Do We Really Need All That Improving?

Sunday, January 29, 2012

By Fred Wolferman

Special to The Pilot

OK, friends and neighbors, grab your ankles; it looks like Moore County is going to get more airport than it needs.

Never mind that the feds are going to borrow $3.1 million from China, or somewhere, to pay for it. Never mind that $341,000 in local room occupancy taxes is going to be committed to it. Never mind that commercial air flights here are about as likely as nonstop service to Mars.

I know the airport authorities say that none of the money comes from local taxes. Well, sort of. Any money from any government anywhere comes from somebody's taxes. Just because the paper trail for this particular money does not begin in Moore County doesn't mean your tax dollars aren't being spent on similar projects in Boise or Yuma or someplace. They are. Money is fungible.

Consider the necessity of the upcoming expansion. It seems to be predicated on what will probably be the busiest two weeks in the next century or so - the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open. This is a classic case of building the church for Easter, but at least Easter comes every year.

Does anyone really believe that folks and businesses rich enough to fly a plane too big to land at the present airport won't find a way to get here if they want to? And how big are those hypothetical planes? We have previously had commercial service by pretty sizable aircraft on the existing runway.

If my calculations are correct, and there may be room for debate, it would take approximately 91,000 additional room-nights at local hotels at $125 per night just to pay for the occupancy tax contribution, all those tourists presumably arriving in airplanes too big to land here now.

Then there's the bookkeeping. The point is made that the airport only needs these tax revenues for capital improvements - that it is "profitable" on an operating basis.

This is an interesting claim. In the real world, businesses must pay for capital improvements either from profits or with debt, which must be repaid from future profits. They must also depreciate capital improvements, which reduces any profit. How is all this being accounted for at the airport?

The airport wants to buy a Cessna 162 that it says it can operate as a profit center by renting it. This plane is available right now for the bargain price of $130,000. Maybe it is a bargain; maybe liability and insurance issues are easily resolved; but where is the money coming from?

From "internal funds," we are told. What are internal funds? I'm pretty sure there is no such entry on an operating statement as "internal funds," and why are these funds not available for the proposed expansion?

There also seems to be some confusion about what, exactly, the FAA is requiring the airport to do. I thought we just moved a road, built a circle and removed a bunch of apparently sturdy fencing to keep the bureaucrats happy.

Now we are told that there are more obstructions to be cleared and safety improvements to be made, but that the FAA is not actually requiring the planned 400-foot extension of the runway - the extension to provide accessibility to all those big planes not coming here anyway.

The question has also been raised as to whether it may be necessary to move the community college. Everyone involved says this is a red herring - that it will never happen. Let us hope so, but if there is even the slightest possibility, and remember, we're relying on unknown future bureaucrats with essentially unlimited power, the runway should be left alone. Not only would such a move cost far more than $3.5 million, where would it go? Carthage is a nice spot.

The airport deal seems to be done, but it is reflective of poor analysis and poor communication. Maybe it is crucial to the future of Moore County, but no credible case has been made. Taxpayers are owed more. It's their airport.

Fred Wolferman lives in Southern Pines. Contact him at fwolferman@ sbcglobal.net.

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OldPilot 3 months, 4 weeks ago

When a column opens with "....grab your ankles..." we know what's coming, and Fred delivers. No facts, that would be "reporting". Just comments designed to pander to the anti-airport crowd and questions which, if Fred had simply picked up the 'phone and made a few calls, would have been easily answered. Fact: the runway extensions are not created to allow larger aircraft to land but business jets aircraft currently using the airport to depart with larger fuel loads (the extensions increase the balanced field length, ie: the accelerate-stop distance) hense 1) making the airport more attractive to such operations and 2) allowing the sale of more fuel. Fact: business jet owners don't like parking their aircraft on turf, they can get stuck, particularly if it rains, and the engines can injest foreign objects such as pebbles and be damaged, plus cramming larger aircraft into small areas creates the substantial risk of damage to the aircraft. Again makes the airport a more attractive and useful destination. I could keep going....

Matt_Woodruff 3 months, 4 weeks ago

The "feds" are not borrowing the money from China or anywhere else for that matter. Airport improvement funds come from taxes paid on aviation fuel and airline tickets.

FredKorb 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Very nice work, Mr. Wolferman. Unfortunately you've had to base at least part of your argument, with which we agree, on the incorrect assumption that the money approved by County Commissioners for airport expansion (i.e., runway extension) comes from the "feds," or FAA. That's not surprising, considering The Pilot's sloppy reporting on the issue ("Funds OK'd for Airport," 1/20). FACT: Unable to get the money for this boondoggle from the FAA, which refused to support the runway project, NC DOT pulled $1.8 million out of STATE HIGHWAY TAXES to pay for it. FACT: County Commissioners then turned that over to the MC Airport Authority with no strings, or oversight, attached. FACT: In a 3-1 vote the Board of Commissioners then threw in another $200,000 in County funds for the 400-foot extension. So much for Commissioner Nick Picerno's and airport management's perennial claim that no tax money is being used for airport expansion. And so much for The Pilot's erroneous front-page headline and story reporting that the money came from so-called tourism taxes ... And other claims that FAA has mandated runway extension. Nothing could be further from the truth. Please visit StopAirportWaste.com for more of the facts in our article "What The Pilot Got Wrong.". If our local paper can get it so wrong, how can we expect Moore County taxpayers to get at the truth? And finally let it be known that The Pilot has failed to correct it's flawed front-page story and headline as we requesed. Very disappointing, to say the least.

FredKorb 3 months, 3 weeks ago

And kudos from Taxpayers to Stop Airport Waste to Commissioner Tim Lea for the grilling he gave Airport Manager Ron Maness at the last Board meeting. And thanks to Mr. Lea for his lone vote to stop the further waste of tax money on airport expansion. Once again Commissioner Lea stoop up for County taxpayers when his colleagues bowed down to the Special Interests.

Arestorer 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Matt_Woodruff1 day, 23 hours ago

The "feds" are not borrowing the money from China or anywhere else for that matter. Airport improvement funds come from taxes paid on aviation fuel and airline tickets. ;; So use that money for improvements !!! After all, the Airport is self sufficent...Right?

FredKorb 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Wait! Maybe I wasn't clear enough about the source of the funds. The FAA refused to finance the runway extension, so state DOT ok'd $1.8 million in STATE TAX MONEY (earlier earmarked for highway construction and improvements) for the project. County Commissioners then added another $200,000 in County tax dollars. Our point is that money for Aiport expansion is coming straight out of the pockets of state and county taxpayers, despite persistant denials from airport management and, unfortunately, from some of out elected Commissioners, who surely know the truth.

FredKorb 3 months, 3 weeks ago

See our website StopAirportWaste.com for more of the facts, courtesy of Taxpayers to Stop AIrport Waste (T-SAW).

OldPilot 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Fred Korb (more likely Dave Korb) is starting to sound desperate if not a little paranoid. Think "The Caine Mutiny", Captain Queeg rolling steel ball bearings in his hand and foaming at the mouth over stolen ice cream. Using the StopAirportWaste website as a source of authority is at best deceptive and in reality dishonest The website is the same gang of seven: Fred &Virginia Korb, their son, Dave Korb, Charlie & Audrey Bronk, Skip Gebhardt and Bob Zschoche. The website isn't "authority" or even "facts", it's just opinion, BS, bluster and "blame the media".