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As Airport budget cuts
linger even closer
Many pilots and users
are taking action.
Report given to Detroit
City Council by our
AOPA Representative Euel
Kinsey
Address to
City Council by Euel W. Kinsey – Public Hearing on May 11, 2005 concerning
proposed budget cuts at Coleman A. Young International Airport.
Madam President and esteemed
Council:
Thank you for the opportunity to
briefly address you concerning the Mayor’s proposed budget cuts for the
Coleman A. Young International Airport. As you know, the proposed budget
would slash expenditures by nearly 80% (from Red Book of $5,663,000 to
$1,087,000). The Mayor’s proposal would eliminate18 positions (23 to 5)
leaving only 5 administrative positions. The most obvious problem with the
proposal is that all of the essential staff who perform daily
maintenance at the airport would be eliminated, leaving 5 supervisors.
Under the proposed budget, 58% of the money would be spent on
administrative costs for five people, and a mere 42% would be left for
"maintenance and operations." You can find these figures under the
Airport’s Financial Summary. Presumably, the Mayor proposes to perform
maintenance and operations with contractors. I respectfully submit that
the proposed plan will utterly fail and we will eviscerate the utility of
the airport for businesses which land there on a daily basis.
The timing of the proposed cuts
could not come at a worse time. Soon, the world will be coming to our city
for not one, but two major sporting events, the All Star Game and the
Super bowl. The airport is our gateway to these events for the most
influential and famous members in our society. I am convinced that the
proposed cuts will ensure that many, if not most, will shy away from our
airport once the cuts are implemented. According to the U.S. Department of
Commerce (RIMMS – II study), for every $1.00 spent at the airport, $1.50
flows to the surrounding community. There will be a significant loss of
revenue to the city because aircraft owners and operators will likely
choose to go elsewhere, resulting in lost revenue for businesses within
the city. Their money will be spent in the suburbs instead.
I am the local volunteer
representative for the AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, a
national organization of more than 400,000 members with approximately
13,000 in the State of Michigan, most of who live in the metropolitan
area. One of the Association’s highest priorities is keeping airports and
the vital air transportation system viable. I have been flying from the
Coleman A. Young International Airport for over 20 years. I learned to fly
there – trained by a Tuskegee Airman, Ralph Mason, who taught me well and
to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. I have continuously housed an aircraft
at the airport for more than 13 years. My law practice is based in the
city and I regularly use my aircraft for my business. I pay taxes for the
use of my hangar to both the City and County even though I rent the
facility.
Perhaps some members of the
public might be under the mistaken impression that Detroit City Airport
has merely become a playground for a few aircraft owners. NOTHING could be
further from the truth. For more than 75 years, the airport has served our
city.
Our airport has a tower which is
open 24 hours – 7days a week ensuring safe travel to the airport and
through our airspace. Our tower controls the airspace around our downtown
area. We have over 83,000 operations per year. It is a vital center of
commerce which puts much needed revenue back into the community. Even the
Mayor acknowledges the tremendous economic influence of the airport in his
proposed budget:
…the greatest challenge the
Airport faces is the lack of understanding and Appreciation of the
true value and impact of the Coleman A. Young International Airport.
For instance, with 149 full time positions, with a payroll of $8.8
million, economic output produced by the Airport and its tenants
exceeds $18 million per year. Induced and indirect secondary impacts
from those Sources bring the total estimated annual benefits generated
by the Airport to 325 full-time jobs and $64 million in economic
output.
Critical parts for our vital
automotive industry are delivered "just in time" at all hours of the day
and night through our freight ramp. Each year there are more than 2500
shipments in and out of our freight ramp of automotive parts serving
Chrysler, GM, and Ford plants nearby. Executives and salespeople call on
General Motors, Chrysler, and other businesses in the City using our
airport due to its tremendous convenience. Air ambulances regularly use
the airport for patient transport and organ transplant from both HFH and
the Medical Center. Twice each night during the week, cancelled checks are
carried from Detroit to Cincinnati. The wealthy and influential regularly
fly into our airport for professional baseball, football and hockey games.
National political figures, including the Presidents’ wives and cabinet
members have used the airport because they can quickly reach speaking
engagements in the downtown area. In addition, many aircraft owners based
at the airport, like me, use their aircraft for business because it is
faster and more convenient and we (meaning all of the people described
above) depend upon the city employees to keep the airport open 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. And, I want you to know, they have done a fantastic
job.
Our airport is called an
"International" because customs inspections are available 24 hours a day.
Of all the local airports, I have found clearing customs at our airport to
be the quickest and most efficient.
It appears from the proposed
budget that the Mayor is under the mistaken impression that contractors
could provide equivalent maintenance services to the airport at a reduced
cost. Based on my own research, I would submit that the amount allocated
to pay contractors in the budget is a serious underestimation of the
cost. And, it ignores several questions which would need to be
addressed concerning third party liability, security, safety, FAA fines
and penalties, compliance issues and penalties, and labor union
litigation.
