Kalispell City Airport: Chamber forum offers varying perspectives
Two guest speakers will share their views about the Kalispell City Airport — the subject of a voter referendum this November — at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday.
Jim Lynch plans to discuss the economic impact of Kalispell’s general aviation facility.
“People have heard me give talks about the economics of general aviation in Montana,” said Lynch, a pilot, longtime Kalispell resident and the director of the Montana Department of Transportation from 2005 to 2012.
Lynch commissioned a study of Montana’s airports in 2009. It looked at their on-field jobs, payroll and services and their spin-off economic impacts. The airport in Kalispell was part of that study.
“We did the study because communities were investing user dollars — and that’s in important distinction, money being generated from aviation fuel tax paid by aviators — into their airports,” Lynch said.
“No matter what side of the issue you’re on, it’s important for the community to understand what the economic benefit is for the community. That is what my talk will center on.”
The luncheon’s other speaker is Chad Graham.
Chairman of the Kalispell Planning Board and an uncontested candidate for a seat on the Kalispell City Council, Graham will discuss the initiative he spearheaded to put proposed airport upgrades on the ballot for voters to approve or reject this November.
Graham launched the initiative last summer, following a series of back-and-forth moves by the Kalispell City Council.
Council members first voted 5-4 to put a plan to upgrade the airport to B-II design standards through the federal Airport Improvement Program on the ballot for voters. But that decision was overturned a couple of weeks later when council members voted 5-4 to pull it back off the ballot and instead proceed with the airport upgrade with no voter input.
Graham and other volunteers gathered enough voter signatures to put the council’s decision to proceed on the ballot for voters to either uphold or overturn.
“I was glad to see they were going to put it to a vote. Then the next week they reversed that and voted to expand. That was when I decided to start the referendum,” Graham said. “There’s so much controversy deciding this issue, the voter is the only entity that can put it to rest. If the voter wasn’t able to decide yes or no, it would always have a black cloud hanging over the way the process worked.”
The Daily Inter Lake is sponsoring the luncheon. Publisher Rick Weaver will moderate the airport forum.
Tuesday’s luncheon is from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel; lunch tickets for $19 may be purchased by calling 758-2803 or go to www.kalispellchamber.com.
Members of the public are welcome to attend, without lunch, at no cost.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.