Please help -- It's down to the wire

Sorry for the cross-posting, Guys and Gals, but I'm appealing for your
help -- NOW.

Our City Council will be deciding THIS WEEK whether or not to put the
dissolution of our independent airport commission on the ballot this fall.
If this goes to the ballot, the damage done to our airport may be
irreversible.

The Issue
************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

They knew that no future city council, during some future budget crunch,
would be able to resist a wealthy land developer's offer to buy that land.
Thus, they entrusted management of the airport to a band of volunteer,
unpaid commissioners, who were given the sole mission of running and
protecting the airport well and properly.

Our current city council, for a myriad of reasons, has decided that the
commission has outgrown its usefulness. Budgetary problems (the city's
annual subsidy has grown from $40K to $180K in the past decade), management
issues (previous commissions did not keep a tight lid on paperwork),
communication issues (the city manager doesn't get along with the airport
manager and some previous commissioners), and our newspaper's rabid
anti-airport slant have all conspired to make the airport a BIG issue in the
city government.

The Reasons Why We Oppose This Change in Governance
************************************************** ******
Now, of course, we all know it's not the money. Ankeny, Iowa, with it's
slightly smaller airport, happily spends over $300K per year subsidizing
their airport. Our $180K subsidy would not buy a single city bus, nor would
it fund our city manager's salary for even one year.

To put this in perspective, $180K is LESS than Iowa City spent last year on
"cemetery beautification" in fiscal 2003.

Further, our airport brings something over $5 million per year into the
local economy -- not a bad return on a $180K investment!

And we all know it's not an issue with the management of the airport. Our
airport remains the best G.A.airport in the Midwest, and everything is
running smoothly.

And it can no longer be a personal struggle between commissioners and the
city manager -- all of the current airport commissioners have come on board
in the last six months. The entire previous commission resigned, some for
personal reasons, others in frustration. And this new crop of
commissioners are the best I've ever seen, with representatives from every
walk of life -- including a couple of heavy hitters from the biggest show in
town, the University of Iowa.

So what is it? A power struggle, plain and simple. If the City Manager can
convince the City Council to go down this path (and he, as full-time city
manager, is the guy who truly controls our part-time Mayor and councilors),
he will have achieved control of the one area of city government that he
could not directly control.

And, if you follow the money, this change will set the city up to be in a
position to close and sell the airport land down the road. If I were a
betting man, I'd wager that there are already wealthy land developers
steering this debate, behind the scenes.

WE NEED YOUR HELP.
************************************************** ******
City Councilors aren't schooled in airport management, or the needs of the
pilot community -- they are being led down this path by a City Manager who
has convinced them that this referendum is for the "good of the city and the
airport." It is our job to show them the error of this logic, and the only
way to do this is with letters, emails and phone calls!

PLEASE don't wait, as time is extremely short. Send your emails opposing a
referendum for the dissolution of our independent airport commission to
. (These letters become part of the public record,
viewable by all, so please keep them clean, brief, and professional.
Please don't just forward this post to them, as the "delete" key is simply
too easy to use. We need many voices!)

The best approach is to keep it simple. Mention the reasons for the
commission's existence. Mention the money saved by having a volunteer
commission running the show, versus a paid staff of city employees. Perhaps
even mention the wealthy land developers who are salivating over the thought
of developing this land. (Iowa City is a very left-wing, liberal town.
Calling someone around here a "wealthy land developer" is tantamount to
calling them a cockroach...)

If you have the time, a phone call is even more effective. Here are the
phone numbers of the "swing voting" councilors:

Reginia Bailey 319-351-2068
Dee Vanderhoef 319-351-6872
Bob Elliott 319-351-4056
Connie Champion 319-337-6608

(I have omitted the city councilors who are already vocally supporting the
referendum.)

All we need is FOUR councilors on our side (and we think we've already got
2) to make this issue go away -- for now.

Thanks in advance.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:EedHc.12245$WX.1073@attbi_s51...
Sorry for the cross-posting, Guys and Gals, but I'm appealing for your
help -- NOW.
(snip)

Jay..............

Would a visit by Guido to the City Manager help?

Rich "Not the horsehead, again!" S.

In rec.aviation.owning Jay Honeck wrote:
Sorry for the cross-posting, Guys and Gals, but I'm appealing for your
help -- NOW.
Our City Council will be deciding THIS WEEK whether or not to put the
dissolution of our independent airport commission on the ballot this fall.
If this goes to the ballot, the damage done to our airport may be
irreversible.

