By MARTHA BURKE
Chairwoman
Friedman Memorial Airport Authority
We have carefully reviewed Sun Valley Co. General Manager Wally Huffman's letter of July 26. We respect Mr. Huffman. We respect that he has every right to express his opinions and his desires. We have always respected and listened to the positions of Mr. Huffman. Even though we respect and listen to Mr. Huffman's opinions, we can not accept them as accurate in the absence of any supporting documentation. At this point in the process we differ with his letter in several areas: for instance, his description of the airport (site selection) process doesn't reflect either the actual planned process or the intent of the Airport Authority. A brief review of Mr. Huffman's major points and a description of the actual process and intent of the FMAA may help him feel less anxious.
In regard to Mr. Huffman's points:
1. The Mead and Hunt Study won't evaluate any proposed new site against the existing site.
Mr. Huffman is mistaken on this point.
Actually: The consultant team will show the existing site in three possible expansion modes (east, west, and south). These configurations will be shown at the Sept. 28 initial public hearing on possible future sites. A preferred alternative for the present site configuration will then be evaluated against a preferred alternate new site. After appropriate public hearings, FMAA will make a recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration.
2. The city of Hailey doesn't care if moving the airport will be devastating to the tourist economy.
We respect Mr. Huffman's opinion, but to date we have only heard statements of opinion unsupported by any documented fact. We believe he is mistaken on this point.
Actually: The city of Hailey is fully aware of the value of the tourist economy and has supported every effort during the past 15 years to encourage commercial air service to Friedman Airport, to improve safety, and to upgrade the terminal to make travel to and from Friedman as comfortable as possible for the tourist traveler. The city's efforts to support the resort economy and air service are documented in the public record on file at the airport. A significant terminal improvement project and a major runway safety area improvement are currently under way to protect current and future commercial air service. To this date, no documented evidence has been presented to show that locating an airport 30 minutes away from Friedman will have any effect on the tourist economy. The 30 minutes is a minor component of total travel time to this market. We believe the high quality of the Sun Valley Resort experience is more than sufficient to overcome the additional 30 minutes travel time.
3. The FMAA has already decided to move the airport out of Blaine County.
Mr. Huffman is mistaken on this point.
Actually: The FMAA has made no decision regarding which site(s) to recommend to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FMAA will begin the public hearing process on Sept. 28. We anticipate considerable public comment and we will take as long as necessary to hear everyone who wants to be heard, including Mr. Huffman. Once everyone who wants to speak has been heard, the FMAA will begin evaluating all the testimony and written material that have been submitted during the past year and a half, including the recommendations of the Site Selection Committee. The FMAA has said from the beginning of the site selection process that the FMAA will evaluate the recommendations of the Site Selection Committee, but the ultimate decision-responsibility rests with the Airport Authority. Mr. Huffman was at those meetings.
4. No environmental analysis has been done on sites in the Bellevue Triangle and the residents there have scared the FMAA out of their due diligence.
We respect Mr. Huffman's opinion, but he is mistaken on this point.
Actually: It didn't require an EA to see why the Triangle can't be a future airport. (Please see our full-page ad in last Wednesday's or Friday's paper.) After careful review of initial screening data presented by the study team, which included information on environmental issues in the Triangle sites, the Site Selection Committee did not recommend to FMAA that any of the four sites in the Triangle area be carried forward for additional detailed analysis.
5. Don't the citizens of Blaine County deserve to know the costs involved?
On this point we agree with Mr. Huffman and we always have.
Actually: The consultants, as part of the contract Mr. Huffman is familiar with and noted in his letter, and as always planned, will have capital costs for the various alternatives available for the FMAA and the public at the Sept. 28 meeting. Once FMAA has selected alternatives from those presented at the Sept. 28 hearing, the study team will further evaluate costs, financing and implementation strategies. These will be presented at subsequent public hearings.
We respect Mr. Huffman's opinions, but most of the points he has made don't reflect the actual FMAA process and they are not supported by any factual documentation. In the future, Mr. Huffman's assertions will not only have our respect, but if they are accompanied by factual documentation, they will be entitled to our attention.
