By Dan Murphy
Westchester County Executive George Latimer delivered on a campaign promise, but also said he was not interested in increasing county revenues, when he held a press conference last week to discuss his future for Westchester County Airport.
Latimer laid out a four-point strategy to gather public input and then send a plan to the County Board of Legislators in October. “We are laying out a process, without presuming what the final product will be, that results in a combination of citizen input, legislative discussion, executive branch review, input from professionals who run the airport, and ultimately public policy that is set by my office and the Board of Legislators. This is what I believe has been missing in terms of dealing with airport issues,” he said. “We have a responsibility to get to the best public policy with public input.”
The four main areas of the Latimer airport plan are: masterplan, governance, operations, citizen involvement. It is expected that the development and adoption of a plan will serve as a roadmap to guide the airport through the coming years in all facets of its operation.
The county is long overdue in its 2012 commitment to the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a master plan. The FAA has been cooperating with the county and agreed to extend its deadline until July 15. To avoid losing the $1.38 million grant, and to avoid jeopardizing future FAA grants, the county will be submitting the Astorino Administration’s Master Plan without prejudice.
The Latimer administration plans to immediately start working on a Supplement to the Astorino Administration’s Master Plan that will incorporate additional public input and a full County Board of Legislators review. The Latimer administration will also ensure the terminal use restrictions remain in place.
Governance
Over the past two years, the prior administration has submitted for Board of Legislators review plans that would change the governance of the airport and allow a private sector entity (2016 – Oak Tree Capital; 2017 – Macquarie Development) to exert operational control over the airport. The 2016 plan was rejected by the BOL, and the 2017 plan was not acted on by the BOL. We are now encouraging the board to explore the issue. A public hearing will also be held on the matter.
Operations
The Latimer administration will conduct a thorough review of every facet of airport operations, researching the external concerns over flight volume, noise, drainage, environmental impact, flight paths, landing altitudes, type of equipment used, frequency, curfews, operations of fixed base operators, parking, etc. Community input meetings will be held on this topic. Many of these issues will be part of the ongoing work of the Airport Advisory Board.
Citizen Involvement
Westchester County residents are our full partners in the discussions about the airport, accordingly, we intend to do the following: Announce new members for the Airport Advisory Board, including community representatives from local jurisdictions (June 1); and hold community input meetings on the following topics: Master Plan, June 6 at 7 p.m. at Rye Brook Village Hall, 938 King St., Rye Brook; Governance, June 11 at 7 p.m. at Hergenhan Recreation Center, 40 Maple Ave., Armonk; and Operations, June 25 at 7 p.m. at West Harrison Senior Center, 251 Underhill Ave., West Harrison.
While Latimer’s press conference on the airport was mostly “let’s wait and see” what the public and the BOL wants to do with the airport, when asked by John Bailey, editor of the White Plains Citizens Reporter, wrote the following:
“Asked by WPCNR, if he foresaw expansion of the airport, Latimer ruled it out: ‘No new runways, no increased flights.’ He said it serves Westchester needs adequately now. Asked if he felt the county should earn more revenues it can use from the airport for county needs, Latimer said he was more concerned with who governs the airport going forward,” wrote Bailey.
Last year, then-County Executive Rob Astorino proposed Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation to operate Westchester County Airport as part of a $1.1 billion public-private partnership. Macquarie was the unanimous choice of a bipartisan task force made up of members of the Astorino administration and the Board of Legislators to manage, operate, maintain and improve the airport. Macquarie’s winning proposal – selected over two other companies – would have netted the county $1.145 billion over the course of a 40-year lease; a $595 million financial offer accompanied by $550 in capital funds to maintain and improve the airport’s infrastructure.
The lease is “as-is/no expansion,” which means the airport’s existing terminal footprint will not expand, there can be no expansion of runways, the number of gates remains at six, and the cap of 240 passengers per half-hour stays in place.
Astorino called the Macquarie airport deal “a gift” that the county should take advantage of. During the county executive election of 2017, there was public opposition to Astornio’s airport privatization plan, primarily from residents who live near the airport, and from indivisible groups.
Last year, the County BOL refused to approve the airport deal, which now is in the hands of the Latimer administration.