In my experience, City (or County) Council members don't care about the
opinions of anyone other than the voters in their district. I've been
fighting for 17 years against the closure, or other threats, to several
different airports (College Park, MD, Freeway Airport, MD, Ocean City, MD)
and I've written a lot of letters. They usually fall on deaf ears unless
you vote in their district. Right now, we're in a similar battle in Ocean
City, and we don't even have an airport commision. We're screwed
constantly because we have to deal with the City Council, directly. I
don't blame you for trying to avoid that. Nevertheless, the Ocean City
Council barely listens to my letters, etc, at all, because, although I own
property in the city, I don't vote there (it's not my "primary"
residence). I suspect you're gonna have the same problem with all of us
writing letters/e-mails. The Iowa City Council isn't gonna give a crap
about letters from other areas of the country.

--- Jay




--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew
that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

This is not unfounded. IIRC, NWPILOT's home base has the same history and
is threatened by the same fate. They actually have red lights on the roofs
of the apartment complexes across the street from the airport.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Iowa (or Washington state) so my voice
probably isn't worth anything. But if somebody needs a good general purpose
cussing out, why...

-c

Gatt, My homebase 59S is independently owned but is up for sale and the
housing developers are wanting the property. The area is highly over taxed.
If a developer wants some land around here they over build the surrounding
area to ware the city/county keeps raising the property taxes and then the
owner cannot afford the taxes and is forced to sell or lose the property to
the city/county. I hope everyone knows it is more advantages to the
city/county to have a housing project then a airport as they can have 300+
tax lots instead of 1. I wish more Americans would notice this trend of
city's and developers working together to take peoples land away from them
by over building and over taxation it is sad.

I also have an airport about 2 miles down the road it used to be called
clarkcounty, or sholls airport was closed for unknown reasons roumor has it
was closed due to county tax lien and when purchessed and shut down but is
still there used for tractor trailer parking the other roumor has it that
the FAA that built a large building at the south end of runway 25 purchassed
it for their own use then closed it.

Next time I am above it i will take a few current photos.

http://members.tripod.com/airfields_...ields_WA_W.htm


"gatt" wrote in message
...

************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew
that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded
by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

This is not unfounded. IIRC, NWPILOT's home base has the same history and
is threatened by the same fate. They actually have red lights on the
roofs
of the apartment complexes across the street from the airport.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Iowa (or Washington state) so my voice
probably isn't worth anything. But if somebody needs a good general
purpose
cussing out, why...

-c

How can I help if my emails and letters gonna fall on death ears? Is
there another way?

How about starting a non-profit group such as AOPA, EAA to save little
airports all over the US. I could give some time to that if someone
would start one. I don't have the resources to start something like
that, but I think that is exactly what these small airports need. A
"historical site"
preservation or something.

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

"gatt" wrote in message ...
************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew
that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

This is not unfounded. IIRC, NWPILOT's home base has the same history and
is threatened by the same fate. They actually have red lights on the roofs
of the apartment complexes across the street from the airport.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Iowa (or Washington state) so my voice
probably isn't worth anything. But if somebody needs a good general purpose
cussing out, why...

-c

"bryan chaisone" wrote in message
om...
How can I help if my emails and letters gonna fall on death ears? Is
there another way?

Skywriting. Get the media involved.

-c

Jay,
I sent you a long private email about this subject and
strategies to deal with it, most have worked for me
out here in the shadow of the Peoples Republic of
Boulder, of which our airport resides in the county
of.

I'd add to that..to help in your airports survival, which
is what we're talking about here, is maybe to offer
a money saving alternative to getting rid of the airport
commission and instead combine it with the Airport Zoning
Board of Adjustment and the Airport Zoning Commission.
Get 7 members, plus 1 councilman to sit in on meetings,
plus 1 city staff employee. These 6 year terms are too
much, make it like 2 years with no term limit. That way
you aren't stuck with garbage, or if someone does a good
job they can be retained. Having 3 airport related
commissions is a little much, and I'm betting the city
is using that excuse to get rid of the airport commission.
If you add that councilman and staff member, they feel
more involved, although they probably wont show
up most of the time anyway, and if they do they don't
do or say much anyway (that's our situation here).

Get people out in force to council meetings, write into
the Opinion section of the paper, or even better, a guest
editorial. Get on a first name basis with council and
staff members.

I'd also add when anybody writes into the council members,
dont make it look like a mass emailing to all at once, do
each one individually or use BCC to the members with the
Mayor as the main recipient. Also, casually mention a copy
is going to the local paper.

