRES OF LaND

Be ing a t r a c t or p a rc e l of la nd ly in g and s itu a te d in Grand 

P r a i r i e , D all as Cou nt y, Tex as , and a p a rt of th e McKinney and 

W ill ia m s Sur ve y, A b s tr a c t No. 1045 and th e E li z a b e th Gray Su rvey 

A b str a c t No. 51 7.

Beg in ni ng at a p o in t sa id p o in t bei ng th e N. E. Cor ne r of 

th e W. C. May Su rvey A b str act No. 89 0.

Th enc e N 89 ° 26* W al on g th e Nor th Boundary lin e of sa id 

May Su rvey a d is ta n c e o f 10 91 .0 fe e t to th e So ut hw es t corn er of 

sa id a i r p o r t , t r a c t ,

The nc e, N 0° 72* 3C" E a d is ta n c e appro xim at el y 11 62 .45 

f e e t to a p o in t in lin e w it h th e N or th wes t ed ge o f th e most 

W es te rl y a s p h a lt mat exte nded ,

Th en ce , N 29 ° 32* 30” E al ong th e N or th w es t edge of sa id 

n at a d is ta n c e o f 98 1.15 f e e t to a p o in t p e rp e n d ic u la r to and 

4C0 f e e t West of th e c e n te r lin e of th e N or th -S outh Runway,

Thence N 1° 19 ’ 30” W al on g a lin e p a r a lle l to and 400 f e e t 

wes t of th e sa id c e n te r lin e a d is ta n c e of 14 76 .75 f e e t to a p o in t 

on th e So uth bo un da ry lin e of mo st Wester n ram p,

The nce N 81 ° 59* 30” E a d is ta n c e of 61 4. 10 f e e t to a p o in t.

Thence S 0° 24* E a d is ta n c e of 3,57 8 f e e t to th e pla ce of 

beg in nin g and c o n ta in in g 65 .9 9 a c re s of la n d .

E x rib it "B" to S en at e B ill 1220 and House R e so lu ti o n 52 59 , 88th C ongre ss , 

as amend ed.
40 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Sec tio n IX

Recommended Changes in House Res olution 5259 

88TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H . R. 5259

Recommended Amendment to Sec tio n 1

It is recommended th at Sec tio n 1 of H. R. 5259 be amended to rea d as 

fo llo w s:

Be it en acted by the Sen ate and House of Rep rese ntatives o f the Unite d

States of Am erica in Congres s ass em ble d,T hat, subje ct to the pro vis io ns

o f sect io n 2 of th is A ct, the c it y of Grand P ra irie , Tex as , sha ll be auth orized to co nv ey to the hig hest bidd er a ll rig h t, title , and in te re st of su ch

c it y in and to the re al pro perty tran sferred to such c it y fo r public a ir ­

po rt purpo ses by the Unite d Sta te s. Such re al pro perty consis ts of a tr act 

of land conta in in g 127 acre s, more or le s s , ou t o f the 195.8 2 acre tr act 

situate d in the co unty o f D allas, State of Te xa s, the exa ct le gal d escription of which pr op er ty is co ntaine d in the dee d da ted May 22 , 1962, ente red in to between the United States as gra nto r, acting by and throu gh the Secr eta ry of the Army, and the c it y of Grand P ra ir ie ,Texa s, as gra nte e . w hic h 

127 acr es, more or le s s , is more p a rt ic u la rl y de sc rib ed in E xhib it "A " he reto 

attached,a nd he reby in co rp or at ed here in .T he re maind er o f the 195 acre tr act 

consis ting of 65 ac res , more or le ss . w il lb e return ed by deed to the United 

Sta te s, under the control o f the Secr eta ry of the Army , by the c it y o f Grand 

Pr airie in orde r th at the sa id 65 ac res may be co ntinued in use for the tr a in ­

ing of the Tex as N ational Guard and ot her m ilit a ry pu rp ose s. Said 65 acre s,

is more p a rt ic u la rl y desc rib ed in E xhib it "B " he reto atta ch ed and he reby 

inco rp or ated here in .
GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 41

EXHIBIT "A"

DESCRIPTION OF 127 .39 ACRES OF LAND

Being a tr ac t or parcel of land lying and situ at ed in Grand P ra ir ie ,

Da lla s County, Texas and a part of the McKinney and Williams Surv ey, Abst ra ct No. 1045 and the El izab eth Gray Survey, Abstract No. 517.

Beginning at a point on the East rig ht -of-w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway (forme rly S. W. 8th Str ee t) where i t in te rse cts the South boundary

li n e of the McKinney and Williams Survey, Ab stract No. 1045, said point

being the Northwest corner of Lot 17, Block 9, of the Indian H il ls Park

Addition to the Ci ty of Grand P ra ir ie .

Thence SO® 33* 30" W alon g the East righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Car rier

Parkway a di stan ce of 2683.0 fe et to the Sou theast corn er of Grand Pra irie

Airpo rt,

Thence N 89® 34* 30" W a di stan ce of 1557.3 fe et along the South

boundary line to a point where property li n e bea rs due North,

Thence N0° 02 ’ W a distan ce of 138.4 fe et to a point where property

li n e turns West, said po int being the Nor theast corn er of the W. C. May

Surv ey, Abstract No. 890,

Thence NO® 24* W a di stan ce of 3,578 fe et to the Sou theast corner

of the Texas Army National Guard 42.39 acre tr a ct,

Thence N 8® 20* 30" W a di stan ce of 691.70 fe et to a point on the

South righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Je ffer so n Avenue,

Thence N 81® 39* 30" E alon g the South righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Je ffer so n

Avenue a di stan ce of 249 .06 to the Northw est corn er of land known as Gener al Se rv ices Ad minis tra tion Land Acq uisitio n,

Thence S 8® 20* 30" E a di stan ce of 330 fe et to a point for G. S. A.

Land’s Southwest corner.

Thence S 44° 41 ’ 30" E follo wing G. S. A. Land’s South boundary li n e

a di stan ce of 201 6.45 fe et to the plac e of beg inning and contain ing

127 .39 ac res of lan d.

SAVE AND EXCEPT

DESCRIPTION OF 6.16 ACRES OF LAND - (Ca rrier Parkway Right-Of-Way)

Being a tr ac t or parcel of land lying and si tu ate d in Grand P ra ir ie ,

Da lla s County, Tex as, and a par t of the McKinney and Williams Surv ey, Abst ra ct No. 1045 and the El izab eth Gray Survey, Ab stract No. 517,
42 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

Beginning at a point on the East righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway

(Formerly S. W. 8th St re et ) where i t in te rse cts the South boundary li n e of

McKinney and Williams Surv ey, Ab stract No. 1045, sa id point being the Northwest corner of Lot 17, Block 9, of the Indian H il ls Park Ad dition to the

Ci ty of Grand Pra ir ie .

Thence S 0° 17* W alon g the East rig ht -of-w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway

a di stan ce of 2683.0 fe et to the Sou theast corner of Grand Pra irie Ai rp or t.

