Sunday, July 20, 2014

Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (KGFL), Queensbury, Warren County, New York

Harassment complaint filed following encounter with critic about extending runway at county airport 
 
 



QUEENSBURY — Warren County Airport’s manager filed a harassment complaint Thursday against a critic of Warren County’s proposal to extend the main runway at the county airport after the two had words Thursday at the airport.

The encounter occurred after the critic, Travis Whitehead, said he overheard a phone conversation in which the airport manager, Ross Dubarry, plotted to come up with an excuse to not meet with Whitehead and Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Mark Westcott.

“He said, ‘If they show up here, I’m going to say I have a meeting I’m late for and leave,’ ” Whitehead said.

Whitehead said he believed Dubarry was talking to county Public Works Commissioner Jeff Tennyson. He said he confronted Dubarry when the phone conversation ended.

“I told him what I thought about that,” Whitehead said, adding that he called Dubarry a “sorry son of a bitch.”

Whitehead said airport staff sent him to Dubarry’s second-floor office at the airport building, and he could not help but hear the conversation as he approached the office.

Whitehead said the county has stonewalled he and Westcott for weeks as they sought information about the runway extension project.

Westcott said he arrived for the tail end of the encounter.

Whitehead said he was visited at his home by two county sheriff’s officers later Thursday. He said there was no difference in the account both he and Dubarry gave police.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the people involved, and Sheriff Bud York said it was determined that the law was not broken.

“We got a complaint and we looked into it,” York said. “We consulted with District Attorney Kate Hogan and concluded the harassment and dis con (disorderly conduct) statutes don’t fit.”

Dubarry and Tennyson said they had no comment on the matter Friday.

County Administrator Paul Dusek said “Ross was concerned about the encounter,” and said county officials planned to investigate what happened.

“We will examine the situation and be professional in whatever our response is,” he said.

Westcott defended Whitehead, saying he is “passionate about getting things right.”

“This is a good man who is trying to do right for the citizens of Warren County,” he said.

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May 02, 2014 • Schermerhorn plans new restaurant for Warren County airport

QUEENSBURY - The local developer who serves as fixed base operator for Warren County airport is going ahead with plans to build a new restaurant.

Rich Schermerhorn, owner of Rich Air, plans to build the new eatery in a separate building that would be located to the southeast of the terminal.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors Facilities Committee has given conceptual approval for it, and Schermerhorn notified the committee this week that he planned to go ahead with the project in the coming months.

No timetable was released.

The cafe that is located in the terminal, known as Carol’s Airport Cafe, would be converted into office space.

The new building will result in a more modern, expanded restaurant, Schermerhorn said.

“There are more people who want to eat than we have seating for,” Schermerhorn said.

The restaurant would be about 2,500 square feet. Schermerhorn said it would cost about $325,000 to build.

Schermerhorn provided supervisors with a sketch Tuesday that showed the proposed building.

It would have 14 tables for diners and 12 large windows to allow them to look out over the airfield.

“I always try to make sure my properties shine and look good and this will be no different,” he said.

Carol Twiss, operator of Carol’s Airport Cafe, would be given right of first refusal to operate the restaurant. She said last year she planned to run it.

Schermerhorn recently completed two new hangars for planes at the airport, and he said 17 of the 19 spots are already spoken for.
 

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March 04, 2014 • Bid to delay airport project doesn't fly

QUEENSBURY -- Warren County supervisors on Tuesday rejected a request to hold off on spending more than $1 million to buy land and easements around Warren County Airport.

The Board of Supervisors’ Facility Committee voted unanimously to continue with the project instead of shortening the airport’s auxiliary runway or suing to enforce decades-old easements

Shortening the runway would have eliminated the need for the land and easements.

The decision came after a contentious, hourlong discussion that pitted a group of local pilots and project supporters against a group of supervisors and residents who have asked that alternatives to the $1.04 million property and easement purchases be given a closer look. All but 5 percent of the project would be paid by state or federal grants.

