Editor’s note: This commentary is by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger.
[O]n Town Meeting Day, Burlingtonians supported the ballot question advising the City Council to request an alternative mission to the planned F-35 basing. Since then, as I committed prior to the vote, I have looked anew at the specific concerns raised in recent months by the public and the media and carefully considered the council’s vote. After completing this review, I continue to strongly support the basing of the F-35s at Burlington International Airport and have concluded that I cannot responsibly approve the council resolution.
Further, after discussions with Vermont Air National Guard leadership, through which I learned that the Air Force is well aware of the voter and council actions, I have also concluded that vetoing the resolution and returning it to the City Council floor would serve little purpose other than extending the divisive debate indefinitely. Therefore, for the first time as mayor, I will not sign a council resolution. Accordingly, the resolution will take effect on April 16 without my signature or support.
Finally, I have submitted a letter to the United States Air Force reaffirming my strong support for the F-35s and the men and women of the VTANG. With the letter, I included a copy of the council resolution and requested the Air Force address the questions about the F-35 basing posed in it. I know there is a great interest in this subject in our community, and have detailed my reasoning behind these actions below.
My oath of office requires me to “faithfully execute the duties of the office of Mayor to the best of my judgment and ability” and not simply accept an action based on the assessment of others. In this case, while it is difficult to disappoint constituents who supported this ballot item, my judgment is that our city is best served by continuing to support the basing of the F-35s at Burlington International Airport for the following reasons:
The sound impacts of the VTANG after the F-35s arrive will be comparable to current and historic sound impacts. Since the years following World War II, VTANG has operated fighter jets out of BIA. The F-35s will be louder than some, but not all, of VTANG’s past aircraft. In relation to the F-16s, the aircraft they will replace, the F-35 noise impacts are expected to change the current sound characteristics modestly and inconsistently – as documented in the official basing Environmental Impact Statement, areas to the sides of the runway are expected to experience moderately less noise, whereas areas adjacent to the ends of the runway are projected to experience moderately more noise. We have thrived as a community and coped with the noise impacts that come from VTANG operating at BIA for seven decades, and that will continue when the F-35s arrive.
The arrival of the F-35s is not expected to result in the removal of additional homes. BIA has used a voluntary federal program to purchase and remove approximately 200 homes adjacent to BIA since the 1980s. I do not like this program – my professional career has been dedicated to building new homes, not taking them down – and, since becoming mayor, I have been working to close out BIA’s commitments to homeowners and fairly bring this long-running program to an end this year. We are applying to the federal government to start a new noise program that is focused on mitigating the sound impacts created by airport operations by offering nearby residents assistance with insulation, air conditioning, and other improvements. This effort to refocus resources on sound mitigation will continue as the F-35s replace the F-16s.
The F-35s will not create a significant crash risk. Of the concerns raised recently about the F-35 basing at BIA, the one that I have worked hardest to understand better is the readiness of the planes to be deployed. My understanding from federal officials is that the plane has had hundreds of thousands of hours of flight and simulator testing and is building a solid safety record (with no crashes in the program’s history) that compares favorably to prior new aircraft at a comparable stage of development. This is an issue that I will continue to monitor and, in my letter to the Air Force secretary, I have asked her specifically to address this concern.
A robust VTANG mission is important for the region’s economy and critical for the airport’s financial and operational health. VTANG today is a major employer and economic force. It employs over 1,100 people on a full- or part-time basis, and is responsible for tens of millions of dollars of economic activity annually. Chittenden County would experience substantial adverse financial impacts if VTANG materially reduced its operations. The impacts on the airport of a diminished VTANG presence would be even more severe. VTANG currently provides emergency fire services for the airport and community, without which the airport, which already has significant financial pressures, would face an immediate 15-20 percent increase in its operating expenses and would struggle to provide comparable emergency capabilities. BIA is one of our economic drivers – its weakening as a result of a reduced VTANG mission would have dramatic and long-term negative consequences for the region.
There is a real and meaningful risk of requesting an alternative mission for VTANG. While opponents of the F-35 have downplayed concerns about a reduced VTANG mission, at best, we would face a period of great uncertainty in the wake of a decision by the Air Force to reopen the F-35 basing selection process. While there are differences, Burlingtonians need only look across the lake at Plattsburgh to see a community that has struggled for decades in the wake of an adverse Air Force basing decision.
I believe it would be irresponsible to take such a risk. I continue to stand with all other senior Vermont officials responsible for the overall safety and well-being of this region in strongly supporting the basing of the F-35s at BIA.
