Reminiscent of testy exchanges during early stages of the decision to relocate Friedman Memorial Airport, sharp words are punctuating new discussions about processes used in deciding where a replacement field should be located and its costs of construction and operation.
The new clashes essentially involve the same north Blaine County business interests that at one time opposed closing Friedman, even predicting "economic disaster."
During the monthly meeting of the Blaine County Aviation Advisory Committee on Tuesday, May 11, former Ketchum City Councilman Charles Conn insisted that Friedman's governing body and decision-making structure must be changed or the cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley will refuse to sign letters of support for a new airport.
"We won't be involved in a sham process to build a replacement airport," said Conn, who later explained in an interview that he's been asked by Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall to continue as a city liaison on airport matters.
When asked by advisory committee member Len Harlig what he meant by "sham process," Conn said the committee is made up of "good people" but "not where decisions (about the airport) are actually being made."
To press the north-county point of view, Conn told the committee that he and others met with Blaine County Commissioner Angenie McCleary one evening earlier. McCleary confirmed for the Express that Conn, Sun Valley Resort Development Director Wally Huffman, Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich and Sawtooth Real Estate Board representative Bob Crosby were at the meeting to discuss the replacement airport.
Conn and the others are asking for a more hurried transition to a new airport governing body to include specific north-county representation. This would require a change in the "joint powers agreement" that now designates two seats each for the city of Hailey and Blaine County on the airport authority, plus one "independent" seat.
Also at issue, Conn says, is a financial model projecting costs of construction and operation of the airport. However, the firm of Ricondo and Associates has been contracted to deliver an economic study and consultant Landrum & Brown will include economic factors in an environmental-impact study now nearing completion.
During another segment of the advisory committee meeting, Friedman Manager Rick Baird was being questioned by committee members when he asked, testily, whether he was being "grilled." Baird also said that the airport authority has no intention of building an airport it can't afford and several times has rejected intimations from critics that taxpayers may be hit with levies to pay for operations.