The alternatives have been proposed by Queensbury at-Large supervisors Mark Westcott and Doug Beaty and Queensbury resident Travis Whitehead, who are members of a group that has questioned the need to buy property and easements when less expensive options are available.

“This really is about options. I don’t think we’ve vetted all the options correctly,” Whitehead said.

One alternative is shortening the 4,000-foot-long runway to do away with the need for easements and more land for the “runway protection zone.”

The group questioned why the county has agreed to pay Ronald Chartrand $855,000 for a 53-acre parcel assessed at $102,000 when Chartrand recently bought 20 acres of nearby land from the county for $40,000. Chester Supervisor Fred Monroe called that a “huge discrepancy.” Chartrand had opted not to sell the county an avigation easement but to require a full purchase.

But the land Chartrand bought was landlocked by his property and not as developable as the land he has agreed to sell the county. County Attorney Martin Auffredou said the FAA approved the appraisal.

Beaty pointed out some of the land is in Kingsbury, which would put the county in the position of losing property from its tax rolls and having to pay Washington County taxes on the land instead.

Auffredou said the county could subdivide the land and sell portions of it, outside the runway protection zone, for development.

Some questioned why the county had not pursued eminent domain proceedings to acquire Chartrand’s property, but county officials said that was viewed as a last resort.

Shortening the auxiliary runway, which is generally used only when strong winds come out of the northwest, did not sit well with pilots in attendance.

Pilot Harrison Freer said the FAA could place restrictions on pilots, while pilot Dave Alexander said the bad conditions under which that runway is usually used require the full length of pavement.

“I don’t see shortening Runway 30 as an option,” he said. “If you’ve got windy conditions, you want as much runway as you can have.”

Freer accused opponents of the project of using “inaccurate and misleading” information to make their case.

The county bought avigation easements over the property in the 1940s, which prompted discussion over whether litigation to enforce those easements was possible. But the map detailing those easements has long been lost.

“Absent those maps, the chances of success are greatly diminished,” Auffredou said.

Monroe asked that the vote to continue on the path to property and easement purchases be tabled because Westcott was not present for the meeting. But his request was not seconded.

Monroe and committee members Evelyn Wood, Thurman’s supervisor, and John Strough, Queensbury’s supervisor, voted to go ahead with the project.

Westcott said he had a previously scheduled business trip so he could not attend the meeting.

“We’re not trying to railroad this through. We just want the county to take a closer look at it,” he said.

Westcott and his supporters have planned a public meeting on the issue March 12 at Crandall Public Library, starting at 6 p.m.

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November 23, 2013 10:34 pm • Company leaders express necessity of Warren County airport for clients, to conduct business 
  
QUEENSBURY — If it weren’t for Warren County airport, Tom Cahill’s nearby business would be somewhere else.

Cahill, whose Cessna 310 is based at the airport, frequently uses his plane to visit clients of his manufacturing business, Melvina Can Machinery, who are scattered throughout the Northeast and beyond.

“If it wasn’t here, I would flat out leave,” Cahill said of the airport. “It’s a tool I’ve always used in my business.”

From Cahill’s small manufacturing operation to some of the region’s largest employers, in single-engine Cessnas and small jets, local companies are using the county-owned airport to conduct business.

But a proposed runway expansion remains controversial in Warren County, with opponents questioning whether the benefits to taxpayers outweigh the cost. Cahill and other airport users take issue with arguments that the airport benefits only a small, wealthy segment of the population.

The airport is an amenity local economic development groups point to when they market the region, and it was one of the reasons Hacker Boat Co. is relocating from Ticonderoga to Queensbury Business Park, just south of the airport, company officials said.

“One of the first questions we have is, ‘Where is the nearest airport?’” said Ken Rawley, Hacker’s director of sales and marketing.

Hacker officials hope to break ground on their new Queensbury plant during the first quarter of 2014.

