Paine Field accord stands
Published 11:02 pm Monday, June 18, 2007
EVERETT – A decades-old agreement criticized by some as vaguely written and lacking teeth will stand, for now, as Snohomish County’s guiding force for operations at Paine Field.
Two members of the County Council said Monday they see no need for action on a review of the 1970s pact between the county and airport communities. The original agreement discouraged allowing passenger flights at the county-run airport.
“This is much ado about not much,” Councilman John Koster said, noting that in recent years no airlines have expressed an interest in providing service at Paine Field.
The 12 panel members who reviewed the agreement – elected officials and business leaders appointed by County Executive Aaron Reardon – were divided on its value.
Most of the officials, especially those from Mukilteo and south Snohomish County, wanted to keep the pact as a policy guide to discourage commercial service at the airport. Business leaders and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson wanted the agreement scrapped.
The 188-page report, released last month, reflected the split on the panel. Both views were offered as parallel recommendations to county elected officials.
The panel’s work also included a rewrite of portions of the document.
Passenger flights are not currently proposed for the airport. County business leaders are pushing for passenger service, citing potential economic benefits.
South county officials and residents have come out against commercial flights, contending jet noise could damage neighborhoods and property values.
The County Council’s operations committee met Monday. The report was on the agenda but wasn’t discussed. Koster and Councilman Dave Gossett were the only two of the five councilmen present. Neither is up for re-election this fall.
“I haven’t seen any reason to think anybody on the council wants to change it,” Gossett said of the agreement. “I think we’ll just keep it like it is.”
The County Council affirmed the 1970s agreement four times from 1989 to 2001 as the county’s airport policy.
The councilmen noted, however, the report’s conclusion that federal law renders the county powerless to stop commercial use of the airport. If an airline were to approach the county, they would listen.
Koster said if an airline were to propose service at Paine Field, he’d want restrictions on flights and would want to know how much the airline was willing to pay for improvements, such as a new terminal or roads. Gossett agreed.
The review panel also found that the county is under no obligation to recruit airlines or to pay for improvements.
“But I don’t see that anybody’s knocking the door down,” Koster said of the airline industry.
Tom Hoban, chief executive officer of Coast Real Estate Services of Everett and a member of the review panel, was among those who called for dumping the 1970s pact.
“I trust the judgment of the County Council to review the panel’s work and vote on it and take action when it’s the right time,” he said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
