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Vote against repeal and for airport

Daily Inter Lake | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 3 months AGO
by Daily Inter Lake
| October 16, 2013 9:00 PM

Kalispell voters face one of the most important decisions in the history of the city next month, as their judgment will probably determine the future of the 84-year-old municipal airport for decades to come.

Although there is much sound and fury in the debate about the airport referendum question, what it all boils down to is this: Should the city of Kalispell expand the airport?

We wholeheartedly believe the City Council was right to approve expansion last year, and we encourage city residents to study the issue thoroughly before casting their own votes.

Remember, voters are being asked to repeal the City Council’s decision to pursue an airport realignment and expansion through the federal Airport Improvement Program. If you vote FOR repeal, you are actually voting against the airport expansion. If you vote AGAINST repeal, you are voting for the expansion project.

The airport question has produced a three-sided equation of viewpoints. There are those who want the airport shut down, those who don’t want it expanded but want to keep it open and the city to manage it more responsibly, and there are those who favor upgrading the airport in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration.

After more than a decade of airport studies and planning, setbacks, debate, controversy and expenditures, all sides of the unresolved airport issue seem to be as far apart as ever.

So what should you be thinking about when you decide?

—Safety. The runway realignment is being undertaken not just so that somewhat bigger aircraft can land at the city airport, but also because the FAA has determined that the new runway will provide safer access to and from the airport for pilots. There will be be modernization of safety and design standards across the board.

—Money. The $16 million project to improve the city airport will be almost totally funded by FAA money that comes from a federal aviation trust fund program created specifically to help improve and maintain airports. Even the part of the expansion funded by the city of Kalispell is expected to come from nearly $3 million which the feds are expected to reimburse to pay the city back for early expenditures on behalf of the airport.

That means the bigger, safer airport will be built with almost no cost to Kalispell taxpayers. There will also be up to $150,000 in annual maintenance money provided by the FAA.

On the other hand, if the expansion money from FAA is turned down and the city has to pay for maintenance of the existing airport, there is considerable doubt about whether the taxpayers could afford the bill. And if the airport was not maintained in a safe manner, the many leaseholders at the airport would be able to go to court to seek millions of dollars from the city for failing to uphold its end of the contract.

—Noise. It’s not a major factor in the decision, but since a lot of the animosity against the airport has been fomented by a group called Quiet Skies, let’s consider it for a moment. The new runway configuration will move 1,000 feet south — away from downtown Kalispell and the West Side and East Side neighborhoods. In addition, the helipad will be moved to the southern end of the airport, again reducing the potential for noise complaints in the core neighborhoods of Kalispell.

No matter what aspect you look at — noise, safety, or finance — the logic of moving ahead with airport expansion is hard to deny. Yes, there is uncertainty whenever you accept money from the federal government, but that should not hinder us from doing the right thing.

And no matter which way the Nov. 5 vote goes, there will still be uncertainty.

If the upgrade is backed by voters, obstacles such as acquiring more land and the nearby radio towers still remain that could affect the expansion project.

If voters repeal the council vote, there are plenty of unanswered questions about what the city does next: work to shut down the airport or figure out a way to upgrade the aging facility on its own (and either option could cost more on a local level than the FAA-funded expansion).

It all boils down to what might benefit Kalispell the most, and in this regard it would appear that voting AGAINST REPEAL in the election (and thereby approving an upgraded airport) has the biggest upside for the city.


Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.

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