“It was a factor for us,” Hacker CEO George Badcock said of the airport. “Probably 70 percent come that way, and with larger boats, custom boat-building and now with building for yacht vendors, we do see that increasing.”

Over the next several years, as Hacker expands its product lines and puts additional focus on overseas markets, production of the luxury boats will increase and the company’s employment is expected to nearly double, from 45 to 80 employees.

“That’s a perfect, concrete example of what the benefits are of having that airport,” said Glens Falls 3rd Ward Supervisor Harold “Bud” Taylor, who also chairs the Warren-Washington Counties Industrial Development Agency board.

Come fly to us

The airport property is flanked by the Warren-Washington Counties Industrial Development Agency’s Airport Industrial Park, and the Queensbury Business Park, where Hacker will go.

When Warren County Economic Development Corp. markets the county as a place to locate businesses, features like proximity to the airport and the Northway are played up. Ed Bartholomew, who took over earlier this year as president of the EDC, sees the airport as integral to a strategy of promoting the area to businesses.

“I strongly believe the airport is an economic plus for the area,” he said. “It’s serving existing businesses and industries and it’s an attraction tool.”

EDC is the developer of the Queensbury Business Park. In the corporation’s brochure promoting the business park, proximity to the airport is played up, along with the park’s infrastructure and Empire Zone benefits.

Business owners consider numerous factors when deciding where to locate their operations, and a nearby airport is one of the variables that can tip the scales.

Business leaders of companies already here use the airport to fly to corporate headquarters located elsewhere, fly clients in and ship materials. International Paper, Finch Paper, Irving Tissue, General Electric, Nibco, Aetna Insurance and Travelers have been among the airport’s regular users, officials said.

Target representatives fly into the airport occasionally; visiting elected officials fly in; and during the summer months, Sagamore Resort guests and Saratoga Race Course visitors use the airport.

“I knew about tourism, but I was surprised what industry was lending to it,” said Dan Girard, chairman of the Warren County Facilities Committee, which oversees airport operations.

For some smaller business owners like Cahill and Queensbury-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rich Saunders, the ability to fly to work means the ability to expand their businesses and cut back on the hours they’d otherwise spend driving.

Cahill’s company builds new can machinery and rebuilds used machinery. The machines can cost more than $100,000 — so meeting clients in person, taking them out to lunch and earning their trust can make or break a sale. For years, Cahill had another plant on Long Island, and he’d fly between here and there before moving the company to Queensbury full-time five years ago, he said.

“That’s been my Volkswagen Beetle going back and forth for years,” Cahill said. “I use that as my commuting tool.”

Sometimes he goes on a “tour,” visiting 10 customers that are within 200 miles of one another in one trip. A single-stop trip that would be 14 hours in a car becomes three hours when he travels by air. He may fly out to pick customers up and bring them back to his plant to see a machine, or fly somewhere to look at a used machine, he said.

Dr. Saunders co-owns a medical practice with five primary treatment offices split among Warren, Washington and Essex counties. But when he started an independent medical examination company as well, offices popped up in Utica, Plattsburgh and Newburgh. He has been flying six to eight days a month to one of those locations, booking an entire day of clients when he’s there.

Saunders began flying five years ago, obtaining a pilot’s license primarily as a way to get to work. The Newburgh office is completely aviation-dependent — Saunders wouldn’t have opened it if he didn’t fly, he said.

“It’s much easier for me to fly myself,” he said. “It’s superb for the type of aviation I do.”

The public can’t fly

The runway expansion at Warren County airport has been a hot-button issue, and played a defining role in this year’s election. Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Mark Westcott, who founded the group Upstate New York Taxpayers Advocates, leads the opposition to the expansion and questions how beneficial it would be, when weighed against its cost.

A 2010 state Department of Transportation report indicates the annual economic impact of the local airport at about $8.4 million, a finding opponents have also questioned.