Thence West a dista nc e of 100 fe et along the South boundary li n e to a

point in the West rig ht-of-w ay of Carrier Parkway,

Thence N 0° 17* alon g the West righ t-o f-w ay li n e of Carrier Parkway a

di stan ce of appro ximately 2810 fe et to a po int in the South boundary line

of G. S. A. Land’s 40.3 acre tr act.

Thence fol low ing G. S. A. Land's South boundary li n e in a So uthe asterly

dir ec tion a dista nc e of approximately 120 fe et to the pla ce of beg inning and

conta ini ng 6.16 acres of lan d.

Ex hib it "A" to Senate B il l 1220 and House Re solutio n 525 9, 88th Congress,

as amended.
GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X. , AIRPORT

EXHIBIT :1B"

DESCRIPTION OF 65.9 9 ACRES OF LaND

Being a tr a ct or par ce l of land ly in g and si tu ate d in Grand 

P r a ir ie , Dal la s Cou nty, Te xa s, and a pa rt of the McKinney and 

William s Su rvey , A bst ra ct No. 1045 and the Eli za bet h Gray Surve y, 

A bst ra ct No. 51 7.

Beg inning at a jjo in t sa id po int being the N. E. Corner of 

the W. C . May Survey Abs trac t No. 890.

Thence N 89° 26’ W alo ng the North Boundary li n e of sa id 

May Survey a dis ta nce of 1091.0 fe et to the Southwest corner of 

sa id a ir p o rt, tr a c t,

Thence, N 0° 12 ’ 30" E a dis ta nc e ap proxim ate ly 116 2.4 5 

fe e t to a po int in li n e with the Northwest edge of the most 

Westerly as phal t mat extend ed ,

Thence, N 29° 32* 30" E alo ng the Northwest edge of sa id 

mat a dis ta nc e of 98 1.1 5 fe e t to a po in t pe rp en di cu lar to and 

400 fe e t West of the cen te rl in e of the North-South Runway,

Thence N 1° 19* 30" W alo ng a li n e p a ra ll e l to and 400 fe et 

west of the sa id cen te rl in e a dis ta nc e of 147 6.7 5 fe e t to a po int 

on the South boundary li n e of most Western ramp,

Thence N 81 ° 59 ’ 30" E a di st an ce of 61 4.10 fe e t to a poi nt.

Thence S 0° 24’ E a di st an ce of 3,578 fe e t to the pl ac e of 

begin ning and co nt ai ni ng 65.99 ac re s of land .

Ex hi bi t "B" to Sen ate B i ll 1220 and House Res ol ut ion 5259 , 88th Cong 

as amended.
44 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Mr. Wright. Mr. Chairman, the purpose of this bill is to permit 

the city of Grand Prairie to develop at no cost to the Government 

more adequate airport facilities for tha t city.

With your permission I should like to pass up to the committee 

table two photographs which will give you an aerial understanding of 

exactly what we are talking about.

The reason legislation becomes necessary is that this airport was 

originally deeded to the city of Grand Prairie by the Government of 

the United St ates with a reversionary clause stating tha t if this particular property ever ceased to be used for an airport tha t it would revert 

to the Government of the United States.

Now, however, the city of Grand Prairie has grown so rapidly tha t 

the growth has surrounded the airport on three of its four sides completely. Three and a half miles to the east of this airport lies Hensley 

Field, a U.S. naval installation. Immediately to the west of Hensley 

Field and between Hensley Field and the airport lies the Chance 

Vought, Ling-Temco-Vought Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. Immediately north to the runway, not shown unfortunately on this aerial 

photograph, is a rather large water tower; and immediately, or rather 

some little distance to the south, lies another larger water tower.

The Federal Aviation Agency in its long-range planning has recommended that more adequate airport facilities will be needed for this 

town. Grand Prairie has grown from some 14,000 people in 1950, to 

approximately 42,000 people today.

The Federal Aviation Agency in its report to this committee on the 

original bill said in part, and I quote:

The interests of civil aviation at Grand Prairie would be served by enactment 

of H.R. 5259. It would allow the constru ction of a better, completely new airport 

withou t the expenditure of any city funds or any Federal airp ort aid program 

funds.

The airport could be located at a less congested site which would better allow 

for whatev er futu re expansion of th e airport facilities is found necessary.

What is proposed in the bill is to permit the sale of some 127 acres 

of the 195 acres deeded to the city. Because of the great growth in 

value the city can derive now enough proceeds from the sale of this 

property to go some distance to the south and acquire more adequate 

runway, clear zone facilities, and construct more adequate runways and 

airport facilities without any additional cost being borne.

Additionally, all rights, titles, reservations inuring to the Federal 

Government under the present arrangement at the present site would 

be conveyed to the new site so that the Federal Government would not 

lose its reversionary rights.

It simply would transfer those rights from the present property to 

the new and more adequate airport property. Originally there was a 

question on the part of the Department of the Army as to the appropriateness of moving and selling the entire runway because the 

National Guard, the Texas National Guard, has established facilities 

immediately to the west of tha t runway and is using tha t runway for 

training purposes.

An arrangement has been made, however, embodied in the new bill 

H.R. 6254, whereby only 127 acres of the 195 would be sold. The 

remaining 65 acres of that trac t including tha t north-south runway, 

would be conveyed back to the Government, at no cost, of course, 

and would continue to be used by the Army National Guard, for its
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 4 5

training mission until such time as the Army National Guard might 

decide that it desired to move its facilities to the new site.

This removes the objection tha t the Texas National Guard had 

imposed, which objection was reflected in an original report from the 

Department of the Army.

Additionally, (he Federal Aviation Agency wanted certain reservations made. First, in order to insure tha t there would be no stoppage 

of airport facilities they wanted to be sure that the old airport was not 

closed until such tune as the new airport had been constructed.

This requirement is met by the new arrangement whereby the Texas 

National Guard, under the U.S. Army, would retain the strip, itself, 

and the strip could be used for commercial aviation as well until such 

time as the new airport facilities were constructed.

Mr. \\ illiams. Do they intend to keep an operator on the field?

Mr. Wright. It is my understanding that they do intend to keep 

an operator on the field. General Scott of the Texas National Guard 

is here, also Mayor C. P. Waggoner and City Manager Clifford Johnson of Grand Prairie.

I had thought tha t I might introduce them to the committee and 

any questions tha t the committee might wish to ask them they will 

be more than happy to answer in this regard.

'fhe Federal Aviation Agency, second, wanted the right to approve 

the sale price for which this land was sold in order to make certain 

that it would yield enough money to build facilities without anticipating additional Federal aid.

To this agreement the city of Grand Prairie accedes willingly and 

happily.

Additionally, the Federal Aviation Agency wanted assurance tha t 

the city would proceed expeditiously with the construction and completion of the necessary facilities a t the new site. To this, the city 

agrees.

So, the new bill embodies the clear provision that all properties 

acquired and all properties sold under the terms of this bill will be 

done so under the direction of the Federal Aviation Agency. Section 

2 provides that:

Th e sale referred to in th e first section of thi s ac t sha ll be au thorize d in writin g 

by the Federal Aviation Agen cy after accepta nce and approv al of such wr itten 

ass ura nces from th e cit y of Grand Pra irie as he ma y deem ap pr op ria te to pr otec t 

th e inter ests of th e Un ite d St ates with res pect to th e proceeds of such sale and 

to ass ure th at suc h proceeds will be used bv suc h city solely for th e purpo se of 

acquiring real pr op erty, imp rov ing , an d op erati ng sam e fo ru se by such cit y as 

a public air po rt.

