Franklin Hart Airport Authority Responds to Allegations by Former Fr Co Commission Chair

The attorney for the Franklin Hart Airport Authority is responding to allegations and complaints to the FAA and G-DOT made by former Franklin County Commission Chair Thomas Bridges.

In recent months, Bridges has complained several times to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

First was a complaint from Bridges regarding what he said was the exchange of airport manager duties for a ground lease while he was County Commission Chair.

Attorney for the Airport Authority, R. David Syfan, in a letter to Michael Giambrone Aviation Planning Manager with G-DOT, stated that prior to being Airport Manager, the individual serving as Airport Manager had a ground lease for many years and therefore was very familiar with the operations of the Airport.

Syfan said the Airport Manager’s ground lease, therefore, did not arise out of him being the Airport Manager and was entered into many years prior to his appointment.

“When the individual that serves as the Airport Manager began his duties as Airport Manager, the Board made no change in the Airport Manager’s ground lease, and he pays the same fees as anyone else having a ground lease, receives no salary for his services as Airport Manager and volunteers his time and resources at the airport,” he said. “The Airport Manager’s ground lease, therefore, did not arise out of him being the Airport Manager and was entered into many years prior to his appointment. The fees for the Airport Manager’s ground lease are calculated based on the same financial format as all other ground leases. When the individual that serves as the Airport Manager began his duties as Airport Manager, the Board made no change in the Airport Manager’s ground lease, and he pays the same fees as anyone else having a ground lease.”

“In order to conserve the limited funding available to the FHAA, the FHAA and the Airport Manager reached an agreement that the Airport Manager would perform the duties of the Airport Manager on a daily basis in exchange for no compensation, and the Airport Manager is donating his time and services to the FHAA as a public service,” Syfan continued. “It is incredible to the FHAA that anyone would make a complaint about the FHAA receiving free services that materially aid the operations of the Airport, and which demonstrates the frivolousness of the complaint. As discussed hereinafter, Franklin County cannot produce many files of the FHAA, and it is possible that the requested lease was within those files. If the FHAA still has a copy of the lease, then it will be provided upon the lease being located. The FHAA will conduct an active search of the files that FHAA has for the ground lease and will provide it when located.”

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: If FHAA and the tenant are unable to locate copies of lease agreements, please create a new, compliant lease using the Authority’s leasing and fair market value policies and provide a copy to the Department for review.

Second, Bridges alleged there was a plane accident at the airport in which an airplane went off the runway and fell into a hole.

Syfan said no such accident occurred or was reported to the Airport Authority Board.

“The FHAA is unaware of such an incident and would appreciate any more identifying information that you can provide to help the FHAA determine whether such an alleged incident actually occurred. Therefore, further detail such as the date of the alleged incident, the alleged location of the alleged “hole,” any details regarding the alleged plane including the tail number (#) of the plane, the name of the alleged pilot, and any alleged passengers and their contact information, the name of any alleged witnesses and their contact information, and any other details that you can provide would be helpful to determine whether the alleged incident actually occurred or is a harassment falsehood,” Syfan wrote.

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: Details on the alleged accident other than described were not provided by the complainant (Bridges). Please confirm that an airport inspection has been conducted and there is no evidence of an aircraft incident or a hole adjacent to airfield pavement.

Giambone also asked if the Franklin Hart Airport Authority had a procedure for regular safety inspections.

“The Airport Manager is on the grounds daily, and actually able to inspect the entire Airport daily. Further, Board members of FHAA, one or more, are also on the grounds of the Airport 3 or 4 times a week, and therefore the FHAA has multiple agents personally reviewing and observing the status of the Airport and its operations on a constant basis,” Syfan responded. “As indicated in the responses to the prior complaints filed by Ex-County Commissioner Chairman Thomas Bridges, the FHAA follows the Guidelines established by the FAA and GDOT. FHAA will be glad to document in a more formal manner its review of the Airport, if you could please provide an example from local airports (Toccoa, Elberton, or Habersham) of documentation that you consider the model practice, then the FHAA will incorporate such documentation of its daily inspection process into its formal procedures.”

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: We understand the airport is inspected regularly for potential safety and maintenance issues. While not required by state or federal regulations, we encourage the airport to document airport inspections, findings, and corrective actions taken to address maintenance and safety issues.

There was also an allegation by Bridges that required audits are not being completed because of missing documents.

