GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County residents offered a loud round of applause Tuesday after witnessing a vote on Briscoe Field.
However, the vote against commercial passenger flights may not end the fight over Briscoe Field.
Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh talked with the firm behind the proposal and found out it is considering suing the county over Tuesday's vote.
Propeller Airports asked the County Commission to table the vote on Briscoe Field and let voters decide the matter.
That did not happen.
"You have listened to us, and I want to thank you," one resident told the commission.
When commissioners voted unanimously to reject the plan to expand and privatize Briscoe Field, the sea of people wearing red shirts erupted.
"The citizens here today and the hundreds of others who have packed this auditorium the past three years, never gave up hope," resident Gaye McNeil said.
For nearly three years, residents complained that adding commercial flights to Briscoe Field would hurt quality of life and property values.
But Propeller Airports CEO Brett Smith said the residents never got the whole story.
"They clapped because no new jobs are being brought to the county. I can't imagine that is something to clap about," Smith said.
Smith criticized the county for not making the proposal public. He also said the vote was cast under an ethics cloud.
District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasster abruptly resigned five days ago.
Kavanaugh was in federal court as Lasseter, her son and a third businessman pleaded guilty to their roles in a bribery scheme.
Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash said the timing was coincidental.
"The real tipping point turning the situation has more to do with the staff's recommendation on the proposal than anything else," Nash said.
But Smith, accompanied by his attorney, said he isn't ruling out a lawsuit.
"Probably keep all options open ... We'll be here again," Smith said.
There was also a motion to terminate the entire privatization process with the FAA.
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