Winooski’s location at the end of the landing strip might become a seat at the table with those responsible for guiding the future of the Burlington International Airport.
The Airport Strategic Planning Committee, created last year by the Burlington City Council, recommended that a seat be reserved for a Winooski City Council appointee on a restructured Airport Commission during a presentation at Burlington City Hall last week.
There is no representative from Winooski on the current commission.
“There was agreement that the communities that surround the airport need a voice,” said Pam Mackenzie, chair of the South Burlington City Council and a member of the committee.
The planning committee included Mackenzie, who replaced former South Burlington manager Sanford Miller, and Winooski Mayor Michael O’Brien. While the airport is in South Burlington, Winooski is close to the northern end of the airstrip.
Kevin Dorn, interim city manager for South Burlington, said the planning process has been open and inclusive of the communities around the airport. Dorn said that the relationship between South Burlington and the airport has improved significantly in recent years.
“In recent months, the relationship has been excellent,” Dorn said. “In the past, I really don’t know.”
The current Airport Commission has two representatives of South Burlington: Bill Keogh, retired Burlington City Council member and chief executive officer at Political Advisers Inc., and Gene Palombo, technical support engineer at Harris Software Systems. The others serving on the commission are Jeff Munger, transportation policy adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders; Jeff Shulman, senior associate athletic director at the University of Vermont; and Alan Newman, a co-founder of Magic Hat Brewing.
A new set of wings for Airport Commission
The committee also recommended that more authority be given to the Airport Commission because its current advisory responsibility limits the airport’s ability to make quick strategic changes in its operations.
“There was concern that the existing governance structure may limit strategic responses going forward,” said Adam Whiteman, managing director for Frasca and Associates LLC and a consultant to the committee.
According to the recommendations, the new commission will decide all business agreements for the airport for contacts under $200,000 and less than two years in duration. Other transactions would be subject to a Burlington City Council veto.
The committee recommended that the Burlington City Council decide wages and salaries, the acquisition of property using eminent domain and the issuance of revenue bonds and other debt obligations.
Louise Stoll, former assistant secretary and CFO for the U.S. Department of Transportation and committee member, said the Airport Commission needs to be more independent and have more leeway to make decisions.
“I personally felt that the amount of money that the airport governance would be able to handle by itself was too low,” Stoll said. “I think what you need is a strong Airport Commission, you need people that really are devoting themselves to this job; it’s a big job to run this airport.”
Vermont’s stake in the airport
The recommendation also calls for a “Regional Authority,” recognizing that Vermont has an opportunity to benefit from the airport’s economic success.
“The committee was concerned about maximizing the airport’s role as an economic driver for the city of Burlington, the region and the state,” Whiteman said.
The bond rating of the Burlington International Airport was downgraded from Ba1 to Baa3, a junk-bond level, according to a May 2010 report by Moody’s Investors Service. The airport currently has a Ba1 rating, issued last year to reflect its stronger financial performance but poor market position.
“We were not only last in the bond rating, but we were on a separate page with a separate rating. That’s how bad it was,” said Ernie Pomerleau, committee member and president and CEO of Pomerleau Real Estate. “You couldn’t get worse.”
Now, the airport is seen as an economic opportunity for the state and especially for Burlington, providing $18 million in economic activity per year, thousands of jobs and a link to the rest of the world, Pomerleau said.
“The region is very different, the primary stimulator for jobs and economic growth is the airport,” he said.
A bird’s eye view of a growing airport
Within the next year, the committee recommended reviewing all airport-owned land for future development in order to meet the economic goals set by the plan.
Dorn said he supports the development initiatives of the airport because it would increase the potential for jobs and tourism in the area.
“We are really talking about operating a business here,” Dorn said.
During the presentation at Monday’s meeting, few questioned the impact that the development strategy would have on the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Democratic Councilor Kevin Warden requested that the committee consider Burlington’s principles on equitable housing through its development process.
An expansion of the airport’s services to Canada through a marketing campaign and to provide new services to key airline hubs around the country, such as Charlotte, N.C., is planned for later this year.
Dorn said that he views more air traffic as a sign of economic opportunity. He said that he does not expect an increase in noise resulting from more commercial air traffic.
“I don’t see that as a major addition source of noise,” he said. “I see that as an opportunity.”
Dorn said modern aircraft has new technology that can reduce noise impact. For example, FedEx has been flying a 757 aircraft for the past couple weeks, which is quieter than the current 727.
“We have to acknowledge that the airport is a quieter place today than it was 20 years ago,” he said.
Noise is a real concern, however, he said, and a concern with new development at the airport.
The F-35 made little noise at the presentation
Progressive Councilor Max Tracy asked the committee how it is addressing noise from the proposed basing of the F-35, a fighter jet, in its planning process.
Joseph McNeil, secretary of the committee and partner in the law firm McNeil, Leddy and Sheahan, said the new plan focuses on the commercial role of the airport only and does not not include military functions in its planning.
McNeil said the committee had invited members of the Vermont Air National Guard, but he said they did not attend information sessions because of potential negative press attention.
The recommendations did not focus on the role of the Air National Guard, Pomerleau said, because it would have politicized the discussion.
“There was no reason to mention it,” Pomerleau said. “It’s not our decision, it’s the federal government’s. If we were to put that in the report, it is a political statement.”
Pomerleau said the Air National Guard is a valuable asset for the airport and the surrounding community, but any changes to the Guard’s presence at the airport will happen beyond the timeline of the report, which focuses on 2013 and 2014.
Even if the committee were to plan eight years ahead and include the possible arrival of the F-35 fighter jet to Burlington, he said the Air National Guard only occupies 5 percent of the air traffic at the airport and would not impact the planning process significantly.
“This board has no place to talk about the F-35,” Pomerleau said. “It’s political. It will take our eye off the ball.”