And subsection (b) further provides that:

Real pr op erty acquire d un der au th or ity of subse ction (a) sha ll be su bjec t to 

th e sam e ter ms , exceptions, reserva tio ns, restrict ion s, con ditions , an d cov enants 

as th e Di rec tor of Airpo rts—

and T think the Aviation Agency wishes us to change tha t to the 

Adm in is tr a tor—

Federal Aviation Agency, af ter consult ati on with th e Secre tary of the Arm y 

ma y dee m ap pr op ria te to ass ure th a t suc h prop erty will be held and used by th e 

cit y of Gr an d Prairie, Tex., for pub lic airp or t purpos es, su bject to th e sam e 

ter ms, exceptions, res erv ations, restr ict ion s, con ditions , an d covenants con tained 

in th e deed .
4 0 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

So that 1 believe that everybody, the city, the FAA, and the Army 

will be protected. Certainly it is our desire and full intent to see 

that they are protected and the purposes of civil aviation in this 

rapidly growing city would be advanced and served.

Mr. Chairman, if 1 may, J would like to introduce to the committee 

both Mayor C. P. Waggoner and City Manager Clifford Johnson, of 

the city of Grand Prairie, and permit Mayor Waggoner to file a 

statement and to summarize briefly the position of the city.

Mr. Williams. Thank you very much.

The committee will be very glad to receive his statement and to 

hear what he has to say.

STATEMENT OF HON. C. P. WAGGONER, MAYOR, CITY OF GRAND

PRAIRIE, TEX., ACCOMPANIED BY CLIFFORD A. JOHN SON,

CITY MANAGER

Mr. Waggoner. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, 

since Representative Wright has covered this situation so adequately,

T will file our statement which will be much in repetition anti will 

briefly give a statement as to why I feel this bill should be passed for 

the benefit of the city of Grand Prairie.

(The statement referred to follows:)

City of G rand P r a ir ie ,

Grand Prair ie, Tex ., M ay 14-, 1963.

R ep re se nta tive J oh n Bel l Willi am s,

Ch air ma n, Su bcom mittee of Inte rstate an d Foreign Af fa irs,

House of Rep resentatives , Un ited Sta tes of Am erica .

M r. C ha irma n and M em be rs of th e C om m it tee: I am C. P. W ag go ne r, m ay or 

of th e city of G ra nd Pr ai rie , Te x., and I ha ve w ith me Mr. Clifford Jo hn so n, ou r 

city m an ag er . We t h an k y ou for t he o pport unit y t o a ppear be fore th is c om m itte e 

and disc us s th e pr op os ed H .R . 5259 which was in troduce d by R ep re se nta tive 

Jim W ri gh t and re fe rred to th is co m m itte e fo r te st im ony. This pr op os ed bill 

wa s in tr od uc ed to en ab le th e city of G ra nd Pra irie to co rr ec t a si tu ati on th a t can 

on ly be co rr ec te d th ro ugh leg islatio n.

F or m an y ye ar s th e city of G ra nd Pra ir ie ha s en de av or ed to obta in way s an d 

mea ns wo uld in su re pro pe r ut iliz at io n of an old ex istin g ai rp ort . Thi s ai rp ort 

whic h is unde r co ns id er at io n lies midway be tw ee n th e city of D al la s an d th e city 

of F o rt W or th . Te x. I t is lo ca te d in th e h eart of th e city of G ra nd Pra irie a nd is 

co mpletely su rr ou nde d by in dus tria l and re side nt ia l de ve lo pm en t. It wa s a 

pri vate air port buil t by th e C urtis Fl yi ng Se rvice Co rp., of Ne w Yo rk, in 1929 

for th e pu rp os e of tr ai nin g ad van ce d fly ers . Thi s air port ope ra tion was un su cces sfu l an d in 1930 it be ca me th e G ra nd Pra irie M un icipal A irpo rt. In Octob er 

1942, th is la nd was ac qu ired by co nd em na tio n by th e U ni ted S ta te s of Ame ric a 

ac co rd in g to civ il ac tion No. 699, U.S. dis tr ic t co ur t, an d th is pro pert y be ca me 

na va l ou tlyi ng field No . 268 03. Thi s air p o rt has be en us ed sin ce th a t tim e by 

va riou s gover nm en ta l ag encie s fo r m an y di ffer en t pu rp os es .

On M ay 22, 1962, th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra ir ie rece ived ti tl e to th e air port which 

co ns ist s of ap pr ox im at el y 196 ac res, be ing de ed ed from th e U nited Sta te s of 

Ame ric a unde r Pub lic Law 317 of th e Fed er al A irpo rt Ac t. The ci ty re qu es te d 

ti tl e to th is la nd w ith th e de sire th a t it co uld be de ve lope d and utili ze d as a 

mun icipal air port su bj ec t to th e re ve rs io na ry clau se as specified unde r se ct io n 16 

of Pub lic La w 377. It was als o st ip ula te d in th e de ed th a t th e Te xa s N at io na l 

G ua rd wou ld ha ve jo in t use of th e la nd in g ar ea , taxi way s, an d ru nw ay s to get her 

with th e ri ghts of ingress and egres s fo r th e pu rpos e of land in g and take of f of 

airp lane s.

Th e ci ty re ce ntly em pl oy ed an avia ti on ex pe rt to fo rm ul at e a m as te r pl an for 

co nt in ui ng de ve lo pm en t an d usage for th is site. Afte r su bm it ti ng th e m as te r 

plan to th e Fe de ra l Aviatio n Ag ency, it was reve aled th a t it wou ld be ne ce ssary 

for th e city of G ra nd Pra irie to co nst ru ct new runw ay s, bu ild ha ng ar s an d oth er 

facilities in or de r to mee t th e minim um re qu irem en ts of class 2 air port. In oth er 

wo rds , th e ci ty had title to 196 ac res w ith in ad eq uat e air port facilities and wa s
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 47

fa ce d w ith th e pr ob le m of mak in g va riou s ca pital im pr ov em en ts be fore th e la nd 

co uld be safely us ed fo r a pu blic air port.

In or de r to m ak e th e ne ed ed im pr ov em en ts on th e ai rp ort , it ap pea re d th a t it 

wo uld be ne ce ssary for th e pe op le of th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie to vo te bo nd s of 

appro xim at el y $350, 000. Afte r disc us sing th is w ith civic lead er s of our co mm unity, it wa s co nc ur re d th a t th is prop os al wo uld no t rec eiv e th e su p p o rt of th e 

pe op le be ca us e of ou r pr es en t he av y bo nd ed in de bt ed ne ss .

The ci ty th en de cide d to in ves tigat e th e po ss ib ility of leas ing th e air port to a 

fixe d-ba se o pera to r an d re qu ire th e o pera to r to m ak e th e ne ce ss ar y im pro vem en ts .

