The Troup County Commission praised the county Airport Authority for its work and supported the reduction of its size Tuesday.

The commission passed a resolution putting its support behind a move that would cut the authority board from 12 to seven members.

“The airport is approximately a $1 million enterprise,” said commission Chairman Ricky Wolfe. “There are five of us with a $40 million budget; they are $1 million with 12 members.”

The Troup County Airport Authority voted Monday to decrease its size, but nothing is official until the local and state governments agree.

The plan would remove five of its 12 members – Gail Hunnicutt, Ricky Wolfe, Tom Hall, Lou Dekmar and Meg Kelsey – from the board July 1. All are government officials except Hunnicutt, who has said she will retire when her term ends in June.

It also would cut the number of membership allocations for each of the local governments. Troup County would get three members, LaGrange two, and Hogansville and West Point one each.

“We would have the largest number because we are the sponsor of the airport,” Wolfe said Tuesday.

For the number of members to change, the change still has to be approved by each local city and then passed by the state General Assembly.

Wolfe said the move is another effort by the airport to streamline its operation. Commissioner Ken Smith applauded the airport for its work in cutting its operating deficit.

“There’s been a lot of improvements in the airport during the last six to eight months,” he said.

Also Tuesday, the commission agreed to pay back $71,685 to the Development Authority of LaGrange to fulfill its end of a 2008 agreement related to Sewon America Inc. locating in the county.

“The total investment of Sewon for the county since 2008 has been $228,947,” said County Manager Mike Dobbs, adding that the county is paying back less than was expected in the original agreement.

The board also appointed members to various boards Tuesday. Appointed or reappointed were:

• Appeals Board: Charles Knight, Tommy Baker;

• Board of Assessors: Burt Hacker;

• Board of Health: Joseph Almand;

• Building Board of Adjustments and Appeals: Wane Bartley, Rick Torrance, Ashley Maddox;

• Three Rivers Regional Commission: Joel Upchurch;

• Greater West Georgia Joint Development Authority: Buck Davis, Bobby Carmichael;

• Council on Aging: Pat Mayes;

• Troup County Library Board: Ann Sabat;

• Troup County Parks and Recreation Commission: Frank McRae;

• Troup County Development Authority: Mike Stewart;

• Troup County Public Facilities Authority: Mike Stewart, Lonnie Thornton;

• Troup County Transportation Committee: Richard Wolfe, O.W. McGowan;

• Troup County Waters Review Board: Ellis Cadenhead, Nancy Green, Richard Woods;

• Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission: Nancy Green, DeForest Winslow, Kristi Hacker;

• Troup Family Connection Authority: Ken Smith Sr.; and

• Troup Count Recreation Endowment Fund Board of Trustees: Susan Black.

Other business Tuesday the commission:

• Approved the hiring of three employees to increase right-of-way mowing;

• Canceled its Dec. 30 work session and moved its Jan. 3 meeting to Jan. 17; and

• Recognized the Elms and Roses Garden Club Council and longtime recreation volunteer Tony Williamson.

Matt Chambers can be reached at mchambers@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.