CAA: GA News, "Tacoma airport in financial tailspin"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tuesday, September 3, 2002

City airport in financial tailspin 
By Paula Lavigne Sullivan
The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune 


The sign welcoming visitors to the Tacoma Narrows Airport is a
storyboard of problems facing the city-owned runway. 

The sign is plain and weathered. It needs a new coat of paint. And it
advertises two businesses that are gone and another business that
recently folded.

The restaurant closed two years ago. One aviation company that had been
renting space from the city closed this spring. And another one is going
out of business and selling its buildings.

Despite seeing an average 260 takeoffs and landings each day, the
airport is losing about $170,00 a year. That's a difficult expense in
light of the city's $18 million shortfall in its next two-year budget.

That leaves the city with a dilemma: Does it spend even more money and
time to bring in businesses and make repairs? Or does it find another
public agency to buy the airport that the city has owned since 1963?

Prior to any long-term decisions, city workers have already started to
take over more daily operations and marketing.

The Tacoma Narrows Airport is a general aviation airport for smaller
aircraft, such as single-engine airplanes and corporate jets, often used
by day travelers, flight school students and corporations.

Located across the Narrows from Tacoma, it also is one of 15 similar
airports in the Northwest with a Federal Aviation Administration tower
that can guide planes for landings during inclement weather.

Five companies lease land, and 21 tenants rent hangars, but the city
isn't making enough money from those deals to cover airport expenses,
said Catherine Mitchell, assistant director of transportation services.

One of its largest businesses, Crossings Aviation, wasn't able to pay
its bills and is being forced to sell its buildings and hangars.
Mitchell approached the Tacoma City Council last week to suggest the
city buy them.

The city would have to borrow $1.8 million to pay off Crossings' $1.6
million loan and include $200,000 to make repairs, she said. The
Crossings hangars generate $27,000 a month in rent, Mitchell said, and
that would cover loan payments.

At the same time, Mitchell said the city is not renewing its
$20,000-a-month contract with American Airports, the Santa Monica,
Calif., company that manages Tacoma Narrows.

American Airports did a poor job maintaining the airport and recruiting
new businesses, Mitchell said.

Kris Thabit, American Airports chief operating officer, disagreed. He
said the company spent much of its own money and time to evict tenants
who wouldn't pay their leases, and said the city's complicated
decision-making process made it difficult to move forward.

His company is willing to lease the airport and essentially pay the city
to operate it, meaning the city would still own the airport, but
American Airports would be responsible for its daily and long-term
operations, expenses and revenue. Thabit said he's confident the airport
could be profitable if it's run like a business.

But City Manager Ray Corpuz said American Airports had its chance and
failed, which is why the city won't take Thabit's offer. Corpuz also
opposes selling the airport because he believes it's a city asset, but
Mitchell said she knows of some council members who seem willing to
consider the sale.

Mike Pickett views the city's discussions with cautious optimism.
Pickett has been at the airport for 20 years operating Pavco Flight
Center, which offers charter flight service and flight training, repairs
planes and sells Cessna aircraft.

Pickett has worked with the city and Pierce County to improve the
airport, but said the city never gave the airport the attention it was
due.

Such Puget Sound businesses as the Frank Russell Co. and Microsoft, as
well as performing groups coming to the Tacoma Dome, land charter jets
at the airport because it's less congested than Sea-Tac, he said.

"This airport is a gem that the city owns and doesn't know its worth,"
Pickett said. "The city has got to say, 'This is a Tacoma showplace.'"

Though the city owns the land, the airport is in unincorporated Pierce
County. That caused conflict and confusion for businesses and stalled
development, Pickett said.

The city and county recently hammered out a deal in which the city is
not allowed to expand the runway but can put in a stretch of dirt north
of the runway where planes can land if they overshoot on takeoff, city
and county officials said.

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg said county-issued building
permits should be approved faster now that they have an agreement.

The county also is one two entities that Mitchell said the city could
sell the airport to, since federal regulations prohibit Pierce County
from selling to a private buyer. But Ladenburg said the county, which
already owns a general aviation airport in South Hill, isn't interested.

The Port of Tacoma is the other possible buyer, and port officials are
meeting with the city on Monday to discuss the airport. The port is
studying whether to get into the aviation business, but deputy executive
director Tim Farrell said it's too early to say whether the port would
buy the airport.

Pickett said he thought the port would do a better job, but he's also
waiting to see if the city's new attitude will result in improvements.

One change on the way will be a bakery and deli in the former Rotors
restaurant, said the city's airport manager Deena Turmo. The new tenant,
A Taste of Eden, would be an extension of the Gig Harbor wholesale
bakery.

Pickett also talked with Turmo about getting a rental car agency,
convenience store and charter service desk offering sightseeing flights.

For starters, Pickett asked, could the city fix that awful entrance
sign?

"If you can't even get past the sign, how can you get to like the
airport?"

Attached Graphic:

Tacoma Narrows Airport

tacoma_narrows.jpg