Vote for repeal of council's airport vote
As a former councilman and observer of the Kalispell City Airport since 1973, I strongly urge all taxpaying city residents to vote for repeal of Resolution No. 5572.
The expenditure of up to $20 million to upgrade the airport is not even well intentioned. It is promoted by a group of people who have a vested interest in the airport such as a hangar, tie-down spot or operate an aviation-related business. There has been no projection of increased business, industry or taxes. Safety will not be improved but compromised with a longer runway, larger aircraft and more takeoffs and landings. There is not even assurance of FAA reimbursement for city expenditures to meet initial requirements.
Kalispell is the only city in Montana that maintains (in the red) an airport other than a scheduled airline airport. We have an excellent airport in Glacier Park International which can accommodate all of our private aircraft and traffic, yet there is no intention of closing the airport. We have leases with hangar owners and FBOs. What needs to happen is to organize it so it pays its own way and costs us, the city taxpayers, nothing. Ideally, it should run as the golf association is and actually pay back to the city.
There is no assurance that an upgraded airport will ever break even. The FAA has a development fund now. Social Security once had a fund like this. I don’t trust the federal government to keep this fund intact. Once the FAA invests, they dictate what can and can’t happen at our airport according to their regulations. I like the idea of privatizing the airport. Also, have we approached Glacier Park International about managing the city airport as they do the Ferndale and Whitefish airports?
Where does the city come up with the money to acquire land, move the radio towers and whatever else may be required? The city taxpayer is at great risk that ultimately we all must pay for these costs.
Please vote to repeal this resolution and let the city get on with keeping us safe, maintaining our streets and infrastructure and encouraging economic growth that affects all of us while hopefully lowering our taxes.
Haarr is a resident of Kalispell