Syfan pointed out that the FHAA’s current Board/administration has all of its current finances and records up-to-date, and with the finances reviewed and managed by the professional accounting firm of Grizzle, Glenn, Adams, and Martin, P.C., located in Hartwell. However, he added the prior FHAA Board/administration’s records are still missing:

“The prior Board/administration, chaired by Harris Little and with Asa (Bud) Brown as Secretary/Treasurer allowed a situation which has resulted in the FHAA records of that time being missing and is the subject of a current investigation by the GBI’s Fraud Division,” Syfan pointed out. “At the time that Mr. Little and Mr. Brown (and later Bill Flowers) were the executive officers of the FHAA, Thomas Bridges was the Franklin County Board of Commissioners Chairman,” Syfan wrote. “Mr. Bridges was and is a strong associate of Frank Ginn and Harris Little. At the time that Mr. Bridges was County Chairman and Mr. Little was FHAA Chair, they entered into a verbal agreement for Franklin County to provide “in-kind” services to the FHAA in lieu of matching Hart County’s annual Airport funding. This verbal agreement ended up being terminated due to an ethics complaint filed by the county clerk at that time against then Chairman Bridges and FHAA Boardmember at that time, Bill Flowers (Mr. Flowers was appointed Secretary/Treasurer by Ex-Chairman Little as opposed to being elected to this position by the FHAA Board), and the ethics complaint arose from these men detaining the county clerk (as indicated in a criminal warrant proceeding filed by the county clerk) over demand for FHAA records that according to the county clerk she did not have. After termination of the verbal agreement which included Franklin County Administration maintaining the records of the FHAA, the FHAA requested the return of the FHAA records from Franklin County.”

“In response to the request of the FHAA, it is the FHAA’s understanding that Franklin County Administration conducted an extensive search for the records of FHAA and could not locate them, and on information and belief Franklin County Administration has now declared the records stolen or destroyed improperly,” Syfan continued. “FHAA has filed a formal complaint with Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas as to the missing FHAA records and requested that Sheriff Thomas associate the GBI since the missing FHAA records are public records and it involves the public entity that is Franklin County.”

“FHAA has not received a current status update as to the investigation and would request the GDOT make a formal request to the Sheriff and GBI, and indicate to the Sheriff and the GBI that it is critical that the FHAA records be found or determined what happened to them and identify the persons involved in their disposition. The current Board believes that it is in compliance with all requirements as an Airport Authority.”

“Due to being a small facility, the current record retention policy of the FHAA is to keep all of its records and therefore there has not been a need for a formal written record retention policy. Hopefully, the GBI will be able to determine what Franklin County did with the FHAA records that were within Franklin County’s possession and control [at the time that Thomas Bridges was County Chairman], and that the FHAA will receive those records back,” Syfan continued.

“At some point, FHAA anticipates that maintaining and keeping all of its records will create an undue administrative and storage burden, and at that point, the FHAA will look to purge and destroy nonessential records in accordance with a formal written record retention policy as recommended by GDOT. FHAA would appreciate GDOT guidance as to what would be an appropriate formal written record retention policy, and which the FHAA could use to modify its current “keep everything” informal record retention policy.

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: Information on required record retention for federally funded projects is available via https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/records.  The appropriate authorities should continue to investigate fraud and criminal allegations, Giambone added.

Syfan concluded by asking GDOT’s help to stop what he called “baseless” complaints on the part of Thomas Bridges.

“It is the understanding of FHAA, that the current complaint, is the 3rd baseless complaint made by Mr. Bridges to GDOT as to the FHAA,” Syfan wrote. “In order that FHAA can explore legal avenues to end the serial filing of baseless complaints by Mr. Bridges [which would also aid GDOT, in that GDOT would also not have to waste time on baseless complaints], FHAA would make this formal written Open Records Act [O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-71 et seq.] request to GDOT, for a copy of any and all 2020 – 2022 written complaints filed by Mr. Bridges with GDOT and/or GDOT memorandums of all 2020 -2022 verbal complaints made by Mr. Bridges, as to the FHAA and/or the Franklin-Hart Airport and/or the operations and maintenance of the Franklin-Hart Airport, and all related GDOT documentation as to these complaints.”

“FHAA will be glad to discuss this request with you. Under O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-71, GDOT would have 3 business days to provide the response to the request, but if you need additional time, please don’t hesitate to let me know and I’m sure that the FHAA will agree to give it to you additional time to produce either the written complaints and/or the written memorandums and/or the related documentation.”

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: Information on how to submit an open records request was provided via an email from Colette Williams on August 31, 2022, at 5:42pm.

Syfan also requested help to stop what he said amounted to Bridges’ continual harassment.

“Finally, the current Board of the FHAA would appreciate any suggestions by GDOT as to how we can end the continuing unsubstantiated complaints against the FHAA by the current complainant, Thomas Bridges. The Board of FHAA appreciates all the help of GDOT and looks forward to the continuation of our good working relationship,” Syfan concluded.

GDOT Response as of September 1, 2022: The Department is required to investigate and respond to the FAA when congressional inquiries or hotline complaints are made regarding potential compliance concerns at general aviation airports in Georgia. The Department is unable to stop or dismiss these complaints and must request information from the airport sponsors regarding the allegations.

Airport Authority Board Chair Eddie Addison has come before the Franklin County and Hart County Board of Commissions requesting help to find the missing documents so past creditors left by the previous airport authority board could be paid.

County Manager Derrick Turner reportedly made a thorough check of the County records stored at the County Commission office and did not find any airport authority records other than one box.

Addison alleges an entire file cabinet of airport authority records previously stored in the County Clerk’s office plus several cardboard boxes of records stored next to the file cabinet have gone missing.

To date, the file cabinet and the additional boxes have not been found.