If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
WI airport closure
The letter is nice, but you might consider a little stronger approach if
you are a voting resident. Tell the council chief and/or the members WIIFM (What's in it for me - or in this case... them). If these are elected officials who wish to stay elected officials (and most do), you might approach this as a reelection issue. Tell the council you would like to work for their reelection if you can get them to agree on the airport "issue". If they agree, go to the local newspaper and tell your story about the benefits to the community and how the council backs "saving" the airport. They are then committed. If they will not agree, seek out any challengers and see if they want to run on a "save the local airport" issue. Point out the votes to be had from all the "poor" innocent "victims" who will be out of work. Portray the developer as the greedy rich person who will sweep away all the "little people's" jobs without care one. Hey, it works for other stuff. Good Luck, Mike Kobra wrote: I sent this: Ms. Zeiler, Please let this letter serve to admonish the council that I am against the closure of our airport. These small airports serve the community by bringing in pilots and their passengers to patronize our township businesses and allowing modern and convenient transportation to remote areas such as ours. Airports such as these serves as a homebase for many local people running small businesses. These include flight schools, flight instructors, aircraft rental, fuel sales, aircraft mechanics, aircraft sales, restaurants and the like. It also serves as a gathering place for local pilots and a place parents bring their children to watch small aircraft take-off and depart. They look up wide-eyed and ask our local pilots how they too can become a pilot one day. I was lucky enough to be one of those children long ago. There is also a larger and greater good served by being part of the national airspace system. Closing an airport is like removing part of the turnpike because some residents don't like it or you want to build a strip mall there. But that road is part of a national transportation system and serves a greater good. Airports are communities in their own right and please don't take ours away. It makes our community unique. I don't want to be the grandparent pointing at a group of houses and explaining that one time long ago we had small airport here. Saying that I would have loved to bring you here to see the planes, the pilots and how we could have had a hamburger at the airport grill, but all can show you now are these houses. These airports were built decades ago when aviation was barely realized. Now aviation is almost fully matured and closing an airport like this is a step backward...not a step forward. A resident, a parent and a pilot after all, I am a resident somewhere...right? Kobra "Jim Burns" wrote in message ... The village of Grantsburg, WI is considering closing their public municipal airport. Grantsburg is located along the western WI border, approximately 1/2 way between St. Paul (MN) and Duluth (MN)/Superior (WI) They have posted this public notice on their community web page - http://www.airstreamcomm.net/~gtsbgwi/ . I appeal to the members of the groups to please help save this airport. Even if you have never visited Grantsburg, WI you - as pilots- can respond and help educate the village and show your support for it's EAA chapter who's email addresses are listed below. Please remind the village that an airport is a valuable service that brings unseen economic benefit to the community. Village, city, and county services as a general rule do not directly produce an income large enough to be self sustaining, but through these services the village and surrounding residents and businesses benefit and prosper. This is especially important in remote areas of the country. I noticed that the village of Grantsburg has found it beneficial to join the world wide web via their own IP address, how ironic that they should feel their airport no less important or beneficial. Please show your support to the local EAA chapter by sending your thoughts to and forwarding a copy to , the local EAA Chapter leader. Thanks, Jim Burns PUBLIC NOTICE The Grantsburg Village Board will be considering the possible closure of the Grantsburg Municipal Airport at the April 11, 2005 regular Village Board Meeting. The Village Board is looking at the amount of use the airport receives, the number of people the airport serves and the close proximity of the Siren, Wisconsin and Rush City, Minnesota airports. Any comments can be sent to: Village of Grantsburg, 316 South Brad Street, Grantsburg, Wisconsin 54840 or emailed to: POSTED ON WEB PAGE: 2/28/05 Jennifer Zeiler Village Clerk The airport issue revolves around operating costs and usage. Right now due to low usage the airport costs exceed the available income. Like all small communities, the airport and village officials are very concerned that this continuing expense will have an adverse impact on all the other services they offer their community. Part of the problem at the airport is that there are only 11 hangars and no fuel available. The airport and village officials have talked with the WI DOT Bureau of Aeronautics about applying for airport improvement funds, but are concerned that accepting the "keep the airport open to the public for 20 years" commitment attached to those funds would not prevent the continuing drain on their local funds. Right now the Village and the airport do not have any federal commitments that require them to keep the airport open. In order to help the airport and village officials make an informed decision, we are asking you to answer these questions and then e-mail them to the village officials at and to provide a copy of your answers to the leaders of EAA Chapter 875 which operates from that airport at: . 1. Have you used the Grantsburg Municipal airport (GTG) in the last 5 years? 2. Will you use the airport in the next 5 years? 3. If the airport and village accepted federal funding to install a self-service fuel pump for avgas, would that affect your decision to use the airport in the next 5 years? 4. If the airport and village accepted federal funding to build more general aviation hangars, would you consider hangaring your aircraft and/or ultralight vehicle there? 5. Does your aircraft use an auto-fuel STC? 6. Do you plan on converting your ultralight vehicle into an experimental light-sport aircraft and/or do you anticipate purchasing a new special light-sport aircraft? 7. Would you use the airport more if they accepted federal funding to install a self-service fuel pump for non-ethanol blended autofuel, which the aircraft in questions 4 and 5 require? 8. Does the close proximity of the Siren/Burnett County, WI (RZN) and the Rush City Regional, MN (ROS) public airports affect your decision on using the Grantsburg (GTG) airport? 9. Do you have any other General Comments you can provide to the airport and village officials that would be useful to them in their decisionmaking process? If so, what are they? 10. Have you attended the annual Pancake Breakfast and EAA Young Eagles event Chapter 875 holds at the aiport? EAA would also be interested in receiving a copy of your answers - e-mail them to us at . Answering this survey is a great example of EAA members helping other members with the issues that effect us all on a daily basis. Thank you for considering this request. Randy Hansen Government Relations Director Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) PO Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903 920-426-6522 888-322-4636, 1 then ext. 6522 (f) 920-426-4885 or 6560 http://eaa.org/ http://www.sportpilot.org/ Mark your 2005 calendar for the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration ... EAA AirVenture Oshkosh ... Monday, July 25th through Sunday, July 31st. http://www.airventure.org/ __________________________________________________ _____________________________ Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Accounts Starting At $6.95 - http://www.uncensored-news.com The Worlds Uncensored News Source |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
WI airport closure | Jay Honeck | Piloting | 0 | March 8th 05 11:00 PM |
MN Airport Closure Notification Legislation (S.F. 2178/H.F. 2737) | Dan Hoehn | General Aviation | 1 | May 25th 04 01:52 PM |
N94 Airport may expand into mobile home community, locals supportive | William Summers | Piloting | 0 | March 18th 04 03:03 AM |
Rules on what can be in a hangar | Brett Justus | Owning | 13 | February 27th 04 05:35 PM |
"I Want To FLY!"-(Youth) My store to raise funds for flying lessons | Curtl33 | General Aviation | 7 | January 9th 04 11:35 PM |