Wednesday, October 19, 2016
www.saukvalley.com
Telegraph • A5
Closing airport could cost the city millions in federal money City Manager Cole O’Donnell said possible solutions need to fit with the city’s amount of airport traffic. Extending the runway could make the airport more attractive for commercial aircraft, but the demand isn’t there to fully justify it. “None of the businesses in this area need the airport,” Price said. “Your economy base doesn’t attract that type of use.” There’s also the problem of being located between Whiteside County and Rochelle Municipal airports, which both have longer runways and other competitive features. “You’re in this awkward competitive situation with two airports so close,” Price said.
Feasible fixes The best hope would be pairing a conducive management style with other features that would motivate pilots to set down in Dixon, like instituting aggressive fuel pricing or allowing third parties to build private hangars on the property. Price presented forecasts for the airport based on three different management models: city-operated, overseen by the city but managed by a fixed-base operator, or overseen by the city but managed by a private entity. The fixed-base operator model predicted negative net income even if the airport extended its runway from 3,897 feet to 4,500 feet, rented five hangars and had aggressive fuel pricing. “The traditional FBO model I think is losing favor at the small, general aviation airports,” Price said. The city-operated model showed potential profits of $63,437 to $88,958 annually for the two runway lengths, but they were contingent on having the hangars and the fuel pricing. Price recommended the private-entity model, based on Mesquite Municipal Airport in Nevada, which is city owned but operated by a private entrepreneur who is paid solely on a
Next meeting
The City Council will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 121 W. Second St, for a work session dedicated to the airport feasibility findings. Go to discoverdixon. org or call City Hall at 815-288-1485 for an agenda or more information. 70-percent commission of total fuel sales. Projected income ranged from $3,299 to $35,405 depending on runway length and extra features. Airport Board Chairman Dave Flenner said the Mesquite and Dixon airports operate in completely different environments, and it would be difficult to grasp how the model could work in Dixon. Price said the city could also create a hybrid system of management and features. He also recommended selling or leasing the 49 aces south of the airport, possibly bringing in a solar farm, a development that is growing at airports.
Closing conundrum Closing the airport is an option, but it’s a costly one. If the city decided to shut down the airport, it would be on the hook for $2.36 million in grant funds owed to the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA grants usually span across 20 years, and the airport wouldn’t be clear of financial obligations until 2030, Price said. In addition to cost, the FAA closure process is lengthy and could take at least 3 or 4 years to complete. The city could choose to begin the closure process while testing out a model that could generate more sustainability at the airport, but it could be hard drawing others to hitch onto a sinking ship. “We can’t attract business if we’re going to close in 10 years,” Flenner said. The City Council will have a special meeting at 5 p.m. Monday to discuss the feasibility study findings.
ELECTION Obama to Trump: Stop your whining WASHINGTON (AP) – “Stop whining,” President Barack Obama rebuked Donald Trump on Tuesday, speaking out as seldom before on next month’s election and chiding the Republican for sowing suspicion about the integrity of America’s presidential vote. Obama also accused Trump of cozying up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin to a degree “unprecedented in American politics.” The president said Trump’s intensifying preemptive warnings about voter fraud are unheard of in modern politics. The rhetoric is not based on any evidence, Obama said, but is simply aimed at discrediting the outcome before the first
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votes are counted. “You start whining before the game is even over?” Obama said at a Rose Garden news conference. “If whenever things are going badly for you and you lose you start blaming somebody else — then you don’t have what it takes to be in this job.”
Submitted
This drawing shows the new county jail connected to the judicial center.
Residents don’t want Sixth Street closed JAIL
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Goodale’s drawing showed South Sixth Street closed to traffic by a sally port that would connect the new detention center to the judicial center. The sally port, he said, would be large enough to accommodate at least six vehicles to easily pick up and drop off prisoners. The front of the jail
Next meeting
The Ogle County Board next meets at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Ogle County Courthouse, third floor. Go to oglecounty.org for meeting agendas or more information. would face north, lining up with the north side of the judicial center. “The brick used will blend with the judicial center, but the judicial center will remain the more prominent building,” Goodale said. Board member Lee Mey-
ers told Goodale he liked the concept, but would like to see a similar drawing of a detention center next to the public safety complex on First Street. “Most of the comments I’ve heard [on the proposed jail] have been about Sixth Street,” he
said. “Several people don’t want that blocked off.” Board member Don Griffin, who chairs the Long Range Planning Committee, has approached Oregon officials about vacating the street, but no decision has been made. Goodale said he will bring the plan requested by Meyers, as well as cost estimates on both options, back to the board Nov. 15.
Company will address safety concerns TURBINES
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The wind farm, owned by Dallas-based Leeward Renewable Energy, has operated with a deficit for at least 4 years and plans to uproot its 63 turbines and build 27 to 34 upgraded towers. In addition to increasing the farm’s viability, the project could also generate an extra $550,000 in property tax revenue for the county. The project includes expanding the 13-year-old wind farm’s footprint to allow the new turbines to be more spaced out, but the location of two of the towers caused concern for the privately owned, publicly used Bresson Airport in Compton. Airport Manager Mark Bresson said the turbines would be too close to pilots’ flight patterns, about a football field’s distance from the plane to the towers, which could present a safety risk. “I’ve been flying for 50 years, and I know this is going to create a hazard,” he said. The closeness could also unnerve student pilots or deter them from receiving instruction at the airport, he added. Board member Greg Witzleb said they shouldn’t move forward with the proposal until Leeward and Bresson reach an agreement where the turbines wouldn’t encroach on
Next meeting
The Lee County Board next meets at 9 a.m. Nov. 22 in the third-floor boardroom of the Old Lee County Courthouse, 112 E. 2nd St. Go to leecountyil.com for an agenda or more information. airport traffic or until the Federal Aviation Administration weighs in on the matter. “I really don’t think we can do anything until we get a definitive answer regarding the safety issue that Mr. Bresson presented to us, because he’s talking about student pilots, inexperienced pilots,” he said. Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Klahn said the board would not be
able to table the proposal because the zoning board’s recommendation needed to be approved or rejected within 30 days of Sept. 27. The county board either had to make a decision or send the proposal back to the zoning board, which board member Allyn Buhrow said would just be a method to “buy time.” “I would be in favor of approving a complete
project, not a moving target, and this is a moving target,” board member Rick Humphrey said. A vote to send the proposal back to zoning narrowly failed by a vote of 11-9. Leeward asset manager Chris Green agreed to reach an arrangement with Bresson through which the turbines would be moved so they wouldn’t impede the flight path. The board approved the proposal 18-2. Decommissioning the existing turbines and building the new models could began as early as May or June, with the turbines becoming operational in October 2017.
NOTICE OF VOTE BY MAIL AND EARLY VOTING Cathy Myers, Lee County Clerk and Recorder would like to announce that VOTE BY MAIL and EARLY VOTING is being conducted in the Election Department of her office, first floor of the Old Lee County Courthouse. VOTE BY MAIL will take place from Thursday, September 29, 2016 through Thursday, November 3, 2016 and is available for properly registered Lee County voters. EARLY VOTING will take place from Thursday, September 29, 2016 through Monday, November 7, 2016. Early voting must be conducted in person and is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. and Saturday, November 5, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. PLEASE NOTE: The Courthouse is closed on Monday, October 10, 2016.
The votes cast during this time will not be counted until Election Day. Once a ballot has been cast it cannot be rescinded. Anyone with questions should call the Election Department at 815-288-3309. Sept. 28, Oct. 12, 19, 26, Nov. 2, 2016
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