"Air terminal expansion sought for Bellingham, Washington airport"

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Air terminal expansion sought 
$1.2 million project tops port's budget 
By John Stark
The Bellingham (WA) Herald 


A $1.2 million expansion of the Bellingham International Airport Terminal is
one of the biggest items in the Port of Bellingham's preliminary 2005
budget. 

Port Executive Director Jim Darling said the airport project will enclose
the open-air baggage area, providing new indoor space for car rental
counters. That, in turn, will make more room in the existing terminal for
arriving and departing passengers.

Elbow room is scarce in the terminal when Allegiant Air's 130- to
160-passenger jets are taking passengers to and from Las Vegas. The
Allegiant flights began in August and appear to be a success for the
airline, but Darling said the terminal expansion would make sense even if
Allegiant were to drop local service. 

Under the port's current financial management system, the port covers both
operating costs and new construction projects at its airport, marinas,
real-estate holdings and marine terminals with revenues from those
operations. 

Property tax revenue is used for what port officials call "public priority
projects," which include parks and public access and economic development
projects. In the past year, the port has used tax revenues to help
underwrite the waterfront planning process. 

John Carter, the port's chief financial officer, said he is conservatively
estimating next year's operating income at $3.8 million for planning
purposes. That is 23 percent more than was budgeted for 2004, but actual
2004 income is expected to be well above the budget estimate because income
from rental properties has exceeded expectations, Carter said. 

The 2005 budget goes to port commissioners at 3 p.m. Tuesday for a
preliminary review and public hearing. The meeting will be in the Harbor
Center conference room, 1801 Roeder Ave. 

But the biggest potential financial impact on port operations is not in the
budget yet: the proposed acquisition of 137 waterfront acres now owned by
Georgia-Pacific West Inc. 

Port Executive Director Jim Darling said the port budget will have to
undergo some major last-minute revisions before its Nov. 16 deadline if
commissioners decide to proceed with that deal. G-P officials already have
proposed to hand over the mostly idle industrial site to the port, if the
port shoulders environmental cleanup costs. 

Port staffers have been analyzing the feasibility of the deal since
midsummer. A report to commissioners on the results of that analysis is also
on the commissioners' agenda for Tuesday - the agreed-on deadline for the
port to make a decision on whether to accept G-P's offer. Darling said it
was still too soon for him to make any statements about the status of the
G-P land acquisition. 

Other major projects slated for 2005 include: 

   . $1 million for purchase and demolition of the now-vacant Washington Air
National Guard building at the airport, to provide space for construction of
new hangars for rent to private plane owners. The Federal Aviation
Administration will pay 90 percent of the cost. 

   . $1.65 million in runway refurbishing, 90 percent covered by the FAA. 

   . $400,000 for design work and permits for reconstruction of F and G
Floats in Squalicum Harbor, southwest of Bellingham Cold Storage. That will
set the stage for the $4 million reconstruction project to replace the last
of the harbor's old wooden docks with floats, envisioned for 2006. 

   . A $2 million addition to the Woodstone Corp. building near the airport.
Darling said rent revenue from Woodstone, a cooking stove manufacturer, will
enable the port to recover the investment.

PORT NUMBERS
 
   . 2005 operating revenue: $12.2 million.
   . 2005 net operating income: $3.8 million.
   . 2005 property tax revenue: $5.5 million.
   . 2005 property tax rate: 38.32 cents per $1,000 assessed value or $77 on
a home assessed at $200,000.

Source: Port of Bellingham


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