Friday, July 10, 2009

New airport, new leadership, new direction


In a recent visit to the valley, a Federal Aviation Administration official said that a new airport to serve Blaine County could be up and running as soon as 2016.

As federal projects go, that's lightning speed. That and pronouncements by the FAA and the Blaine County Board of Commissioners that there is no question that the airport must relocate in order to improve safety has refocused this controversial issue within the Sun Valley area.

The exact site of a new airport is still uncertain, but the environmental, engineering and economic analyses that will guide the Federal Aviation Administration's decision-making on potential sites are under way and may be finished in 2010.

With these things in mind, the Board of Commissioners is working on guiding the transition from an airport that is jointly managed by the city of Hailey and Blaine County.

Once the airport is relocated from land owned in part by Hailey, management will be in the hands of the Board of Commissioners and its appointees.

The commissioners seem to be looking at a transition plan as a way to get other cities, including Sun Valley and Ketchum, actively involved in managing any impacts of a new airport. Impacts might include longer transit times to Sun Valley, ongoing revenue guarantees to airlines and development near the airport.

The FAA has said that it doesn't deal with matters like these except as part of its economic analysis of airport operations.

That leaves it to the local community to address them.

An advisory committee to the Board of Commissioners would be useful as the relocation process unfolds. But it will only be useful if the committee includes elected officials from all of the valley's cities—not appointees. The group should also include local planners and transportation officials.

The mission of an advisory group—to identify and mitigate impacts—would have to be made crystal clear.

If the valley learned anything in the last three years, it's that too much gets lost in translation when some elected officials don't play an active part in matters as critical as discussions about a new airport. Communication gets muddled, facts get twisted and misunderstandings arise. Then, the politics heat up.

The vow of the Board of Commissioners to exert its authority to direct the transition to governance by a new airport board is a welcome move.

It came just in time. If the board's leadership is effective, it will redirect what has been a contentious process to a more positive path.




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