All po ss ib ili tie s alon g th es e lin es ha ve be en ex plor ed an d we ar e un ab le to find 

an opera to r w ith fina nc ial ab ility to m ak e th e re qu ired im pro vem en ts . All oth er 

po ss ibili tie s to up gra de th e air port ha ve be en ex ha ust ed an d it ap pea rs th a t th e 

pr op os al which is be fore yo u to day is th e log ica l so lu tion fo r de vel opm en t of a 

clas s 2 air p o rt in t h e city of G ra nd Pra irie . We be lie ve t h a t th e sol ut io n which is 

be ing outlin ed th ro ugh H .R . 525 9, w ith th e prop os ed am en dm en t, is th e pro pe r 

ty pe le gi slatio n be ca us e:

1. It will en ab le th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , th ro ugh a G over nm en t- ap pro ved 

sal e, on a se al ed -b id ba sis, to sell ap pro xim at el y 127 ac res ou t of th e or ig inal 

tr ansf er of 196 ac res to th e hi gh es t bidd er .

2. W ith th e p ro ce ed s of th e sale, th e c it y o f G ra nd P ra ir ie w ill purc has e ap pr ox im at el y 200 ac res of la nd in a mo re des irab le lo ca tion an d co nst ru ct a new class 2 

ai rp ort w ith pr oper fa ci lities a t no a dditio nal ex pe ns e to a ny g ove rn m en ta l ag en cv .

3. A pp ro xi m at el y 65 ac res will be de ed ed ba ck to th e Fed er al G ove rn m en t 

w h ich can be used by th e Tex as N ational G ua rd . (T he ba lanc e of 4 ac res lies 

with in th e righ t-of -w ay of an ex istin g ro ad across th e air port land .)

4. It w ill en ab le t h e Tex as N at io na l G uar d to c on tinu e th eir o pe ra tions w ithout 

in te rr upti ons an d in su re th em th e fu tu re use of th e new air port.

5. It will in su re t h e Fed er al G ov er nm en t th a t a new air port will be const ru ct ed 

which wo uld be un der th e re ve rs io na ry clau se as out line d by Pub lic Law 377, 

se ct io n 16.

6. Thi s is one si tu ati on whe re th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , th e Tex as N ational 

G uard , th e Fed er al A vi at io n Ag ency, an d th e Fed er al G ov er nm en t wo uld all 

be ne fit w it h o u t re quir in g an y ad di tion al ta x mon ey from th e pe op le.

I, as m ay or of th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra irie , urg en tly re qu es t th a t th e mem be rs of 

th is co m m itte e give th is bil l an d pr op os ed am en dm en t a fa vo ra bl e vo te .

Mr . C ha irm an , if it is pr op er , I wo uld lik e to read th e pr op os ed am en dm en t to 

H .R . 525 9 in to th is te st im ony:

“ SECT ION IX ----RECOMMENDED CHANGES IN HOU SE RESO LUTI ON 5259

“ H .R . 5259, 88 th Con gress, 1st ses sio n

“R ecommended, am en dm en t to section 1

“ I t is re co m m en de d th a t se ct ion 1 of H .R . 5259 be am en de d to re ad as follo ws :

“ ‘Be it ena cted by the Sena te an d House of R epresent atives of the Un ite d Sta tes of

Am er ica in Congress assembled, T hat, su bje ct to th e pr ov isions of se ction 2 of th is 

Act, th e city of G ra nd Pra irie , Te xa s, sh all be au th or iz ed to co nv ey t o th e high es t 

bid de r all ri ght, ti tl e, and in te re st of su ch ci ty in an d to th e re al pro pert y tr a n sfe rred to su ch ci ty for pu blic air port pu rp os es by th e U ni ted Sta te s. Su ch re al 

pro per ty co ns ists of a tr a c t of la nd co nt ai ni ng 127 ac res , mo re or less, out of th e 

195.82 ac re tr a c t si tu ate d in th e co un ty of Dallas, S ta te of Te xa s, th e ex ac t leg al 

de sc ript io n of w hich p ro pert y is con ta in ed in th e d ee d date d M ay 22, 1962, ente re d 

in to be tw ee n th e U ni te d S ta te s as g ra nto r, ac ting by an d th ro ugh th e Sec re ta ry of 

th e Ar my, an d th e ci ty of G ra nd Pr ai rie , Te xa s, as gr an te e, which 127 ac res, more 

or less, is mo re part ic ula rl y de scrib ed in Exhi bit A her et o att ached, an d he re by 

in co rp or at ed he rein. The re m ai nd er of th e 195 ac re tr act, co ns istin g of 65 ac res, 

more or le ss, will be r etu rn ed by d eed to t he U ni te d Sta te s, un de r th e c on trol of t he 

Sec re ta ry of th e Arm y, by th e c ity of G ra nd Pra irie in or de r th a t th e s aid 65 ac re s 

m ay be co nt in ue d in use for th e tr ain in g of th e Tex as N at io nal G uar d an d oth er 

m ilitar y pu rp os es . Sa id 65 ac res , is mo re par ti cula rl y de sc ribe d in E xhib it B 

he re to att ached and he re by in co rp or at ed he re in .’ ”

T ha nk yo u for giving me th e opport unit y to appear be fore th is co m m itte e to * 

te st if y in be ha lf of th is bill and peop le of G ra nd Pr airie .

C. P. Wag go ne r, May or .
48 GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

E x h ib it A

DESC RIPTION OF 127.39 ACRES OF LAND

Be ing a tr a c t or pa rc el of la nd lyin g an d si tu ate d in G ra nd Pr ai rie, Dallas 

Cou nt y, Te x., an d a p a rt of th e M cK in ne y an d W illiams su rv ey , ab st ra ct No . 

1045, an d th e Eliza bet h G ra y su rv ey , ab str a c t No. 517.

Be ginn ing a t a poin t on t he e as t rig ht -o f-w ay l in e of C ar ri er Par kw ay (for mer ly 

Sou thwes t Eig ht h Stree t) whe re it in te rs ec ts th e so uth boundar y lin e of th e 

M cK inne y an d W illiams su rv ey , ab st ra ct No. 1045, sa id po in t be ing th e n o rt h ­

west co rn er of lo t 17, bloc k 9, of th e In dia n Hill s P ark ad di tion to th e ci ty of 

G ra nd Pr airie .

The nc e S. 0 °3 3 '3 0 " W . alo ng th e ea st righ t-of -w ay lin e of C ar rier Par kw ay a 

di stan ce of 2,6 83. 0 feet to th e so uth east co rn er of G ra nd Pra irie A irp or t.

The nc e N. 89°3 4'3 0" W. a dis ta nc e of 1,557.3 fe et alon g th e so uth boundar y 

lin e to a po in t whe re pro per ty lin e be ar s du e nort h.

Th en ce N. 0° 02 ' W. a di stan ce of 138.4 fe et t o a poin t whe re pro per ty lin e tu rn s 

west, sa id po in t be ing th e nort hea st co rner of th e W. C. May su rv ey , ab st ra ct 

No . 890.

Th en ce N. 0°2 4' W. a di stan ce of 3,5 78. 42 feet to th e so uth ea st co rn er of th e 

Te xa s Arm y N at io nal G ua rd 42 .39-acre tr act.