Several business owners and
pilots at the airport (corporate and private) I have spoken with have
serious doubts about the ability of a private contractor to provide the
necessary airfield maintenance, especially in the winter. Airport
operations are unique. Snow removal is a continuous clearing and
monitoring process while the snow is falling and clean-up afterwards. As
long as snow is falling, the crew must be there to constantly monitor
changing runway conditions and to take whatever steps are necessary to
keep it open. When they are done with the runway, the ramps and taxi
streets then need to be cleared in the correct manner to insure that
aircraft can reach the runway without damage. The equipment is highly
specialized for airport use and is unsuitable for the street or other
applications. If used incorrectly, the contractor could damage the
equipment or runway environment. I am told that a single taxiway/runway
light costs $1,100 to replace if struck by a mower or snow blade. A large
brush used to clear snow and debris can be destroyed in a single 8 hour
shift if used incorrectly at the cost of $5,000. The chemicals used to
melt the ice are special, non-corrosive, unlike material used on roads. I
shutter to think if a corrosive material was accidentally used by a
contractor on the runway exposing multimillion dollar aircraft to serious
corrosion. Who will pay for these damages?
If, as many pilots fear, the
airport will be frequently shut down during the winter due to contractor
inadequacies, it won’t take long for the word to spread. Pilots and their
passengers who depend on the airport to be open at all hours will have no
choice but to go elsewhere. One or two diversions mean they will go
somewhere else permanently where they can rely on the services. The
community of pilots is relatively small and word travels fast.
The council is also well aware of
the obligations which come from the receipt of Federal Grants. Over the
years, the City has received many grants for improvements, maintenance,
and equipment. As part of the Grant Process, you know that the City must
give assurances and comply with pertinent regulations which require that
the City:
(C) 19.
Assures that facilities shall be operated at all
times in a safe
and serviceable condition and in
accordance with minimum
standards.
Failure to adhere to these
assurances renders the City subject to civil penalties and sanctions under
section 47107, Title 49.
Further, I believe the budget
cuts will also mean that all non-aviation community outreach programs
currently on the airport (tennis, golf, and archery) and parties which
have been thrown at the passenger terminal and in one of the large bays in
the old terminal will have to immediately discontinue because Section C
paragraph 25 provides:
All revenues generated by the
airport and any local taxes on aviation fuel
Established after December 30,
1987 will be expended by it for the capital or Operating costs of the
airport, ….. which are directly and substantially
Related to the actual air
transportation of passengers or property…….
The Current Budget has no fat.
Presently, the employees at the airport do a fantastic job of keeping the
airport open for commerce 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days each
year with a severely taxed budget which for many years has been so tight
that simple things such as painting the exterior of the hangers and new
locked boxes to hold the fire extinguishers on the tenant’s hangars cannot
be done. The paint is badly needed and is certainly visible to visitors
flying into our airport. For more than two years the gate security system
at the airport did not function and private security guards have been paid
to monitor the gates. Only after the recent report by Channel 4 on
security issues were the gates somewhat operational again. They still do
not function properly.
The proposed budget will be the
end of the hope to bring an air carrier back to our airport. We have been
a Part 139 airport since 1973. Under the proposed budget, we will lose our
ability to comply with security and other requirements under Part 139. It
is my understanding that our Certificate has already been suspended due to
inadequate security. Only this week, TSA inspected the airport. What did
they find? Is the council ready to give up on the airport at a time when
an exciting new market known as the Very Light Jet Air Taxi Business is
only a few years away? Has the council been given a copy of the Revised
Contingency Plans recently completed which, I believe, would result in
surrending our Part 139 Certificate? Under the Mayor’s proposed budget,
there will no longer be anyone on site 24 hours a day to handle problems
with gates or security issues. And, if the guards at the gates are gone,
what are the plans to handle emergencies on the airport after hours? Who
will be there after hours to let a tenant in or out of the airport when
the gate doesn’t work or the taxiways have not been plowed?
The Council should ask whether
each of these contractors will have people working on the airport with
proper security clearance and training? I am sure you don’t want
undesirable people having access to the airport. Runway incursions results
in a minimum fine of $1,000 for each incident.
Who is collecting the revenue? I
have information that landing fees and hangar rent are not being
diligently collected by whoever is responsible. Are these included in the
budget? How can that happen – especially at a time when revenue is
critical?
I leave you with this scenario
which hope that, through your actions, will never come true:
Imagine it is the early evening
of January 06, 2006.
A transplant team for the
Medical Center departs in a Lear Jet for Waukesha,
Wisconsin – an airport similar in size to our airport just outside
Milwaukee. The team is picking up a new heart for a child who is
critically ill. While harvesting the heart from the donor, it begins to
snow heavily in Detroit. The contractors are called, but do not timely
respond as required under the contract. The airport is closed because the
runway is not cleared nor does the tower have any reports on braking
action. The Lear learns of the closing in route. The crew is puzzled
because all of the other airports are open. They elect to divert to Metro.
An ambulance must scramble to get to Metro. It takes 30 minutes longer to
return to the Medical Center due to the road conditions than it would have
from our airport. The doctor and flight crew will not depend on Coleman A.
Young International Airport again.
Thank you for your time. I would
welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have and/or assist
in a tour of the airport facilities with council or your representatives.
Respectfully Submitted,
Euel W. Kinsey
Tenant at Detroit City Airport
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