The county qualified for $8 million in Federal Aviation Administration funds, with a $400,000 county match, for the 1,000-foot expansion of the main runway. Supporters argue it’s a good investment, especially with most of the money coming from the federal government. But opponents say it’s all taxpayer money, and the airport at its current size could be run at a lower cost than a larger one.

Earlier this year, the Warren County Board of Supervisors voted to create an airport advisory committee, which is charged with finding ways to better market the airport. Bartholomew sees that as “a positive,” and said EDC will be part of it.

Warren County airport has about 50 aircraft based there currently, a number soon expected to grow to meet demand. The planes are predominately single- and twin-engine aircraft and turboprops, with a few jets, Airport Manager Ross Dubarry said.

One line of new hangars has been constructed, and as of Friday, airport officials were waiting only for the power to be turned on. Another line of hangars is coming, because the airport’s fixed-base operator, Rich Air, has a waiting list of aircraft owners who want space, Dubarry said.

Officials said earlier this year that Rich Air, headed by local developer Richard Schermerhorn, spent more than $1 million on renovations at the airport, including construction of the new hangar building.

Flights from the airport are used to get to business meetings, for shipping cargo, for pleasure and recreation and for police and medical purposes. Generally, the base aircraft are used for business or recreation or a combination of the two, Dubarry said.

But the 72-year-old local airport hasn’t been used for commercial service in years. When airlines were deregulated in the 1970s, it essentially gave airlines the ability to determine which markets to serve.

The Essential Air Service program was then put in place by the federal government, subsidizing some commercial flights to larger hubs to ensure smaller communities were still being served. Warren County was transitioning between carriers at the time the program was put into place, and got left out, Dubarry said.

The Northway was completed at about the same time.

Expansions at other county-owned airports in upstate New York within the past decade resulted in commercial service being offered from them to air travel hubs.

The Jefferson County-owned and operated Watertown International Airport in recent years underwent runway and passenger terminal expansions, and American Eagle Airlines last year began direct service from Watertown to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where travelers can catch flights to destinations worldwide. That corner of the North Country has seen a development boom from Fort Drum.

Both Watertown and Plattsburgh International Airport are close to the northern border, and Canadian travelers are part of those markets. Allegiant Air operates flights from Plattsburgh International Airport to Las Vegas and several locations in Florida. There is also direct service from Plattsburgh to Myrtle Beach and Boston.

The demand for commercial service is driven by local demographics, and without the guarantee of a federal subsidy, it seems unlikely air carriers would be willing to compete with Albany International Airport by flying out of Warren County, Dubarry said.

“But you never know what the future holds,” he said.


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July 19, 2013 • County leaders wonder about Warren County airport grant payback 

QUEENSBURY -- Town Supervisor Ron Montesi wants a determination whether Warren County would have to repay about $800,000 in grant funding if the county halts its plan to expand the runway at Warren County airport.

“It’s an important consideration,” he said.

Queensbury at-large Supervisor Mark Westcott, a leader of a taxpayer group opposed to expanding the airport, said the county should not move forward, even if it does have to return the money, some of which has already been spent.

“I had a good professor (at Duke University) who said, ‘Don’t throw good money after bad,’” he said, at a Board of Supervisors meeting on Friday.

Later in the meeting, the board voted 17-2, with one supervisor absent, on two resolutions associated with the runway expansion.

The board authorized applying for up to $1.11 million in Federal Aviation Administration and state Department of Transportation grant funding to buy land and aviation easements for the runway approach.

The board also authorized applying, separately, for up to $1.15 million in FAA and DOT grant funding to remove about 70 acres of trees in the runway approach, install three obstruction light towers, and landscape a buffer area along Queensbury Avenue.

The grants have local matching fund requirements of $55,500 and $57,500 respectively.

Westcott and Johnsburg Supervisor Ron Vanselow voted against both resolutions.