Let me know if I can be of any help, Chris

Jay,

Have you asked for help from the AOPA?

Jay Honeck wrote:

Sorry for the cross-posting, Guys and Gals, but I'm appealing for your
help -- NOW.

Our City Council will be deciding THIS WEEK whether or not to put the
dissolution of our independent airport commission on the ballot this fall.
If this goes to the ballot, the damage done to our airport may be
irreversible.

The Issue
************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

They knew that no future city council, during some future budget crunch,
would be able to resist a wealthy land developer's offer to buy that land.
Thus, they entrusted management of the airport to a band of volunteer,
unpaid commissioners, who were given the sole mission of running and
protecting the airport well and properly.

Our current city council, for a myriad of reasons, has decided that the
commission has outgrown its usefulness. Budgetary problems (the city's
annual subsidy has grown from $40K to $180K in the past decade), management
issues (previous commissions did not keep a tight lid on paperwork),
communication issues (the city manager doesn't get along with the airport
manager and some previous commissioners), and our newspaper's rabid
anti-airport slant have all conspired to make the airport a BIG issue in the
city government.

The Reasons Why We Oppose This Change in Governance
************************************************** ******
Now, of course, we all know it's not the money. Ankeny, Iowa, with it's
slightly smaller airport, happily spends over $300K per year subsidizing
their airport. Our $180K subsidy would not buy a single city bus, nor would
it fund our city manager's salary for even one year.

To put this in perspective, $180K is LESS than Iowa City spent last year on
"cemetery beautification" in fiscal 2003.

Further, our airport brings something over $5 million per year into the
local economy -- not a bad return on a $180K investment!

And we all know it's not an issue with the management of the airport. Our
airport remains the best G.A.airport in the Midwest, and everything is
running smoothly.

And it can no longer be a personal struggle between commissioners and the
city manager -- all of the current airport commissioners have come on board
in the last six months. The entire previous commission resigned, some for
personal reasons, others in frustration. And this new crop of
commissioners are the best I've ever seen, with representatives from every
walk of life -- including a couple of heavy hitters from the biggest show in
town, the University of Iowa.

So what is it? A power struggle, plain and simple. If the City Manager can
convince the City Council to go down this path (and he, as full-time city
manager, is the guy who truly controls our part-time Mayor and councilors),
he will have achieved control of the one area of city government that he
could not directly control.

And, if you follow the money, this change will set the city up to be in a
position to close and sell the airport land down the road. If I were a
betting man, I'd wager that there are already wealthy land developers
steering this debate, behind the scenes.

WE NEED YOUR HELP.
************************************************** ******
City Councilors aren't schooled in airport management, or the needs of the
pilot community -- they are being led down this path by a City Manager who
has convinced them that this referendum is for the "good of the city and the
airport." It is our job to show them the error of this logic, and the only
way to do this is with letters, emails and phone calls!

PLEASE don't wait, as time is extremely short. Send your emails opposing a
referendum for the dissolution of our independent airport commission to
. (These letters become part of the public record,
viewable by all, so please keep them clean, brief, and professional.
Please don't just forward this post to them, as the "delete" key is simply
too easy to use. We need many voices!)

The best approach is to keep it simple. Mention the reasons for the
commission's existence. Mention the money saved by having a volunteer
commission running the show, versus a paid staff of city employees. Perhaps
even mention the wealthy land developers who are salivating over the thought
of developing this land. (Iowa City is a very left-wing, liberal town.
Calling someone around here a "wealthy land developer" is tantamount to
calling them a cockroach...)

If you have the time, a phone call is even more effective. Here are the
phone numbers of the "swing voting" councilors:

Reginia Bailey 319-351-2068
Dee Vanderhoef 319-351-6872
Bob Elliott 319-351-4056
Connie Champion 319-337-6608

(I have omitted the city councilors who are already vocally supporting the
referendum.)

All we need is FOUR councilors on our side (and we think we've already got
2) to make this issue go away -- for now.

Thanks in advance.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

--
Bruce A. Frank, Editor "Ford 3.8/4.2L Engine and V-6 STOL
Homebuilt Aircraft Newsletter"
| Publishing interesting material|
| on all aspects of alternative |
| engines and homebuilt aircraft.|
*------------------------------**----*
\(-o-)/ AIRCRAFT PROJECTS CO.
\___/ Manufacturing parts & pieces
/ \ for homebuilt aircraft,
0 0 TIG welding

While trying to find the time to finish mine.

Jay,

Have you asked for help from the AOPA?

