Resident Questions Airport’s Long-Term Plans
In honor of National Sunshine Week, the League of Women Voters of Geauga shed some rays on Geauga County Commissioners March 18 for their recent efforts to provide more accessibility and government transparency.
In honor of National Sunshine Week, the League of Women Voters of Geauga shed some rays on Geauga County Commissioners March 18 for their recent efforts to provide more accessibility and government transparency.
“Sunshine week is really just a national program to encourage transparency in government and to make it more accessible to citizens and the community,” LWVG President Carol Benton said.
Benton thanked commissioners for establishing a formal public comment policy for their meetings and livestreaming them.
“We’ve gotten very good feedback,” she said. “One thing I’d point out, you’re getting over 150 views a week with the YouTube videos.”
Commissioner Carolyn Brakey — who pushed for government transparency in her election campaign and spearheaded changes such as the public comment policy and video recordings — was happy to hear the news.
“We as commissioners have been trying to make more transparency efforts in hopes they’ve been well received by the public,” she said. “It’s good to hear from them.”
Benton asked commissioners to encourage similar transparency among other county organizations.
During the public comment section of the meeting, resident Joe Otto raised questions about the Geauga County Airport taxiway project.
At their Dec. 10 meeting, commissioners approved a reimbursement request from the Airport Authority for a new parallel taxiway. Per the airport’s website, there is currently one 3,500-foot-by-65-foot runway.
A project for a new hangar is also in limbo, with commissioners previously granting the airport $1.33 million contingent upon an agreement that is currently being renegotiated.
Otto, who said he was a pilot for 60 years, asked a number of questions about the airport’s revenue and how it’s logged.
“I hear all kinds of numbers — $600,000 from the (Federal Aviation Administration), $1.2, $1.3, $1.33 (million) from Geauga County — and the first thing that hits my mind is, what’s that money being spent for?” he asked.
The new taxiway is going to be the same length as the current one, something that won’t be good for attracting businesses, he said, adding the average jet would have trouble landing there.
While small jets don’t have trouble landing on the runway, most corporate flight departments’ standard procedures require a minimum of 4,000 feet and parallel taxiway, Airport Manager Ric Blamer clarified in a March 24 email.
Why spend this money on a taxiway when in the future, a longer one would be needed, Otto asked.
Despite his criticisms, Otto called the airport an asset to the county, comparing paying money for it to paying for local schools when you don’t have children.
However, he would still like to know where his tax money is going, he added.
Commissioners are making a decision they don’t have the ammunition to pull the trigger on, he said.
The airport has a five-year plan, Spidalieri said, adding $1.3 million is a good price to pay for the new hangar project and that $600,000 will be granted back from the FAA as part of the project.
A parallel taxiway would increase the safety of the airport and there have been discussions with neighboring property owners about extending the taxiway, he said, adding the property would have to be acquired in order to extend it.
Otto said he had been told the airport owns the property for the taxiway and the problem was having the funds to extend it.
While acquiring the property to extend the runway is in the airport’s master plan, they do not own it at this time, Blamer said in his email.
Otto said his issue wasn’t the cost, but lack of a plan and he is strongly in favor of the new taxiway.
A five-year plan is too little, he said, adding with an airport, you want to be looking 20 years.
The FAA has required the airport to prepare multiple plans, Blamer said March 24, including a master plan and airport layout plan looking forward 10-15 years. They are not guarantees the projects will be completed, he said, but are what the airport is looking to accomplish in that time.
Brakey said she has asked for a business plan or strategic plan, but has yet to be provided one.
