The Peachtree

City Airport Authority has declined a request to lower its "through-the-fence

fee" for granting access to Falcon Field for businesses located off

the airport.

But the authority

indicated that the terms of each individual "through-the-fence"

contract can be negotiable.

Currently,

the authority charges a flat fee based on the square footage of the business

that would use the access. The fee is set at 20 cents per square foot

for the total hangar size and apron size.

Mike Rossetti

of Jet Limo, LLC, who is considering moving his charter operation here

from Griffin, said he hoped the authority would want to welcome businesses

such as his that would buy gas from the airport, which is one of the facility's

biggest profit makers.

Chairwoman

Cathy Nelmes said she reviewed through the fence fees charged by other

similar airports, and she still "felt comfortable with our fee structure

based on what I found."

Although Rossetti

said the authority's current fee is driving businesses away from Falcon

Field, Nelmes said that wasn't the case.

"I'm saying

this is not what is hampering the growth of this airport," Nelmes

said.

Although the

authority is willing to negotiate the fee with individual businesses,

"it's all got to be fair and equitable," Nelmes added.

Any through-the-fence

agreement that deviates from the current fee structure would have to be

considered by the authority and discussed at a meeting before it can be

approved, Savage noted.

One option

the authority could consider would be to give a rebate