The nc e N. 08°2 0'3 0" W. a dis ta nc e of 691 .70 fe et t o a poin t on th e so uth r ig htof-w ay line of Je fferso n Av enue.

The nc e N. 81°3 9'5 0" E. alon g th e so ut h righ t-of -w ay lin e of Je fferso n Ave nu e 

a di stan ce of 2 49.06 f ee t to th e n or th w es t co rner of lan d k no wn as G en eral Service s 

A dm in is trat io n la nd ac qu isiti on .

Th en ce S. 8°2 0 '3 0 " E. a dis ta nc e of 330 fe et to a poin t for GSA la n d ’s s o u th ­

wes t co rner.

Th en ce S. 44°3 1'3 0" E. follo wing GSA la n d ’s s ou th boundar y lin e a dis ta nc e of 

2,016.45 fe et to th e place of be ginn ing an d co nt ai ni ng 127.39 ac res of land .

Sa ve an d Exc ep t

D ESC R IP T IO N OF 6 .lfi ACRES OF LA ND, C A R R IE R PA RK W A Y R IG H T-O F-W A Y

Be ing a tr a c t or pa rc el of land lyin g an d si tu ate d in Gra nd Pra irie, D al la s 

Cou nt y, Te x., an d a p art of th e M cK inne y an d Willi am s su rv ey , ab st ra ct No. 

1045, an d The Eliza bet h G ra y su rv ey , ab str act No . 517.

Be ginn ing a t a po in t on th e ea st righ t-o f-way line of Car rier Par kw ay (fo rm erly 

Sou th w es t Eig ht h S tree t) whe re i t in te rs ec ts th e south b oun da ry lin e of M cK inne y 

an d W illiams su rv ey , abst ra ct No. 1015, said po in t be ing th e nort hw es t co rn er of 

lo t 17, bloc k 9, of th e In di an Hills Par k ad di tion to t h e ci ty of G ra nd Pr airie .

The nc e S. O°3 3' W. alo ng th e ea st righ t-o f-way lin e of C ar ri er Par kw ay a 

di st an ce of 2,683 fee t to th e so uth ea st co rn er o f Gra nd Pra irie Airp or t.

The nc e w es t a dis ta nc e of 109 feet alon g th e so ut h bo und ar y lin e to a po in t in 

th e wes t righ t-o f-way lin e of Car rier Par kw av .

The nc e N. 0° 33 ' E. alo ng th e west rig ht -o f-w ay lin e of Car rier Par kw ay a 

dis ta nce of ap pr ox im at el y 2,8 10 feet to a po in t in th e so ut h boundar y line of 

GSA la n d ’s 40 .3-acre tr act.

The nc e follow ing GSA la nd’s s out h bo un da ry lin e in a so ut he as te rl y di re ct io n 

a dis ta nc e of ap pr ox im at el y 120 f ee t to th e plac e of be ginn ing an d co nt ai ni ng 6 -1 6 

ac re s of land .

E x h ib it B

D E SC R IP T IO N O F 65.99 A C R ES OF LA ND

Bein g a tr a c t or pa rc el of la nd ly in g and si tu ate d in G ra nd Pr ai rie , Dallas 

C ou nt y, Te x., an d a p a rt of th e M cK in ney and W illiam s su rv ey , ab st ra ct No. 

1045, and th e Eliza be th Gra y su rv ey , ab st ra ct No. 517.

Beg inning a t a poin t sa id p o in t be ing th e nort heast co rn er of th e W. C. M ay 

su rv ev , ab st ra ct No. 890.

The nc e N. 89 °2 6' W. alo ng th e nort h bou nd ar y line of sa id May su rv ey a 

di st an ce of 1,091 feet to th e so uth w es t co rn er of sa id air port tr act.

The nc e N. 0°2 2'3 0" E. a dis ta nce of ap pr ox im at el y 1,1 62.45 fe et to a poin t in 

lin e ■with th e no rthw es t edge of th e m os t wester ly as phalt m at ex tend ed .

The nc e N. 29 °3 2'3 0" E. al on g th e nor th w es t ed ge of sa id m at a dis ta nc e of 

981.1 5 fe et to a poin t per pen dic ula r to and 400 fe et west of th e ce nter lin e of th e 

nort h-s outh ru nw ay .
GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 49

Thence N. l°19 '30" W. along a line parallel to and 400 feet west of the said 

centerline a distance of 1,476.75 feet to a point on the south boundary line of 

most western ramp.

Thence N. 81°59'30" E. a distance of 614.10 feet to a point.

Thence S. 0°24' E. a distance of 3,578 feet to the place of beginning and containing 65.99 acres of land.

Mr. Waggoner. This bill was introduced by Representative 

Wright to correct a situation which we feel is the only way tha t we 

can have an adequate airport and at the same time allow our city 

to grow in the direction in the westerly part of our city.

We have tried all types of possibilities of bringing this airport up 

to a class I I airport and each avenue has been availed of, in the last 

of which we proposed a bond election and due to our bond indebtedness at the present time we knew tha t the bond election would not 

pass, so this avenue was also abandoned.

But we feel that this bill will be a proposition where everyone, 

including the Federal Government, will benefit at no cost to the U.S. 

Government.

It will enable the city of Grand Prairie through a Governmentapproved sale on a sealed-bid basis to sell 127 acres out of the original 

196 acres to the highest bidder.

With the proceeds of this sale, the city of Grand Prairie will purchase 

approximately 200 acres of land in a more desirable location and 

construct a class I I airpo rt with proper facilities a t no additional cost 

to the Government.

Approximately 65 acres will be deeded back to the Federal Government which can be used by the Texas National Guard and allow them 

to have facilities th at they are now using and continue their operation. 

It will insure the Federal Government tha t a new airport will be constructed which will be under the same reversionary clause as outlined 

in Public Law 377, section 16.

This is one situation, as I stated before, where the city of Grand 

Prairie, the Texas National Guard, the Federal Aviation Agency, 

and the Federal Government would benefit without acquiring any 

additional tax money from the people.

As mayor of the city of G rand Prairie I respectfully and urgently 

request you consider this bill and give it a favorable vote. If there 

are any questions I shall be glad to answer them.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Mayor, I note in your statement you say this 

land was originally an airport operated by the Curtis Flying Service 

Corp, of New York.

Mr. Waggoner. That is true.

Mr. Williams. Its operations were unsuccessful and in 1930 it 

became the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport. In 1942, the land was 

acquired by condemnation by the United States under civil action 

and so on in the district and it became a naval field.

Mr. Williams. What consideration was involved in the condemnation suit?

Mr. Waggoner. I do not know. I cannot answer that question.

Mr. Williams. Did the city pay for the property or was it one of 

these $1 deals?

Mr. Waggoner. I am told it was $127,000.

Mr. Williams. Then the Federal Government has a t least $127,000 

in it plus presumably the cost of the maintenance and the improvements tha t have been added?
50 GRAND PRAIRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Mr. Waggoner. That is true. There was one part sold off by 

GSA 2 years ago. I believe it brought $S7,000 to the Government.

Mr. Williams. As I understand, you plan to leave 195 acres for 

the Air National Guard?

Mr. Waggoner. No, sir; it is 65 plus 42—107 acres, approximately.

