GARY — Impatient with the
lack of progress at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, City
Councilman Roy Pratt ripped a report from the private operator of the
Gary/Chicago International Airport Tuesday, calling it “poppycock.”
Pratt, D-at-large,
listened to the assessment of airport progress from Oswin E. Moore,
president and CEO of AvPorts. Then he slammed it.
“Much of what you’re
saying is poppycock, we always looked at it for connecting flights, and
employment for Northwest Indiana and Gary. All this other drifting
around, we don’t need. We need connecting flights.”
Moore traveled to Gary
from AvPorts’ headquarters in Virginia to offer his update along with
airport director B.R. Lane as the council held a public hearing on
airport spending.
Moore told the council
AvPorts is committed to spending $100 million in the next 40 years at
the airport to foster economic growth. Moore also promised to spend
$300,000 in training local workers so they could be hired for the new
jobs created.
“We thought Gary was a
good fit,” said Moore. “It if is good enough for Boeing and for the
President than what is it that’s not packaged right?
Moore said AvPorts will market the airport to other corporations and airlines.
Pratt said studies have
been done on the airport for years. “We know how money can be made with
the airport. It’s time for us to start using what we know we have,” said
Pratt. “We do a lot of talk, but nothing happens.”
Lane defended AvPorts
saying there have been numerous discussion about what could happen at
the airport “but aviation is a particular field and it works a certain
way.”
Lane said city officials
aren’t aviation experts. “Let them give us the data and we retain the
right to make decisions. That was the whole idea of the public/private
partnership.”
The airport, a separate taxing entity, has a proposed $3.5 million operating budget for 2015.
- Source: http://posttrib.suntimes.com
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