The remaining 17 supervisors present voted in favor. Lake Luzerne Supervisor Gene Merlino was absent at that point in the meeting.

Upstate New York Taxpayer Advocates, a local political advocacy group on fiscal issues, has been pushing to halt the runway expansion.

Critics have questioned the cost and need for the expansion, and said increased air traffic might be disturbing.

Supporters of expanding the runway have said it will help attract new employers and retain existing ones.

Montesi asked that county Administrator Paul Dusek, County Attorney Martin Auffredou and county Department of Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson determine whether the county would have to pay back grant money already received, if the county halts the project.

Dusek said the county has spent $380,000 in federal grant funding on the project so far, and has received another $423,000 in grant funding that the county has committed to spend, but has not yet actually spent.


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June 20, 2013  • Warren County Airport 'fixed base operator' contract becoming controversial 

 Warren County supervisors on the county board's Facilities Committee held off approving a new five-year contract with the county airport's fixed base operator Rich Air earlier this month.

It sounds, though, like the issue will be presented for the full county board's possible approval at Friday's (6/21) meeting.The county has been seeking an extension of 8 months to more fully review the terms of the lease, but Rich Air has not been in favor of the shorter agreement.

The Upstate New York Taxpayers Advocates has asked county supervisors to consider terms of a new contract that will be "more beneficial to Warren County taxpayers."

-- Don Lehman


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March 02, 2013 • Airport talk gets heated at Warren County committee meeting 

The debate over escalating costs to operate Warren County airport took an ugly turn Thursday when one county supervisor tore into a colleague as he discussed efforts to cut airport costs.

The confrontation occurred as Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Mark Westcott discussed his thoughts on bringing pilots who use the airport into the discussion on how to rein in costs at the facility.

Westcott has continually questioned increased spending at the airport, which is significantly higher than many other municipal airports in upstate New York, as well as a proposal to lengthen the airport’s main runway at an estimated $8 million.

Glens Falls 1st Ward Supervisor Dan Girard, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors Facilities Committee that oversees the airport, cut off Westcott and would not allow him to continue the debate.

Girard said county leaders are reviewing the airport budget and cuts are being considered.

“Unbelievably, Mark, there are other people working on this other than yourself,” Girard told Westcott.

He went on to accuse Westcott of starting a “filibuster” on the issue and accused him of “wasting a lot of people’s time.” He said Westcott was “wanting data to support your (proposed) $400,000 cut.”

“You don’t want me to comment more?” Westcott asked.

“I want to move on so we can comment on other things,” Girard responded.

Most supervisors seemed stunned by the exchange and there was little comment afterward, though Glens Falls Ward Supervisor Bud Taylor seemed to take a shot at Westcott, saying “we’re eating ourselves here” and adding “Election time is coming, I don’t know if that’s a reason” for the strife.

Westcott said his efforts had nothing to do with re-election, pointing out he began asking questions about the airport last year.

The committee also heard from Airport Manager Ross Dubarry about a response he prepared to a Post-Star article and editorial in the fall that questioned airport spending.

Dubarry tried to compare detailed spending breakdowns between airports in the region that have lower costs than Warren County, and distributed a spreadsheet with pie charts and dozens of figures

Dubarry couldn’t get actual figures for many of the airports, so he substituted Warren County’s costs in certain categories for those at other airports for which he couldn’t get numbers, even though staffing numbers apparently differ significantly.

So for instance, he concluded Fulton County airport, which spent $12,000 in employee salaries in the unspecified year he surveyed, had the same overtime costs as Warren County ($47,000) despite the fact Warren County had $233,019 in salaries. He also included the same retirement and hospitalization costs as Warren County, despite the fact Fulton County and the other airports he included had much lower salary expenses.

Warren County Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said the survey showed it is very difficult to compare airport operation costs because of the way budgets are structured.

Westcott, though, said the county survey reinforced to him Warren County’s airport spending was higher than other counties, even with estimates for costs that weren’t included.