Mr. Williams. What type of aircraft do they operate there now?

Mr. Waggoner. General Scott is here. The aircraft tha t I have 

seen on the field are two helicopters and one Cessna, small Cessna 

aircraft. They may operate others. I know there are no heavy aircraft operating off the field to my knowledge, as far as the Guard is 

concerned.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Friedel?

Mr. Friedel. How far away are you from the next largest city?

Mr. Waggoner. We are 7*£ miles west of Dallas.

Mr. Friedel. How far from their airport?

Mr. Waggoner. From their airport J would say approximately 10 

or 11 miles from Love Field.

Carter Field is north of us, about 4 or 5 miles. We are almost 

directly south of Carter Field which is midway between Dallas and 

Fort Worth.

Mr. Friedel. Are there many privately owned planes in your city?

Mr. Waggoner. There are approximately between 92 ami 100, 

something like that, on the field at the present time. We have a 

tremendous industrial development just to the west of our city called 

Great Southwest Corp., which has 6,000 acres in it being developed 

industrially.

As this develops, of course, industrial airplanes for industry will 

continue in this.

Mr. Friedel. Where do you intend to put the new airfield?

Mr. Waggoner. Three and a half miles or so south of this particular 

one. We have asked the FAA to look at this and give us a tentative 

answer airspacewise. They have approved two alternate sites 3’/2 

miles south which puts us out of the pattern of Hensley Field and 

Carter Field.

Mr. F riedel. Are there many homes near the proposed area?

Mr. Waggoner. There are none. There are none for 3 miles. 

The city plans to zone easements around the new site provided this 

bill passes in order to prevent this situation from happening again, 

which we have the power to do. Our city limits extend beyond the 

new proposed site. So we have the power.

Mr. Friedel. Thank you.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Devine?

Mr. Devine. No questions.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Hemphill?

Mr. Hemphill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I just want to join the chairman in welcoming you here to the 

committee accompanied by our distinguished colleague, Mr. Wright. 

He is one of the ablest Congressmen up here and has been quite an 

inspiration to me.

Mr. Waggoner. This we can agree on.

Mr. Hemphill. This is not Hensley Field that we used to know 

during the war, is it?

Mr. Waggoner. Yes, sir.

Mr. Hemphill. It was a Navy field at tha t time'’
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 51

Mr. Waggoner. Navy and Army both are flying off that field at the 

present time. The two bees are adjacent to each other. Mr. Hemphill.

Mr. Hemphill. Aren’t you practically in the traffic pattern of 

Amon Carter now?

Mr. Waggoner. Yes, sir; the jets come right over our city.

Mr. Hemphill. Tha t is my recollection.

Mr. Waggoner. Of course, we think this is hazardous. I don’t 

know what FAA thinks about it.

Mr. Hemphill. I want to assure you and our colleague of my 

support.

Mr. W aggoner. We appreciate this. W e certainly do not want to 

hurt any Government agencies as we stated in our testimony, but at 

the same time we want to allow our city to glow. I think all agree an 

airport within a city at this time, particularly a small airport, is not too 

good a situation for the city.

Mr. Williams. Mayor Waggoner, getting to the bill and perhaps 

Mr. Wright will be in a better position to answer the question, on 

page 2, line 12, Mr. Wright, it provides tha t:

The ci ty of G ra nd Pra ir ie sh all be au th or iz ed to co nv ey to th e United S ta te s 

all righ ts, ti tl e a nd in te re st o f su ch ci ty t o an d to ce rtai n re al pro per ty .

Now on page 3, line 19, you say:

The ci ty of G ra nd Pra ir ie sha ll co nv ey w ithout m on et ar y co ns id er at io n th er ef or 

to th e U ni te d S ta te s th a t tr a c t of la nd co nt ai ni ng 65.99 ac res.

Now on page 2, the city conveys presumably such interest as the 

city may have in this property.

On page 3, the language indicates that the city is claiming full title 

to the property without any encumbrance and conveying that, tract 

of land.

I just question the difference in language. Should not the city on 

page 3, convey such right, title, and interest as it may have in the 

property rather than putting it on a fee simple title?

Mr. Wright. I believe your point is well taken. This was drafted 

with the aid of the legislative counsel. The only encumbrance existing 

against the property is the reversionary clause. I think from the 

standpoint of draftsmanship you are exactly correct and that the language on page 3 under subsection (c) should be revised so that it would 

provide that the city conveys all right, title, and interest of such city 

in and to tha t tract of land. T think your point is very well taken.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Chairman, I was going to submit, and it 

might be proper at this point for me to submit for the record, some 

exhibits—exhibit A being the exact legal description of the 127.39 acres 

of land which the city proposes to sell and exhibit B being the exact 

legal description of th at 65.99 acres of land which the city proposes 

to convey back to the Government for use by the Government in 

connection with the Army National Guard.

Mr. Williams. Do you think it will be necessary to nail th at down 

by including the description of t hat property in the bill, itself, or is 

that necessary?

Mr. Wright. Well, it it was my thought, buttressed by the thought 

of the legislative counsel, th at it was not ncessary to nail it down in the 

bill so long as it was contained in the committee records and perhaps 

referred to in the committee report on the bill.
52 GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

However, I would have no objection to nailing it down in the bill 

properly if that was thought by the committee to be the appropriate 

means of approaching it.

Mr. Williams. I have one more question which should be raised 

and th at is in regard to the property which is being released back to the 

city.

Mr. Wright. 127 acres is proposed to be sold. The proceeds to 

be used to purchase the new land and improve it; 65 acres approximately is proposed to be conveyed by the city back to the Government that being the land on which the north-south runway exists 

adjacent to the National Guard properties.

Mr. Williams. Would it not be necessary, in order to clear title to 

tha t property, for us to in effect quash the reversionary clause to tha t 

property? As I understand it, the reversionary clause follows the 

property to the individual who may purchase it and they may find 

themselves out on a limb, so to speak.

Mr. Wright. I think probably still a third draft of this bill should 

be made embodying a specific quashing of this reversionary clause so 

that it won’t act as a cloud upon the title of the vendee, the party to 

whom the city would sell tha t property. This point was raised in 

the report of the Federal Aviation Agency.

Mr. Williams. Now as a matte r of equity, Mr. Wright and Mayor 

Waggoner, it would appear at first blush tha t the Federal Government 

perhaps should be reimbursed for the investment that it has initially 

in the property which is some $100,000-odd.

Mr. Waggoner. I am told $120,000.

Mr. Williams. Perhaps with an appreciation or less depreciation. 

Is it your position th at the Federal Government has value received in 

the use of this property and as a matter of equity all parties are more 

or less even now?

Mr. Wright. Mr. Chairman, I would take the position I believe 

that as a matter of equity the parties are all now even. For one thing, 

the General Services Administration has sold for some $87,000-----

Mr. Waggoner. However, the city never owned it. This was a 

private individual who owned the property originally. The city never 

owned it until conveyed under Public Law 16 about a year ago.

Mr. Wright. The city, in other words, did not receive the remuneration of the $120,000 paid by the Government for the property initially. The city owns it only as a result of the granting of this piece 

of land under title 16 of the Federal Aviation Act-----

Mr. Williams. By the Federal Government, is that it?

