Lots of pluses in airport deal
Negotiations near success in putting Narrows Airport in private hands
Tacoma officials are close to landing a deal that could wipe out the city’s Narrows Airport debt, eliminate a longtime drain on the budget and put the facility in the care of a professional airport operator. The pact is being negotiated with an unnamed private party. City Manager Eric Anderson and facilities manager Mike Slevin told City Council members Tuesday the proposal could:
• Give the city $4.2 million in upfront lease payments. That’s enough to pay the city’s $1.2 million share of safety zone improvements and erase most of a loan from the general fund.
• Eliminate a biennial operating deficit of $550,000.
• Generate cash to the city from a 20-year lease reflecting the market value of the property.
• Remove responsibilities for airport operation and maintenance from the city.
• Include an option for the leaseholder to buy the airport if the Federal Aviation Administration consents to a sale and releases the city of its obligations to the agency.
Anderson stressed the negotiations are not complete, but he and Slevin presented an upbeat report that left council members smiling. The two didn’t know when they might bring an agreement to the council for approval, but Anderson said he hopes to have something in place by the end of March. The amount of the monthly lease is still under discussion.
“I think this is good progress,” Councilman Mike Lonergan said during an afternoon study session. “I think this is the direction in which we want to move. Other council members agreed. But many left little doubt that what they’d really like to see is a signed sale agreement with an airport operator.
Councilman Rick Talbert called the airport “a huge asset for the area.”
Councilwoman Julie Anderson described it as “a regional economic tool.”
The city and Pierce County talked last year about the possibility of the county buying the airport, but those discussions fizzled, Slevin said. The city would need “a full-blown appraisal” before selling the 43-year-old general-aviation facility on the Gig Harbor peninsula, Slevin said.
The city has estimated its value for airport use at $10.5 million. Tacoma’s 644 acres, an island of city-owned land in unincorporated Pierce County, could fetch more than $20 million if sold to developers, estimates show.
But that kind of sale would be difficult. Since airports are considered necessary for safety and welfare of citizens, it could be difficult to secure FAA approval to do something else with the land. “The FAA is in the business of keeping airports open for the most part,” Slevin said. And the city could be on the hook for airport grants it got long ago from the FAA, Slevin said. Neighbors in the area might object.
But there is a market. “The desire to develop this piece of property in the development community is huge,” Slevin said. “And there’s no fear of taking on the FAA, taking on the private community groups and just paving the place,” for the construction of houses and condominiums, he said.
Lonergan and others liked the idea that the city might get out from under the financial burden while the region still keeps its airport. “I think it would be a big, big mistake” to sell it as other than an airport, he said.
Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659
12 comments:
"Airports are considered nec. for the safety and welfare of citizens?"
That's debatable
"The FAA is in the business of keeping airports open for the most part"
Translation: The FFA is in the business of keeping its bureacracy in place and growing.
Went to the Worcester library and found a good research tool "World Aviation Directory"
Chock full of information like Airport Management companies, fixed based operators, cargo operations ,etc. Made a list of a dozen or so of each and made calls referring them to the city of Worcester web site to check out our airport to see if they would be interested.
Maybe that was something the Master Plan should have considered. Maybe that was something one of the consultants should have considered. Maybe the Airport Management should have put together am RFP for an airport management company to long-term lease the airport (privatization).
We will never know.. The long-term lease at a nominal price to MassPort is a done deal.
bill:
I don't think the airport management can do an RFP independent of the City of Worcester Administration. The Airport is owned by the cit ythrough and by the City Manager. The RFP for anything comes from City Hall.
If the airport admin can do an RFP for parcels of land, restaurant slots etc, there is no reason why the actual mgmt could not have put out to bid.
We own the DCU Center, but do we run it??? No, we put out an RFP for managing the DCU Center. We could have very easily done the same here.
I saw the RFP on www.flyworcester.com It is put out for the city by massport and it is signed by the City Manager. The Airport itself is not doing the RFP- the CM is. Yes. That is true "we" is the city Administration who placed the RPF foe the Centrum, I am sure.
Isn't the deficit at Worcester much bigger than $550,000 every two years?
The actual annual deficit is approximately $2,200,000 and say 600,000 is debt service--paid by the City of Worcester.
The remaining 1,600,000 is paid 67% by MassPort and 33% by the City of Worcester so this as another 533,000 to the City of Worcester.
Right now the cost to the City of Worcester is approximatly 1,033,000 per year.
Then I don't see any private agency taking over this airport. Too much debt!!
John:
Look what National Express did with Stewart International??? The truth is nobody know, that is why you needed to put together an RFP for the entire airport and see what happened.
It really makes no sense to only be talking with MassPort? We should have been talking to the authorities that run Hartford, Manchester and Providence as well as all the mgmt companies like National Express.
In two months when we sign the long-term lease with MassPort, how will we know if we got the best return for the tax-payers (stockholders) of Worcester and the owners of ORH>
John a private co would not take over the debt.....they would just buy the asset..and then City pays off the debt w/ the sale proceeds
Will be going to the library again this week to get more listings from the World Aviation Directory and make some more calls. Hopefully the more strikes you throw, one of them is bound to be a homerun .
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