Airport’s name could change
Published 8:37 pm Thursday, February 19, 2015
An old airport in eastern North Carolina could be getting a new name.
During its meeting Monday, Washington’s City Council is scheduled to consider renaming the city’s airport from Warren Field Airport to Washington Warren Field, according to the council’s tentative agenda issued Wednesday afternoon.
The city’s Warren Field Airport Advisory Board recommended the name change, according to a document in the council’s tentative agenda. During its Feb. 10 meeting, the board, after lengthy discussion about changing the airport’s name, unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council make the change.
But that recommendation could be changed when the advisory board meets at 11 a.m. today in a special session at the airport, according to Allen Lewis, the city’s public-works director, in a brief interview.
“Basically, since we began the new terminal construction, they’ve been batting around the idea of changing the name of the airport — everything from Washington Municipal Airport to possibly renaming it altogether,” Lewis said. “There’s, obviously, an airport in Plymouth in Washington County. There’s an airport in Beaufort. Then there’s the one here, and, I think, there’s even an airport in Warren County. They’re trying to get something unique, I reckon, is the best way to put it.”
The five-member advisory board usually meets at 10 a.m. the second Tuesday of each month. The board’s members are Gilbert Alligood, John J. Hill, Patrick Nash, Trent Tetterton and Clifford Roy Whichard.
The airport is named for Lindsay Carter Warren, a North Carolina congressman born in Washington. Warren served eight terms as a congressman. He resigned from Congress in 1940, after first being elected in 1925, to serve as comptroller general of the United States. He also served several terms as a member of the N.C. House of Representatives, before and after congressional terms.
The airport continues to undergo improvements, including improved runway lighting, runway reconditioning and construction of a new terminal building. The former terminal building was destroyed during a July 1, 2012, storm.
In a related matter, the council is scheduled to consider awarding the contract to furnish the new terminal building to J. Morgan Design Associates. Although five companies were asked to bid on the project, only J. Morgan Design Associates submitted a bid. It was for $64,842 (excluding sales tax). The budget for the new terminal building has the funds to cover this expense, according to a city document.