Mr. Wright. Yes; by the Federal Government.

I would further think tha t a m atter of equity might be considered 

that the Federal Government has enjoyed use of the property even 

since it has been owned by the city through the use of the Texas National Guard whose property lies immediately adjacent thereto and 

who has been using the landing strip as a continuous training mission. 

General Scott, incidentally, from the Texas National Guard, is here. 

I should like to submit exhibit C for the record, a map of the total 

property.

Mr. Williams. It may be received.

Mr. Wright. Exhibit D some additional photographs, and exhibit 

E, a rather comprehensive report prepared by the A djutant General’s 

department concerning the history and agreement with respect to
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 5 3

this particular piece of property and recommending this action which 

leaves 65 acres for the National Guard.

The Department of the Army originally had reported unfavorably 

upon the original bill, not knowing of the arrangement tha t had subsequently been made whereby the city had agreed to leave this 65 

acres and deed it back to the Government and permit the National 

Guard to have its continuous use.

At the proper time the committee might wish to hear Gen. James D. 

Scott of the Texas National Guard.

Mr. Williams. I have a few questions I would like to ask him about 

this. Are there any further questions of Mr. Wright or Mayor 

Waggoner?

Mr. Waggoner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the 

committee; we appreciate the opportunity.

Mr. Wright. Would the committee like to hear from General 

Scott?

Mr. Williams. I would like to ask him one or two questions about 

the transaction. General, would you identify yourself for the record, 

please?

STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. JAMES D. SCOTT, ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GEN IRA L OF TEXAS, TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD

General Scott. I am Brig. Gen. James D. Scott, Texas National 

Guard, assistant adjutant general of Texas. In this matter I represent the Texas National Guard.

Mr. Williams. General, I want to ask you first, does this proposed 

transaction have the approval of the authorities of the National 

Guard?

General Scott. Mr. Chairman, the Texas National Guard was in 

opposition to House Resolution 5259 but under House Resolution 

6254 which Congressman Wright has introduced it cures the objections that the Texas National Guard had which we have worked out 

on a local basis with the city of Grand Prairie. We do not have any 

objections to 6254.

Mr. Williams. What is the length of th at runway?

General Scott. The usable length is about 2,600 feet, sir.

Mr. Williams. What type of aircraft are flown by the Guard?

General Scott. The Texas National Guard operates liaison-type 

aircraft from the field, including fixed-wing and helicopters. We 

have about 15 fixed-wing aircraft and 15 of L -19 ’s and 1 L-20, and 

about 8 H-23 helicopters at this time.

Mr. Williams. Do you anticipate or do you foresee any difficulties 

which might be encountered in connection with your operation as 

a result of industrial development in this immediate area with respect 

to zoning, th at type of thing?

General Scott. No, sir; we don’t anticipate any problems in tha t 

respect. Under this House Resolution 6254 the runway is returned 

by deed to the Department of the Army which will permit us to continue operations as we have been doing for the past 10 years on this 

same field.

The land which we now operate from which consists of 42 acres and 

the improvements thereon is adjacent to this runway and we do not
54 GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X., AIRPORT

foresee any problem of any development which would be east of the 

runway wnich would interfere with our operations.

Mr. Williams. General, how far is this from Amon Carter Field? 

General Scott. I would say in a direct line from Amon Carter 

Field it would probably be about 4 or 5 miles.

Mr. Williams. IIow far is it from Love Field?

General Scott. It is probably about 10 miles airline from Love 

Field, roughly.

.Mr. Williams. I believe you said there was another military installation in that area now?

General Scott. Yes, sir; there is.

Mr. Williams. How far is it from that field?

General Scott. It is about 3 miles from the Dallas Naval Air 

Station or Hensley Field as it is usually referred to.

Mr. Williams. IIow far from the present field do they contemplate 

building the new municipal airport?

General Scott. About 3 to 3% miles southeast of the present 

location.

Mr. Williams. That means you will have five airports operating 

within a radius of some 8 or 10 miles?

General Scott. Yes, sir.

Mr. Williams. Is that not going to create quite a number of problems in connection with the handling of traffic?

General Scott. Under the present situation operating from the 

Grand Prairie Airfield our pilots, of course, are military pilots, and 

they operate liaison-tvpe aircraft and helicopters and we have had 

no problems insofar as air density is concerned.

Mr. Williams. Tha t is a high-density area, though?

General Scott. Yes, sir. Tha t is on the fringes of a high-density 

area. Of course, the Federal aviation authority has determined the 

limits of the high-density area. I don’t know exactly how this particular spot of ground fits into it but it is on the fringes of the highdensity area; yes.

I doubt that the establishment of the additional airport south of 

this one by the city of Grand Prairie would adversely affect our 

operations.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Friedel or Mr. Devine?

Mr. Friedel. If this bill goes through and the new municipal airport is built, do you intend to move the National Guard to tha t 

airport?

General Scott. Yes, sir; there is a possibility that the National 

Guard would move to the new airport established by the city of 

Grand Prairie. The city has offered the National Guard 20 acres of 

land at the new airport plus joint use of the runways and taxiways.

Mr. F riedel. Would you go there or would you keep an additional 

airport? What I have in mind is would you close your airport and 

go to the new municipal airport or would there be a new municipal 

airport and one for the National Guard within 3 or 4 miles of each 

other? That would mean five or six airports within an 8-mile radius.

General Scott. Initially the National Guard would have to continue to operate from its present airport because it does not have 

funds to erect new facilities at another location. Sometime in the 

future it might be possible tha t funds would be available to provide 

new facilities at which time we would, of course, consider moving to 

the new location.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TE X. , AIRPORT 55

Mr. F ried el. It might be possible for you to move?

Gen eral Sco tt. Yes.

Mr. F ried el. You do no t mean it is positive that you would move 

to the mu nicipal air po rt?

Gener al Scott. I use the ter m “i t might be possible” because we 

don’t know wha t approp ria tio ns will be ava ilable to us in the Texas 

Na tio nal Gu ard bu dg et to co ns tru ct new facilities.

Mr. Williams. Mr. Dev ine?

Mr. D ev in e. No questions.

Mr. Williams. I would like to propou nd a question to Mr. Wrig ht 

or to May or Waggoner. Wh at is the appro xim ate estim ate d value 

of the prop erty th at is intended to be conv eyed to the city?

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES C. WRIGHT. Jr .— Resum ed

Mr. W righ t. Es tim ate s ran ge from $4,000 an acre to $7,000 an 

acre, Mr. Chairma n.

Mr. W illia ms. Can you fix a total on that?

Mr. W right. Let us str ike a midway bala nce and say $5,500. It 

would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $600,000, perhaps.

Mr. William s. In yo ur sta temen t you say the cit y mig ht hope to 

realize from $508,000 to $989,000.

Mr. Wrig ht. Yes, sir.

Mr. William s. It would be somewhere within th at rang e?

Mr. Wrig ht. It would be within th at appro xim ate range.

Mr. W illiams. Do you feel, Mr. Wrig ht, th at the bill as draw n 

would ob viate the dan gers of real estat e spe culatio n on this propert y?

