Airport Will Be Shut Down By End Of 2008
ANN REALTIME REPORTING
02.27.07 1100 EST: General aviation has lost another small
airport. By a 4-3 vote, the Blaine, WA City Council resolved to
close Blaine Municipal Airport by
the end of 2008.
According to The Bellingham Herald, airport advocates made one
last, unsuccessful effort to stave off the closure of Blaine
Municipal Airport before the final vote was taken.
City Airport Commission Chairman Doug Fenton argued that a quick
closure could lead to pressure for a quick sale to raise money to
pay back airport grant money and pay off the holders of airport
leases who would likely file lawsuit, according to the newspaper.
That kind of pressure could mean the city would not be able to wait
for the best possible offer for the 34-acre site.
Fenton suggested keeping the airport open while awaiting offers
on the land. Pilots from Point Roberts, Anacortes, Redmond and
Arlington also urged the council to keep the airport, saying it was
an important transportation link used for business as well as
pleasure, according to the newspaper.
Council member Bruce Wolf urged a delay to give city officials
time to explore the possibility of getting other airports to loan
their unused Federal Aviation Administration grants. Wolf said that
could help Blaine pay for the $16 million facelift envisioned in
the city's airport master plan, which includes relocating the
airport runway to the south, according to the newspaper.
Council member Jason Overstreet countered with an email from "an
FAA official" that ruled out such a possibility, and termed the
conversation "illogical."
The heated debate continued, but
failed to sway members who voted for the closure: Jason Overstreet,
Bonnie Onyon, John Liebert and Ken Ely. Council members Charlie
Hawkins, Bruce Wolf and Mayor Mike Meyers voted against the
measure.
During the months of discussion about the airport's fate,
advocates of a shutdown and sale have relied on a consultant's
study which pegged the likely price of the land at $5.7 million for
the airport property as a site for commercial and industrial
development, according to the newspaper.
The consultants, Makers architecture + urban design of Seattle,
also estimated that redevelopment of the site could create 332 new
jobs and $149,000 in city tax revenue by 2025.
But legal settlements with airport leaseholders and the payback
of past state and federal airport grants to the city could cost as
much as $4 million, according to an estimate from City Attorney Jon
Sitkin.
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