The Lehigh-Northampton
Airport Authority has asked Northampton County to subsidize Braden
Airpark next year as the authority struggles to keep its finances in
order.
In a letter addressed to Northampton County Council
President John Cusick, Charles Everett, executive director of the
authority, said the Forks Township facility has never been profitable.
The trend is not expected to change next year with a projected loss of
$250,751 in 2014. The figure does not include needed capital improvement
projects, which could climb up to $2.2 million, he wrote.
"Please let us know if Northampton County can provide financial
assistance to the authority," Everett writes in the letter, dated today.
The authority has openly discussed selling the Forks Township facility
for
months as it tries to pay off the remaining $16 million from a court
order from a lost lawsuit. The authority is seeking $3.5 million for the
property, according to the Save Braden Initiative Group, a grass-roots
organization working to keep the site as a general aviation airstrip.
The authority is prepared to sell 253 acres in Allen Township for $9.6 million to lessen the upcoming court payments.
The letter does not request a specific amount of funding. Councilman
Robert Werner said he, Everett and LNAA Board Chairman Tony Iannelli met
earlier in the week and found potential ways to cut projected costs at
the airstrip.
"I'm not going to sit here and say Northampton County is going to
subsidize everything," Werner told the authority officials during an
economic development committee meeting tonight.
Among the savings Werner listed were bringing in a fixed-base operator
to replace the departed Moyer Aviation, refurbishing the terminal at the
airpark instead of razing it and getting software to operate fuel pumps
after hours. Werner said the airpark has the cheapest fuel in the area,
and the software will allow helicopter pilots more opportunities to
bring their business there.
"We need to come back with a tighter plan that we can live with," Iannelli agreed.
Councilwoman
Peg Ferraro questioned what the county would get in return for aiding
the authority, which has butted heads with the council in recent months.
The council has vocally opposed the potential sale of the airpark and
criticized the authority over the management of its facilities.
"It would require some sort of ... oversight to ensure this mess
doesn't happen again," Ferraro said, suggesting the county form an
advisory committee to overlook the authority.
Everett and Iannelli
agreed something could be negotiated if the county agreed to provide
financial assistance. Iannelli also made it clear the authority has
received the message.
"We hear today that you want this airpark
to remain open. These people want this airpark to remain open," he said,
gesturing to members of the Save Braden group in attendance.
Councilman Tom Dietrich provided the lone open dissent to the
request. He questioned why the county would invest in an organization
that has mismanaged the airpark and created its own financial struggles.
"Maybe we should not be subsidizing bad mistakes," he said.
In response to Dietrich's questioning, Everett said the authority has not asked Lehigh County commissioners for a 2014 subsidy.
Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment