News
Opinion
I just read the two-part series (Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 issues) by Free Press guest columnist Doug Simons regarding Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJRA) and the perimeter fence issue.
I think I speak for all when I say that it is wonderful (not to mention yummy) to have Enstrom Candies in our community. They have helped me to undermine the willpower of my friends and colleagues on many occasions. I just wish I were not so much at odds with Mr. Simons over the issues surrounding our airport.
I have lived in the Grand Valley since 1984 and graduated high school here. My father was an airline pilot for Continental Airlines and in the late '80s would fly in and out of Walker Field on a regular basis. Naturally, I spent a lot of time at the airport when I was younger and now also as an adult.
I possess an airman's certificate (aka pilot's license) and an airplane. I am in the business of creating electronic and software control systems for several industries including aviation. I have several employees and clients across the country and globe. In my travels I have visited many airports, large and small, around the country.
It is my opinion that the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority (GJRAA) has done its level best to decimate general aviation here in Grand Junction, and businesses have left the airport in direct response to their policies. I still spend a fair amount of time there and it has become a ghost town compared to the activity it once enjoyed. So I'd like to challenge some of Mr. Simons' “facts” from my perspective.
1. Concerning the wildlife control fence; there is no fence on the north side of the airport. This means that wild animals can still easily traverse from the north onto airport grounds. So it seems that the only wildlife the GJRAA wishes to control are the tenants themselves.
2. GJRA is not the only airport that requires a wildlife control program, yet it is the only airport I have seen that does not allow street access to street facing hangars and businesses. Even the San Jose International Airport in San Jose, Calif., allows street access to businesses, and it is one of the busiest commercial airports in the country.
3. The airport board members continue to assert that the TSA would only approve the fence as it is now constituted. However, they have failed to provide documentation (after repeated requests) to show that their solution was the ONLY solution the TSA would approve. Yes, of course, the TSA approved the fence as it now stands, but it does not mean that less aggressive control measures would have been likewise accepted and financially viable.
4. The TSA themselves reference an “Airport Tenant Security Program.” Other airports have taken advantage of this program, why not us?
5. General aviation use at GJRA has been on the decline. Hangars were once very valuable. Now many are for sale with asking prices at far less than what they should be — even with the state of our economy. Because hangar values have dropped, property tax receipts will soon follow.
6. Why? When the land lease runs out, the airport takes possession of all improvements made on airport property without compensation to the owners. This makes it impossible to take out a loan or access other private capital to build improvements and has effectively halted private investment on the airport property.
7. In the last installment of the article, Mr. Simons mentioned that general aviation-related revenue to the airport is about $108,000. Yes, this amount is low when compared to the revenue that comes from commercial traffic. How much revenue would increase from general aviation if the airport would simply respect private property rights?
Our business shopped for a hangar in early 2011. We were seriously considering relocating our business there. However, the conditions and policies being fostered by the airport authority made it difficult to justify any long-term financial commitments.
The freedom to use the airport has been curtailed to the point that we are moving our business out of the area to an aviation community that has welcomed us. Their terms and conditions allow us to be confident in making long-term decisions and investments. They have common-sense policies allowing unfettered access to buildings on airport grounds while still safely controlling wildlife and meeting the TSA requirements necessary to allow commercial aviation to operate there.
General aviation in Grand Junction has suffered a serious blow under the airport's leadership. Because of their overreaching and heavy-handed policies, businesses have left and activity has been curtailed. This is not hearsay (as suggested by the article), this is fact.
The secretive, uncooperative and dishonest nature of our airport authority's representation and handling of these issues is unfortunate, disappointing and destructive. They have and are continuing to go overboard in an effort to put on a good face to the community. I just wish they had put that same effort into making the airport accessible to all parties that have a viable interest there.
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Kevin Stallard of Palisade is president of Aerial Robotics, Inc., and has built control systems for defense, oil and gas, medical and aviation applications.
I think I speak for all when I say that it is wonderful (not to mention yummy) to have Enstrom Candies in our community. They have helped me to undermine the willpower of my friends and colleagues on many occasions. I just wish I were not so much at odds with Mr. Simons over the issues surrounding our airport.
I have lived in the Grand Valley since 1984 and graduated high school here. My father was an airline pilot for Continental Airlines and in the late '80s would fly in and out of Walker Field on a regular basis. Naturally, I spent a lot of time at the airport when I was younger and now also as an adult.
I possess an airman's certificate (aka pilot's license) and an airplane. I am in the business of creating electronic and software control systems for several industries including aviation. I have several employees and clients across the country and globe. In my travels I have visited many airports, large and small, around the country.
It is my opinion that the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority (GJRAA) has done its level best to decimate general aviation here in Grand Junction, and businesses have left the airport in direct response to their policies. I still spend a fair amount of time there and it has become a ghost town compared to the activity it once enjoyed. So I'd like to challenge some of Mr. Simons' “facts” from my perspective.
1. Concerning the wildlife control fence; there is no fence on the north side of the airport. This means that wild animals can still easily traverse from the north onto airport grounds. So it seems that the only wildlife the GJRAA wishes to control are the tenants themselves.
2. GJRA is not the only airport that requires a wildlife control program, yet it is the only airport I have seen that does not allow street access to street facing hangars and businesses. Even the San Jose International Airport in San Jose, Calif., allows street access to businesses, and it is one of the busiest commercial airports in the country.
3. The airport board members continue to assert that the TSA would only approve the fence as it is now constituted. However, they have failed to provide documentation (after repeated requests) to show that their solution was the ONLY solution the TSA would approve. Yes, of course, the TSA approved the fence as it now stands, but it does not mean that less aggressive control measures would have been likewise accepted and financially viable.
4. The TSA themselves reference an “Airport Tenant Security Program.” Other airports have taken advantage of this program, why not us?
5. General aviation use at GJRA has been on the decline. Hangars were once very valuable. Now many are for sale with asking prices at far less than what they should be — even with the state of our economy. Because hangar values have dropped, property tax receipts will soon follow.
6. Why? When the land lease runs out, the airport takes possession of all improvements made on airport property without compensation to the owners. This makes it impossible to take out a loan or access other private capital to build improvements and has effectively halted private investment on the airport property.
7. In the last installment of the article, Mr. Simons mentioned that general aviation-related revenue to the airport is about $108,000. Yes, this amount is low when compared to the revenue that comes from commercial traffic. How much revenue would increase from general aviation if the airport would simply respect private property rights?
Our business shopped for a hangar in early 2011. We were seriously considering relocating our business there. However, the conditions and policies being fostered by the airport authority made it difficult to justify any long-term financial commitments.
The freedom to use the airport has been curtailed to the point that we are moving our business out of the area to an aviation community that has welcomed us. Their terms and conditions allow us to be confident in making long-term decisions and investments. They have common-sense policies allowing unfettered access to buildings on airport grounds while still safely controlling wildlife and meeting the TSA requirements necessary to allow commercial aviation to operate there.
General aviation in Grand Junction has suffered a serious blow under the airport's leadership. Because of their overreaching and heavy-handed policies, businesses have left and activity has been curtailed. This is not hearsay (as suggested by the article), this is fact.
The secretive, uncooperative and dishonest nature of our airport authority's representation and handling of these issues is unfortunate, disappointing and destructive. They have and are continuing to go overboard in an effort to put on a good face to the community. I just wish they had put that same effort into making the airport accessible to all parties that have a viable interest there.
------------------------
Kevin Stallard of Palisade is president of Aerial Robotics, Inc., and has built control systems for defense, oil and gas, medical and aviation applications.