Jay Honeck wrote:

Sorry for the cross-posting, Guys and Gals, but I'm appealing for your
help -- NOW.

Our City Council will be deciding THIS WEEK whether or not to put the
dissolution of our independent airport commission on the ballot this fall.
If this goes to the ballot, the damage done to our airport may be
irreversible.

The Issue
************************************************** ******
Our Airport Commission was set up after World War II specifically to
insulate the airport from the winds of politics. Our grandfathers knew that
one day our airport -- once so far from town -- would become surrounded by
development, and that airport land would be almost irresistible to
developers.

They knew that no future city council, during some future budget crunch,
would be able to resist a wealthy land developer's offer to buy that land.
Thus, they entrusted management of the airport to a band of volunteer,
unpaid commissioners, who were given the sole mission of running and
protecting the airport well and properly.

Our current city council, for a myriad of reasons, has decided that the
commission has outgrown its usefulness. Budgetary problems (the city's
annual subsidy has grown from $40K to $180K in the past decade), management
issues (previous commissions did not keep a tight lid on paperwork),
communication issues (the city manager doesn't get along with the airport
manager and some previous commissioners), and our newspaper's rabid
anti-airport slant have all conspired to make the airport a BIG issue in the
city government.

The Reasons Why We Oppose This Change in Governance
************************************************** ******
Now, of course, we all know it's not the money. Ankeny, Iowa, with it's
slightly smaller airport, happily spends over $300K per year subsidizing
their airport. Our $180K subsidy would not buy a single city bus, nor would
it fund our city manager's salary for even one year.

To put this in perspective, $180K is LESS than Iowa City spent last year on
"cemetery beautification" in fiscal 2003.

Further, our airport brings something over $5 million per year into the
local economy -- not a bad return on a $180K investment!

And we all know it's not an issue with the management of the airport. Our
airport remains the best G.A.airport in the Midwest, and everything is
running smoothly.

And it can no longer be a personal struggle between commissioners and the
city manager -- all of the current airport commissioners have come on board
in the last six months. The entire previous commission resigned, some for
personal reasons, others in frustration. And this new crop of
commissioners are the best I've ever seen, with representatives from every
walk of life -- including a couple of heavy hitters from the biggest show in
town, the University of Iowa.

So what is it? A power struggle, plain and simple. If the City Manager can
convince the City Council to go down this path (and he, as full-time city
manager, is the guy who truly controls our part-time Mayor and councilors),
he will have achieved control of the one area of city government that he
could not directly control.

And, if you follow the money, this change will set the city up to be in a
position to close and sell the airport land down the road. If I were a
betting man, I'd wager that there are already wealthy land developers
steering this debate, behind the scenes.

WE NEED YOUR HELP.
************************************************** ******
City Councilors aren't schooled in airport management, or the needs of the
pilot community -- they are being led down this path by a City Manager who
has convinced them that this referendum is for the "good of the city and the
airport." It is our job to show them the error of this logic, and the only
way to do this is with letters, emails and phone calls!

PLEASE don't wait, as time is extremely short. Send your emails opposing a
referendum for the dissolution of our independent airport commission to
. (These letters become part of the public record,
viewable by all, so please keep them clean, brief, and professional.
Please don't just forward this post to them, as the "delete" key is simply
too easy to use. We need many voices!)

The best approach is to keep it simple. Mention the reasons for the
commission's existence. Mention the money saved by having a volunteer
commission running the show, versus a paid staff of city employees. Perhaps
even mention the wealthy land developers who are salivating over the thought
of developing this land. (Iowa City is a very left-wing, liberal town.
Calling someone around here a "wealthy land developer" is tantamount to
calling them a cockroach...)

If you have the time, a phone call is even more effective. Here are the
phone numbers of the "swing voting" councilors:

Reginia Bailey 319-351-2068
Dee Vanderhoef 319-351-6872
Bob Elliott 319-351-4056
Connie Champion 319-337-6608

(I have omitted the city councilors who are already vocally supporting the
referendum.)

All we need is FOUR councilors on our side (and we think we've already got
2) to make this issue go away -- for now.

Thanks in advance.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

--
Bruce A. Frank, Editor "Ford 3.8/4.2L Engine and V-6 STOL
Homebuilt Aircraft Newsletter"
| Publishing interesting material|
| on all aspects of alternative |
| engines and homebuilt aircraft.|
*------------------------------**----*
\(-o-)/ AIRCRAFT PROJECTS CO.
\___/ Manufacturing parts & pieces
/ \ for homebuilt aircraft,
0 0 TIG welding

While trying to find the time to finish mine.