“The real issue at this point is why are we spending over $1 million a year on this facility?” Westcott asked after the meeting. “Since the airport budget was brought up in the meeting today by Ross and Jeff Tennyson, I felt it was fair to ask this question. I was surprised at how vehement and negative the response was after doing so.”

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February 28, 2013 - New restaurant proposed at Warren County Airport

Rich Air, the company that serves as the fixed base operator for Warren County Airport, is proposing two new buildings at the airport to house a restaurant and additional offices.

The proposal is to be discussed at a county Facilities Committee meeting Thursday.

The restaurant would be six times the size of the cafe that operates at the airport, said Jon Lapper, a lawyer for Rich Air. It would be located next to the terminal.

It would be open into the evening, while the cafe on the property is open only mornings and afternoons. Lapper said what type of restaurant it will be is to be determined.

The office building would be next to Hangar 2 on the airport property.

Lapper said that Carol's Airport Cafe would be closed and turned into a lounge or office space, and the proprietors would be given the opportunity to run the new restaurant.

-- Don Lehman


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August 03, 2012 • Questions raised over paving payment at Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (KGFL), Glens Falls, New York 

QUEENSBURY -- The owner of a local aircraft manufacturer is questioning why Warren County is shelling out $182,000 to pave an approach to a private airport hangar when the county was going to require he pay paving costs when he proposed a similar project.

Chris Hatin, owner of Bushwhacker Aircraft Company LLC, said he would like to know why the county is paying for the pavement of an aircraft taxiway to a new hangar for Rich Air, which is the fixed base operator for the airport.

“That’s local taxpayer funding being spent on a private project for private financial gain,” Hatin said.

When Hatin was negotiating to put a hangar at the airport in 2010 for his company and a local helicopter business, they were told they would have to pay paving costs for the approach to the hangar, he said.

So he said he was surprised to learn that the county was instead paying paving costs to connect Rich Air’s new hangar.

Ross Dubarry, the airport’s manager, said the county is applying for a federal grant for the paving, but Hatin responded, “It’s still taxpayer money.”

Hatin and business partner Bruce Mowery instead purchased Harris Airfield in Fort Ann for their businesses. He was among a group of pilots and airport users who had opposed Rich Air being chosen as the fixed base operator in 2008, instead supporting the company that was forced out, Empire East Aviation.

Hatin said the deal that Rich Air, operated by local developer Rich Schermerhorn, was given when he received permission to build new hangars involved taxpayer money being spent when the one he proposed did not.

Hatin said he is also wondering why the county is also footing the bill for runway lights on the approach to the new hangar.

Jeff Tennyson, Warren County’s public works superintendent, whose agency oversees the airport, said the county was not legally obligated to give the same business deal to two parties, and makes different agreements depending on the situations. One party can get a better deal than another when all factors are taken into consideration, he said.

“I don’t know of any extra burden we put on Chris above and beyond what has been done in the past,” Tennyson said.

The newly paved area will not be used only for Schermerhorn’s hangar, he added.

“It’s a common access area that will have multiple users,” Tennyson said.

Dubarry, who was not airport manager during negotiations with Hatin and Schermerhorn, said Schermerhorn has done preparation work for the site at his own cost. Dubarry said he is hopeful a federal grant will cover the cost.

Schermerhorn did not return a phone call on Friday.

The deal came after the county agreed last year to cut Schermerhorn’s lease rate in half when his tax bill increased when it was determined that the hangars were incorrectly assessed.


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• Warren County looking to fill airport manager job - September 07, 2011

The Personnel Committee voted to fill the vacated position of Warren County Airport manager. Manager Don DeGraw left to take another job out of state, and supervisors said Wednesday that the position has to be filled.

The county has received about a dozen applications so far, but decided Wednesday not to advertise a starting salary for the job because it will be based on the applicant's experience. DeGraw's base salary was $70,730.


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