Warwick, R.I., Considers Proposals for Airport Runway Expansion

Posted on Thu, Mar. 04, 2004 
 
Warwick, R.I., Considers Proposals for Airport Runway
Expansion
Miami Herald, FL


Mar. 4--WARWICK, R.I. - Depending on how many taxable
properties would be condemned, expanding T.F. Green
Airport could increase the city's residential property
tax rate by at least 72 cents per $1,000 of valuation,
Mayor Scott Avedisian said yesterday.

It would also increase the tax rate on commercial
property, by about $1.05 per $1,000, he said.

Three proposals for extending Green's 7,200-foot main
runway to 9,500 feet would cut city revenues by at
least $3.4 million, he said, and perhaps by as much as
$4.2 million.

"All of the people who are pushing for expansion at
the airport seem to think that it's all right to ask
our residents to foot the bill," Avedisian said, "but
the ... tax increase is an unacceptable burden to
place on Warwick's taxpayers."

Avedisian's warning of revenue cuts and higher tax
rates came just as the city received a clean bill of
health from its independent auditors at Parmelee,
Poirier & Associates. On Monday, the firm said Warwick
had increased its surplus by $540,000, bringing it to
$7.9 million at the end of the fiscal year that ended
last June 30.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation's board of
directors may vote as early as Wednesday, March 24, on
whether to adopt one of the runway extension plans and
ask approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agenda for the March board meeting had not been
published as of yesterday.

Asked to respond to Avedisian's comments on the tax
rate, Patti Goldstein, the corporation's vice
president for public affairs, said, "It is far too
early to debate the anticipated impact when our board
has yet to determine a runway scenario for inclusion
in the Environmental Impact Statement."

If the board were to ask the FAA to include the
9,500-foot runway proposal in the master-plan study,
and the FAA agreed, it would still take up to two
years "to determine what can or cannot be done" with
the main runway, Goldstein said.

"If the process is allowed to move forward, more
information will become available," she said, and the
board will take it into account "to insure Green
remains competitive, while considering the needs of
the host city."

Any analysis of Green's effect on tax revenues and
rates should include the benefits, she said, not just
the liabilities that Avedisian cited yesterday.

"Most airports around the country are viewed as
economic engines that contribute to the economy,"
Goldstein said. "All the business development on Post
Road and Jefferson Boulevard that has occurred since
the new terminal opened in 1996 has helped the city
with increased tax revenue and bringing visitors into
Warwick."

Avedisian said, "We're willing to concede that, yes,
there are ancillary uses that bring taxes into the
city... but let's look at all of the facts and put
them all on the table. Let's also look at what we
lose."

"When we keep being told the airport is an economic
boon to us, it's important to remind people that,
should this proposal go forward, we could lose up to
$4.2 million in local taxes."

All three of the runway extension scenarios proposed
by airport consultants Landrum and Brown would condemn
hundreds of houses -- as many as 359, it is estimated.
The proposals would extend the runway south across
Main Avenue, north across Airport Road, or both north
and south, making the relocation of both roads
necessary.

Airport proponents say a longer runway would make it
possible for jets to fly out of Green at heavier
weights, thus enabling the airlines to offer nonstop
flights to the West Coast.

 

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