He seems to have taken over the mantle from Councilor Rosen to be looking out for ORH. Story in Telegram here.
Let me straighten out a couple things. The amount of money MassPort has given us to subsidize the airport will come off the purchase price. For example, if an agreed price was $25 million but MassPort has contributed $13 million the past 10 years, they would only pay $12 million. I think that is absolute BS, but I digress.
Grants have nothing to do with the sale price. They do, however, have to be paid back if we ever had to close the airport. Bottom line these grants do not effect the sale price, but it does box us in even more with MassPort since it increases the cost to close the airport thus our need to sell the airport.
In the end we are not going to get fair market value and there is no excuse why we never conducted an RFP for the entire airport? That said I believe MassPort will crank at ORH once they take over June 1st.
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
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This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
4 comments:
Agreed...
Harry T
Worcester,MA
The airport s/b closed or sold off as you recommend ASAP.
Tell Massport to get lost.
The city can just default on the remaining monies owed to Washington DC for all the loans we've already wasted up there (New terminal, etc). In the alternate maybe Elmer Fudd can make the debt go away assuming he's even still with us come 2011.
The entire place is another just unmitigated political disaster costing the taxpayers a million or two annually.
Having Massport take it over is analogous to throwing up more buildings and thinking that it will cure what ails Worcester. All we'll end up with if we're lucky is a couple more commercial flights per week and a sinecure for politcal hacks, has been politicians, and other assorted deadwood. What better place to get lost on a quasi-state payroll with an 80% defined benefit pension than an airport that has few if an comm. flights and is located outside of I-495?
Murray can be the airport director...TY Deval.
Elmer Fudd can open up his Dept. of Peace up there.
Spellane can be the new airport Liason to his old state house district and Hot Dawg Annie Go For.
Sign me up as: "Had It with Airport Hill" It will never work as long as gub'mint is involved in it.
Got to admit I can not think of a worse way to negotiate a sale of anything to maximize your returns.
First, you never ask anyone else to buy (RFP) and only talk to one buyer for ten years.
Two, you ring up more potential costs by accepting more grants if you decide to close.
In other words if we tall MassPort to screw, it will cost us just that much more to close ORH by having to pay back all these additional grants. MassPort has us over a barrel.
In the end the City of Worcester is going to get pennies on the dollar for this asset. At the same time we will get a viable airport. Is that a good trade off?
In the end maybe we should disband MassPort and RFP that to airport management companies that could manage Boston, Hanscom and ORH?
Bill, sorry but IMO MP taking over does not nec. give us a viable airport. What can MP bring to the party in terms of more comm. flights? They have been in charge up there for a decade with what results? We have two comm. flights per week and I would assert that the comm. flights are only seasonally successful.
Please dont forget that Massport "APPEARS" to be so successful at Logan, yet Logan is an almost a classic textbook case of a quasi-gubmint monopoly. If I am the only licensed contractor in town and no other players allowed....guess what happens.....i become fat, lazy, overpriced, and an employment haven for all the guys I grew up with who are unemployable anywhere else.
Again I suggest that Elmer s/b able to make that debt go away or he isnt worth his salt. BTW, Elmer is a name I hijacked from T&G blog. Got to give credit where it's due. If they can give a grant (really a form of hybrid debt) to us of millions every other year (it seems) for runway paving and other improvements, then they can give us a pass on the zillions we wasted on a terminal. The only thing the terminal does is gather dust & employ overpaid municipal custodians.
The airport has really been "HOME FUNDS 'ED' ". So called Grant money that the city is contingently on the hook for is used to build infratructure within the city that most dont want and that we really have no use for....2 comm. flights per week really is not what I would even call minimal utilization.
It is worse than a municipal swimming pool up there......both get 2 months of regular use, but at least the swimming pool gets intensive regular use for 2 months vs the airport getting 2 flights per week during the intensive use season. Maybe 3 or 4 flights on school vacation week??
Meanwhile as we wait for MP's takeover (allegedly July 1st?) the taxpayers have to pick up how much of an annual negative cash flow?? 1 to 2 million.
Where's Charley Farley when I need him to help me drive home a point?
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