VIENNA — Despite funding challenges, the Western Reserve Port Authority plans to proceed with plans to have private companies build hangars at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to spur development.
The port authority, which runs the airport, tentatively approved advertising Wednesday for companies to submit proposals to build the hangars in two areas on the north side of the airport entrance near state Route 193.
The two areas are adjacent to the Cafaro Co. hangar on land that is already paved, said Steve Bowser, director of aviation at the airport. The cost to build the hangars there would be minimal compared to an area on the south side of the airport that officials had previously hoped to develop, said Duane Johnson, a consultant working on the project.
To build the hangars on the south side would require Federal Aviation Administration funding to build a road and aprons to serve the hangars, and the FAA wants to devote its funding to improvements to the fencing around the airport over the next two years, Bowser said.
Project moves along
Regarding the fencing, Johnson reported to port authority members that the project to replace 7-foot fencing with 10-foot fencing is about one-third complete. Another third will be done with $900,000 in FAA money in 2007, and the remainder will probably be done in 2008 with about $900,000 more in FAA money, Johnson said. The fencing is needed to keep out birds and other wildlife for the safety of aircraft, Bowser said.
To help improve Allegiant's numbers, Bowser said, the port authority is likely to approve $30,000 to $50,000 of port authority funding in the coming months to help market Allegiant.
Early last year when Allegiant first came to the airport, the port authority used a $250,000 Department of Transportation Small Community Air Services grant to market Allegiant through Rubenstein Associates of Liberty.
Port Authority member John Masternick, president and CEO of Windsor House Inc. of Girard, said he has instructed the marketing department of Windsor House to prepare some marketing assistance to the airport, because the airport does not have its own marketing department.
Windsor House offers an annual rewards program to employees, Masternick said, which involves trips. This year the trip will include an Allegiant flight to Orlando, Masternick said. It's an idea — having area businesses offer Allegiant flights as employee bonuses — that the port authority might be able to use, he said.
5 comments:
Note that "port authority members" seem to be actively involved with the operation of the airport. I am Assuming these are the equivalent of our Airport Commissioners.
Probably be a wise idea for ORH to just issue an RFP to build a facility listing just the requirements of the physical plant to be built and forget about dollar amts. It may well come back with ORH having to pay the bidder vs the other way around.
It scares me when I think that Worc's upper managerment types are controlling/spending a city budget that is $500M(?) or there abouts. Giveaways to non profits, RFPs with no suitors, decorative bridges that come in 2 or 3x over estimates, and State plumbing codes that are mis-interpreted. Heads would roll in other places.
Let us not forget that this RFP was MOB's BIG ANNOUNCEMENT about ORH. Will we have another BIG ANNOUNCEMENT discussing this belly flop?
Instead of spending their DOT grant monies on consultants, Youngstown spent them on Allegiant.. Would Allegiant still be here is we had spent $250,000 on them?? It sure would have helped them to stick around and build a base..
It would be interesting to know how much of the $250,000 was spent on Rubenstein vs. actual ads. Anyone know how much Worcester spent on Allegiant in their 8 months here?
Doug:
For some reason I want to say $50,000... As Bob Nemeth said it has been kind of difficult to track how the DOT grant has been spent.
Bottom line is that versus spending over $100,000 on a consultant to recruit an airline, we should have spent it on the one airline (Allegiant) we had to keep them.
Let's review the bidding here. ORH has the following:
1. A $60K accounant
2. A bookkeeper.
3. An airport commission
The city Manager has:
A financial controller
The city council has:
A City Auditor
AND NO ONE CAN TELL US HOW PARTICULAR GRANT MONEYS WERE EXPENDED.
This is:
1. Obfuscation or
2. Subterfuge or
3. Someone just doesnt want to make it public.
And when the DOT asks for an accounting of this money the City will tell them ??????
This city is a $500M business and we apparently keep records like we were the local Amway Multi Level Marketing Distributor.
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