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March 25, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: Nothing is more dangerous than a bad idea whose time has come. So it is with the proposed airport in Rockbridge County.
At a time when our country is $35 trillion in debt, the county is spending $20,000 of taxpayers’ money on the premise that the federal government, with some state backing, will spend what may be up to $30 or $40 million for a vanity airport that we quite frankly don’t need.
A 6,000-foot paved runway is going to eat up $12 to $15 million of the cost by itself. Then add fuel facilities, hangars, office and support buildings, parking lots, roads, fire suppression infrastructure, water and sewer lines, radar, equipment, and mandated security fencing and systems miles of security fencing. They claim that our share of all that would only be 2% or maybe $1 million. We’ll see.
No one is talking about the yearly costs of operation of a general aviation airport that will be assumed by the county. Personnel, travel, office supplies, retirement, support for a county supervisor-appointed board of directors, water and sewer services, telecommunications services, big liability insurance bills, fuel spill remediation. Probably at least $2 million a year every year on the local taxpayers. Looks like $40 million in the first 20 years plus inflation. Property taxes going up again?
Now what we’re getting for our $20,000 is “only” a “feasibility” study of the vanity airport from outside consultants. Buena Vista, Lexington, Glasgow, and the state are paying the rest of $200,000 for the “feasibility” study. Does anyone seriously think that a consulting group that does “feasibility” studies for airport proposals to get federal money is going to find against the idea?
Fasten year seatbelts; we’re in for a bumpy flight. BILL RUSSELL Kerrs Creek District
