Report Touts Wittman Regional Airport's Economic Strength

Posted Feb. 12, 2004 
 
Report Touts Wittman’s Economic Strength
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers, WI 


OSHKOSH — There are other airports out there, but Tom
Weigt says Wittman Regional Airport is the best.

Weigt, president of Basler Turbo Conversions, said the
amenities and services available at the airport make
it the ideal location for the company to operate.

“The issue is that this is the best airport we could
exist at,” Weigt said. “There’s a lot of things at the
airport that are just icing on the cake for us.”

The icing on the cake for Oshkosh and Winnebago County
is the 500 full-time jobs and more than $800,000 in
tax revenues directly connected to Wittman Regional
Airport, according to an updated study conducted by
the Winnebago County Aviation Committee and the
University of Wisconsin-Extension office.

“What it points to is we have, essentially, an airport
business park potential that’s almost unlimited in
attracting industry in both new recruitments and
business expansions that can use airplane access,”
Chamco Inc. Executive Director Doug Pearson said. “The
presence of the airport itself is significant in
itself to economic development in Oshkosh and
Winnebago County.”

The study also revealed the jobs associated with
Wittman provide $32 million in wages and non-wage
income for area residents.

“It showed the airport is already carrying more than
its financial weight for what it contributes to the
area,” Weigt said.

Oshkosh’s Liz Zarnowski works at the Hilton Garden Inn
on 20th Avenue and said much of the business at the
hotel comes from airport-related events such as EAA
and businesses that rely on the airport .

“We get a lot of business from Oshkosh Truck and
Beldor Generators as well as people from C.R. Meyer
and Basler,” Zarnowski said. “We do good business with
our neighbors, as we would say.”

Catherine Neiswender, UW Extension community
development educator and one of the authors of the
study, said the Experimental Aircraft Association’s
AirVenture was not included in the study because the
county wanted to examine the airport’s year-round
impact.

Neiswender also said the study showed little
fluctuation between a previous study in 1998 and this
study. 


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