As someone who goes through the airport six to eight times per month, I don’t see how it’s overtaxed. I have never even seen the security checkpoint have both lanes running. I have never seen all the seats in the boarding area full. The lines here are a fraction of what they are in Denver.
The runway is long enough to land a 787 transcontinental jumbo jet, not that anyone ever would want to. Why is that? Because Durango isn’t big enough to need it.
Building a bigger airport in hopes that they will come (if we want them to) is the airfield of dreams. This is a waste of our tax money. Our airport is bigger than Telluride’s and their economy seems healthy. Is it because they have a place in a park for music events? Is it because they have a convention center?
According to YES for DRO’s video from Aug. 16, Roger Zalneratis says the things that impact our growth (if we really want growth) are in this order:
Professional servicesSki areaLocal collegeArts and entertainmentAirportWhile it may come as a surprise, our city fails miserably when it comes to supporting the arts. We can’t even put up artwork at an intersection. Most of our live entertainment is in Buckley Park (owned by School District 9-R), The Animas City Theatre (privately owned), the Community Concert Hall (Fort Lewis) or the Durango Arts Center (which gets no help from the city).
Is growth a requirement for a healthy local economy? Why should we spend our tax dollars to bring more people to Durango? We live here because we don’t want to live in a big city. Why would you want to mess that up? I moved here from a small town in Colorado that was destroyed by growth.
If you are going to raise my taxes, let’s do it for something that we actually want or need, that will actually do the community some good.
Vote “No” on Ballot Issue 1B!
Ryan Williams
Durango
