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MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013
Vol. CXXIV, No. 67
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
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FAA delays Tacoma Narrows Airport control tower closure
Posted online Fri., April 5 Photo Courtesy Pierce County The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Friday that it will delay the closures of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15. Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for these towers as part of the agency's required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. The control tower at Tacoma Narrows Airport was slated for closure. This additional time will allow the agency to attempt to resolve multiple legal challenges to the closure decisions. As part of the tower closure implementation process, the agency continues to consult with airports and operators and review appropriate risk mitigations. Extending the transition deadline will give the FAA and airports more time to execute the changes to the National Airspace System. "This has been a complex process and we need to get this right," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Safety is our top priority. We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports." As of today, approximately 50 airport authorities and other stakeholders have indicated they may join the FAA's non-Federal Contract Tower program and fund the tower operations themselves. This additional time will allow the FAA to help facilitate that transition. "We will continue our outreach to the user community to answer any questions and address their concerns about these tower closures," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "We appreciate the closure delay, as it will allow Pierce County to ensure our pilot community is informed about the closure and prepared for the transition," said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy. "We will also explore options to operate the tower as
Tacoma pursues grant to preserve area near Swan Creek Article By Todd Matthews, Editor Photo Courtesy Pierce County The City of Tacoma has applied for a grant to help preserve open space near Swan Creek (pictured) on Tacoma's East Side. If the Pierce County Conservation Futures program awards the $99,000 grant, the city plans to acquire the property in an effort to protect it from future development and reforest the site to enhance its environmental, stormwater and aesthetic functions and value of the Swan Creek corridor, according documents prepared by city staff. The city would match the grant with $10,000 already earmarked in the city's current budget. The grant program aims to protect threatened areas of open space, timber lands, wetland, habitat areas, agricultural and farm lands
within Pierce County by acquiring land or the rights to future development of land, according to Pierce County Conservation Futures' Web site. Funding for this program comes from a tax of 6.25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value of each Pierce County owned parcel. The application deadline is April 8. A citizens' advisory committee is expected to review and score the applications in June, and Pierce County Council is expected to make a final decision on the funding in August. Last year, the city worked with the Conservation Futures Program to purchase and permanently conserve nearly six acres of land in South Tacoma. The Conservation Futures Program provided the majority of the $411,000 purchase price. The city's contribution was $13,030 paid from Tacoma's open space fund.
a Non-Federal Control Tower on a part-time basis, such as on busy summer weekends. We plan to look into sponsorship opportunities that would allow us to create a public-private partnership to cover the costs." On March 22, the FAA announced that it would stop federal funding for 149 contract towers across the country. A phased, four-week closure process was scheduled to begin April 7. That phased closure process will no longer occur. Instead, the FAA will stop funding all 149 towers on June 15 and will close the facilities unless the airports decide to continue operations as a nonfederal contract tower. Last month, the Washington State Department of
Transportation urged the FAA to implement measures to stop tower closures planned for eight Washington state airports: Walla Walla Regional; Grant County International; Olympia Regional; Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field); Renton Municipal; Felts Field; Tacoma Narrows; and Yakima Air Terminal/McAllister Field. In a March 8 letter to FAA Director of Terminal Operations Tony Mello, WSDOT Director of Aviation Tristan Atkins emphasized the benefits that airport towers bring to Washington state's economy, transportation system and emergency response capabilities.