Prior to deciding to support a new airport terminal in La Plata County, I did lots of research, from reading the Airport Master Plan to touring the airport itself to see what the behind the scenes problems are.
What I find frustrating is misinformation being used to oppose the airport expansion.
An example is Sandy Alexander’s letter to the editor (Herald, Sept. 14).
Our terminal is in dire need of replacement. Built for a capacity of 200,000 passengers, it is now seeing 400,000, so the service fails regularly. That is why our elected officials, plus those running for local office, have looked at the issues and determined that a new terminal is the most cost-effective solution.
Our “Taj Mahal” will only be big enough to handle the 400,000 passengers we have now. Smartly, it will be designed to readily allow expansion should the volume increase someday.
How should we fund the new terminal? Alexander references the air terminal expansion in Minot, N.D., stating that taxes were not raised to pay for the expansion. In fact, Minot has already raised taxes by 2 mills to finance their terminal expansion. Their bond issuance specifically allows Minot to further raise taxes to repay the debt if necessary – without voter approval. Our expansion limits our tax to $40.4 million and terminates after 20 years.
Our terminal will cost less than the $40 million Minot spent on their terminal because our expenses include the new highway entrance CDOT is requiring, a larger parking apron to handle more and larger planes, etc.
Furthermore, Minot plans to spend an additional $40 to $50 million for their infrastructure needs, costs already included in our plan. We are spending less than they are. In comparison, Minot is building a “Taj Mahal” while we are building a cozy country cabin!
Other communities such as Lafayette, La.; Athens, Ga.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Butte, Mont; and Columbia, Mo., have received voter approval to increase taxes to fund terminal expansions. So our local plan is in no way unique.
Don’t vote uninformed. Go to www.YesForDRO.org and get the facts.
Nick Spence
Durango
