Commentary

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 300 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Saturday, June 7, 2008 GUEST COMMENTARY Paine Field is a key economic engine; county mustn't put its funding at risk By Rick Cooper, Mike Deller, John Monroe and John Quinlivan For several decades Snohomish County Airport at Paine Field has become a dartboard whenever commercial aviation comes up. What gets lost in those polarizing discussions is the economic value the airport generates. It is one of the true gems of the region and we need to keep in mind all the good that does for Snohomish County. Over the years, the federal government has provided more than $57 million in grants for airport upgrades. These have included safety enhancements, pavement rehabilitation, noise abatement and wetland protection. These improvements have helped fuel economic growth in our county by making Paine Field the center of our aerospace industry and supporting businesses that pay their employees above-average salaries. Our Paine Field aerospace cluster is why we are not suffering the economic downturn the rest of the nation is experiencing. -- Paine Field is the home to the Boeing 747, 767, 777. In December 2003 Boeing made the decision to design and build the 787 here. Continued access to high quality airfield facilities was at the heart of the decision to build the 787 in Everett. Boeing employs more than 33,000 people at its Everett facility -- these jobs absolutely depend on a first-class airport. We would not have won the 787 with anything less. -- Goodrich Aerostructures located a new 120,000 square-foot facility at Paine Field to assemble 787 nacelles and perform 787 engine build-up. The new building opened in spring 2007 and promises 120 new jobs at full production. -- Paine Field is also the home of Aviation Technical Services Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (ATSMRO), formally Goodrich ATS. -- The Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MR&O) business segment is important in our community because it helps cushion the valleys in commercial airframe production. ATSMRO employs 1,400 people. -- The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour opened in December 2005. This 73,000 square-foot, $23 million facility hosted more than 185,000 visitors last year. -- In April 2008 Korry Electronics announced that it was building a 211,000 square-foot facility on airport property for the assembly, testing, maintenance and repair of aerospace electronics. The facility will open in 2009 and will employ 600 people, growing to more than 800. -- On Friday, Paul Allen's rare collection of vintage military aircraft, known as the Flying Heritage Collection, opened in a renovated hanger at the south end of the airport. -- Bids will be opened shortly for construction of a new Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility. This $6 million project replaces a 60-year-old building. FAA grants will fund more than $4 million of the cost of design and construction. -- These projects alone represent more than $150 million in capital expenditures; jobs created through the construction phase, and a resultant increase in local tax dollars. -- Castle & Cooke Aviation Services Inc. plans development of a new corporate Fixed Base Operation Center including new hangers and office space on the west side of the airport. -- Another 60-plus businesses currently operate on Paine Field property, all of which provide an excellent source of living-wage jobs and help stabilize employment through job diversity. The Federal Aviation Administration requires Snohomish County to comply with certain grant assurances and deed covenants dealing with economic nondiscrimination. "It will make the airport available as an airport for public use on reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination to all types, kinds and classes of aeronautical activities, including commercial aeronautical activities offering services to the public at the airport." Actions by the county to restrict airport use are against federal law and could curtail the award of future grants. This is a serious issue. We also need to keep in mind commitments in the June 17, 1966 "Joint Use Agreement" between the Boeing Co. and Snohomish County, which states that the county will "use its best efforts to qualify for, seek, and obtain outside financial assistance in the construction, improvement, operation, maintenance, and repair of the Airport and Airport Facilities…" Any actions by the county to restrict the use of the airport could put the county in default with the Boeing agreement because it would put FAA grants in jeopardy. The airport needs more than $50 million in grant funding in the next 10 years to provide the high quality airfield facilities needed by Boeing and ATS. Bottom line: We need to protect our airport so that it can continue to support the aerospace cluster that provides jobs and our quality of life. Rick Cooper is a board member of the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County; Mike Deller is president and CEO of The Bank of Everett; John Monroe is a retired Boeing Co. executive and community volunteer; John Quinlivan is a retired Boeing vice president who oversaw the company's Everett plant.

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