Mr. W right. Mr. Ch air ma n, 1 feel th at the man ne r pres cribed 

lor the city to follow in the sale of the pr op erty would ob via te that 

problem because the bill directs, and the city is anxious to follow this 

direction , th at it be sold by sealed bids to the highest bidder. The 

publicity at te nd an t to the action of Congres s, assum ing the en ac tme nt of such legislation , certa inly would put eve ryone on notice, and 

in addition to this the cit y would publicize the sale of the pro perty .

I am quite certain th at it is the disp osition and inten tio n of the 

city to derive as great a revenu e as they possibly can from the sale. 

Therefore, I feel th at anyone desiring to pur cha se the pr op erty would 

hav e an equ al op po rtu ni ty to make a bid and th at the pr op erty will 

be sold to the high est bid der .

I know of no addit ion al res tricti on s or arr angeme nts th at we might 

mak e to assu re th at fact bu t certa inly it is my defi nite int ention and 

I am qu ite certa in the definite inten tio n of the city to derive as great 

a yield as they possibly can from the sale of the prop erty. Ce rta inl y 

it would be to their inte res t to see th at it is not sold to some sp ecu lator 

at an unrea listically low price.

Mr. W n uLiAMS. I belie ve the bill provides for the sale by sealed bid?

Mr. Wrig ht. Yes, sir. Section 2(a) of the bill pro vides:

The s ale re fe rred to in th e first se ct io n of th is Ac t sh all be au th ori ze d i n w riting 

by th e D irec to r of Airp or ts, Fe de ra l A vi at io n Agenc y, aft er ac ce pt an ce and a p ­

pr ov al by him of su ch w ritten as su ra nc es fro m th e ci ty of G ra nd Pra ir ie as he 

may de em appro pri at e to pro te ct th e in te re st of th e U ni te d Sta te s with re sp ec t 

to th e proc ee ds of su ch sale and to as su re th a t su ch proc ee ds will be used by su ch 

ci ty sold for th e pu rpos e of ac qu irin g real pro per ty , im pr ov in g and oper at in g 

same for use as a pu blic air port.
56 GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT

Mr. Williams. Is that, consistent with the provisions of your S tate 

law respecting the sale of State property?

Mr. Wright. Yes, sir; I believe it is.

Mr. Williams. I feel that perhaps the committee should know 

whether t hat is consistent with the State law in that as a unit of the 

State government, it is a municipality tha t is making the sale.

If not, I would like to have some discussion as to why it should not 

be in conformity with that.

Mr. Wright. Sealed bids, I am advised, are mand atory under the 

city charter which is under the law of the S tate of Texas. I know of 

situations in which properties have been sold by this means of sealed 

bids. I know of no situation—there may be some—I know of no 

situation in which public bodies have sold property by a public 

auction in the State of Texas. Probably this is the basic difference 

in the statu tes.

Mr. Williams. Does this require advertising?

Mr. Wright. It does require advertising, Mr. Chairman. It 

does indeed—publication and advertisement of the property to be 

sold. Public notice, adequate time for the receipt of bids. It prescribes the means and method of public opening of the bids.

The provision is contained, of course, that the highest responsible 

bidder—I believe the law of Texas, if I correctly recall, states tha t the 

highest responsible bidder will receive the right to purchase or in the 

case of a purchase by the city from a bidder, the lowest responsible 

bidder.

Mr. Williams. Thank you.

Are there any further questions?

Thank you very much.

Mr. Wright. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for letting us 

impose on the time of the committee today. I am grateful for it. 

I know these gentlemen appreciate your having heard us while we are 

here.

Mr. Williams. Do we have anyone here representing the Federal 

Aviation Agency who is prepared to testify on this legislation? Is it 

the intention of the Agency to make a recommendation?

STATEMENTS OF CHET SPURGEON, ON BEHALF OF THE FEDERAL

AVIATION AGENCY, AND DOUGLAS SCHNEIDER, GENERAL COUNSEL’S OFFICE, FEDERAL AVIATION AGENCY

Mr. Spurgeon. We submitted a statement to the committee which 

contains our views.

Mr. Williams. I believe your statement though, Mr. Spurgeon, 

had to do with the original bill as introduced?

Mr. Spurgeon. Yes, sir.

Mr. Williams. I have a copy of it here. Without objection, this 

will be included in the record at this point.

(The statem ent referred to appears on p. 2.)

Mr. Williams. Has the Agency had an opportunity to look over 

the amended or second bill, the revised bill?

Mr. Spurgeon. That is now in process, Mr. Chairman. We have 

not yet had a chance to thoroughly study it.
GRAND PRA IRIE , TE X., AIRPORT 57

Mr. Williams. I would hope tha t the committee might receive 

the views of the Agency within a reasonable length of time in respect 

to the new bill.

Mr. Spurgeon. Yes, sir.

Mr. Williams. Are you in a position to tell us whether the Agency 

favors the enactm ent of the bill, opposes the enactment, or has no 

position on it?

Mr. Spurgeon. Mr. Chairman, I have Mr. Schneider here, who 

is from our General Counsel’s Office who has followed this. I believe 

he can speak to this b ette r than I. Mr. Douglas Schneider.

Mr. Schneider. I am Douglas Schneider, Federal Aviation Agency.

We are not in a position to say at this time what our position will 

be on the new bill.

Mr. Williams. How long do you think it will be before we can 

get an indication of the Agency’s attitude toward the legislation?

Mr. Schneider. I think by the end of the week.

Mr. Williams. Fine. Thank you very much. I believe tha t 

concludes the list of witnesses we have.

Mr. Williamson, do we have someone representing the Army?

STATEMENTS OF LT. COL. WINCHESTER KELSO, JR., OFFICE OF

THE CHIEF OF LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, AND LONEY W. HART,

OFFICE OF CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

Lieutenant Colonel Kelso. Mr. Chairman, I am Lt. Col. Winchester Kelso, Jr. I have with me today Mr. Loney Ha rt from the 

Office of the Chief of Engineers. Mr. Ha rt was prepared to testify 

on the original bill b ut the Department has not had a chance to look 

over the bill that Congressman Wright introduced on Monday and 

consequently we are not in a position to give you the Dep artm ent’s 

position at this time.

Mr. Williams. I can understand that. I would pose the same 

question to you tha t I posed to Mr. Spurgeon.

Do you feel tha t the Army could give study to this new bill and 

furnish the committee with its recommendations within a matter of 

days?

Lieutenant Colonel K elso. Sir, it would probably require more 

than a few days because we have to go back to the district engineers in 

For t Worth to coordinate it at the held level and also through the 

Department of Defense and Bureau of the Budget. It would probably take us a t least 2 weeks.

Mr. Hart. At the outside, 10 days to 2 weeks.

Mr. Williams. The committee would appreciate very much if you 

will do what you can to expedite that.

Mr. Hart. We will see that we do.

Mr. Williams. I believe that concludes the list of witnesses on 

these two bills this morning.

The committee will adjourn until 10 o’clock tomorrow morning at 

which time we will resume hearings on the airport corporation legislation, the National Capital Airport.

(Whereupon, at 11:20 a.m., the subcommittee recessed.)

o