Friday was to be the end of the first week with air traffic controllers at the Georgetown Municipal Airport, but the control room above the multi-million dollar tower remains empty.

KVUE News

There have been collisions and several close calls at the airport. On July 1, air traffic controllers were supposed to be in the $2.3 million tower, clearing the air, but a federal budget fight has, so far, grounded that plan.

Without air traffic controllers, the tower appears to be nothing more than an expensive landscape decoration.

It's still up to pilots to orchestrate take-offs and landings at Georgetown Airport. Ken Harris flew in Friday morning.

"There was traffic coming in, there was an airplane on the downwind and a helicopter coming in from the side, so there was enough traffic to justify a control tower here," Harris said.

A state grant and airport fees built the tower. The Federal Aviation Administration is to pay for staffing and operating expenses. It's money Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis is still waiting on.

"The funding got held up in the federal budgeting process," he said.

That means, the tower could remain empty for a month if not longer.

"We will be disappointed if it doesn't happen before October 1, because that is when we were told for sure we will have our controllers in place by October 1," Yantis said.

The extra time will be used to install extra equipment.

There is no active radar here, because it is a visual flight rules tower, but the controllers will not be limited to using binoculars to watch the skies. Radar will be piped in from Killeen.

Robert Miller, who flew in from Memphis, believes the FAA has the money and should stop stalling.

"Well it would certainly relieve Austin, because we came in on Austin approach."

For now the tower remains locked up; at best a $2-million light beacon.

The original plan was to have three controllers assigned to the tower, now it is not clear just how many will be hired.