Right now the most important issue facing ORH is what the management/ownership structure will be on July 1st. Obviously the past two operating agreements the past 8 years with MassPort have not worked.
10 days to find out.
Same Time Next Year
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It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about the problems that come from
having 11 bosses who are not on the same page about anything, as well as
suggestion...
5 months ago
6 comments:
If the city manager has negotiated a deal to sell/least the airport, wouldn't he want the city council to approve it?
If he also negotiates a deal to extend the current agreement, that would give the council a way to not approve the transfer.
He can present a 'this is what I have, or the city picks up the whole tab'.
If you recall the Allegiant agreement, it was pretty much presented that way (parking fees were REQUIRED to make it work)
- CF
I assume the its not what the manager WANTS........I think he HAS TO have it approved by council....he has no choice?
If he extends the deadline (quite likely) then i guess that increases the projected FY '08 deficit...assuming here that current budgets #'s assumed no more city $$$$ for airport hill?
So we prob will not have a final budget until after Nov. elections....is it much a leap to think the same re ORH spinoff?
Is this failure to finalize a budget dereliction of duty by the council members who are refusing to vote it?
On another note.........why has the manager included money for expected union negotiated compensation increases in the '08 budget We cannot pay the current comp package and there seems to be a presumption thet we're going to further increase unioin compensation packages? Makes no sense to me???
Massport Continues Worcester Bailout for 6 Months
See link from today's Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/
Here is the Boston Globe piece in full...
Massport continues Worcester bailout
The Worcester Regional Airport, which lost its last commercial airline service this autumn, will keep getting a financial bailout from the Massachusetts Port Authority for another six months.
Massport board members voted today to extend the authority's subsidies for the airport -- which had been slated to end July 1 -- through the end of the year while it attempts to negotiate a new bailout deal with Worcester officials. As it has been so far this year, Massport will continue to cover 68 percent of the airport's operating deficit, not counting capital expenses, and Worcester 32 percent, which translates to a total Massport subsidy for the airport of about $1.4 million annually.
Massport and Worcester officials jointly said they "believe that a good faith effort to reach [a] new agreement'' on allocating the operating deficits can be reached by Dec. 31. Massport said that "the prospects for increasing utilization of the airport and the efficiency of the regional airports system could be enhanced through the authority's continue operation of the airport and the possible acquisition, at a subsequent time, of the airport by the authority.''
Several airlines flew from Worcester to their northeastern and midwestern hubs in the 1990s but later pulled out as traffic dwindled. Allegiant Airlines began service in late 2005 between Worcester and Sanford, Fla., north of Orlando, becoming the only scheduled carrier at Worcester. But by September, Allegiant folded operations, becoming the 13th airline in 18 years to start and then later stop service from the airport, which is located on the opposite side of Worcester from Interstate 290 and requires travelers coming from there or the Massachusetts Turnpike to make a tortuous drive down city streets dotted by traffic lights.
Speculation has been heavy that new discount carrier Skybus Airlines, which flies to second- and third-tier airports from its Columbus, Ohio, hub including Portstmouth, N.H., would look to launch service from Worcester. But it wound up deciding to go to an even smaller airport, Westover Municipal in Chicopee, where it will begin service July 16.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)
Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA
If Massport had any political juice, could they not have blocked SKYBUS from going to Chicoppee, especially given that Chicoppee is a militry airbase
Jim:
THANK YOU!!
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