Future of Flight center a drag on airport?

Published 10:26 pm Saturday, May 23, 2009

EVERETT — A move to claim millions of Snohomish County’s unspent lodging-tax money for the Future of Flight center at Paine Field has left some turbulence in the local tourism industry.

And it’s raised questions about whether the aerospace attraction is draining resources from the airport.

The $14 million-dollar request would have cut other potential recipients out of the funding process, say some people involved in the matter. Now, that request is on hold as the county works out a long-term tourism spending plan.

“The Future of Flight is a wonderful asset,” said Amy Spain, executive director of the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau. “It’s not about whether the Future of Flight deserves any funding; it’s about process.”

The Future of Flight gets its operating budget from ticket sales, special events and corporate donors, particularly the Boeing Co. It drew 170,528 people last year, not counting people attending meetings there.

Since most visitors come from outside Snohomish County, the facility is thought to be a huge benefit for the local tourism industry. Hotel rooms can even be booked through the Future of Flight Web site.

Though the nonprofit Future of Flight Foundation operates the facility, the county owns the building. That means the county-owned airport at Paine Field is on the hook for millions of dollars in bond payments over the next 18 years to pay for it. To cover those payments, the airport in February asked to dip into nearly $2.3 million in extra lodging-tax money that has accumulated over several years.

The airport wanted $1.4 million this year plus $700,000 yearly until 2027. The money would have gone toward $1.9 million in annual debt payments.

“Future of Flight is just a great tourism draw for the county and is a great use of those dollars,” county finance director Roger Neumaier said.

A request to the County Council reads, in part: “Without this funding, it will be difficult for the (airport’s budget) to continue the current level of financial assistance to the Future of Flight.”

Neumaier said that doesn’t foreshadow any looming crisis; it merely “allows the airport to focus on its primary budget.”

The dollar amount caught many off guard, including County Councilman Brian Sullivan. He feared “a revolution on my hands” had the council granted the airport’s request.

“We have to even-handedly assess all proposals,” said Sullivan, the chairman of the county’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. “The hoteliers would be sideways because they’ve always been included … the tourism board has always been included.”

There were procedural problems with the request, too. In any event, the airport won’t get any of the lodging money until the county conceives a long-term plan for promoting local tourism.

Earlier this month, the County Council approved spending $64,500 to hire an employee who would develop a multi-year plan with the county’s economic development department and the tourism bureau. Officials hope to complete the plan by the end of the year.

Sandy Ward, marketing director at the Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour, welcomed the plan.

“I think that the best attractions will rise to the top,” Ward said.

The money the airport wants is left over from a countywide 2 percent tax on hotel and motel rooms. The fund, which totaled slightly more than $1.9 million last year, pays for large tourism-related projects. The fund is divided equally among attractions in Lynnwood and Everett and the tourism bureau. The airport wants the difference between what the three recipients get and what they use.

The County Council last distributed the excess — nearly $2.5 million — in 2004. The bulk went to the Lynnwood Convention Center, with smaller amounts going to the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett, Edmonds Center for the Arts and Everett Community College.

The Future of Flight currently doesn’t get any of the fund, despite its contribution to local tourism. Neither does the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, which attracted more than 761,000 people for last year’s fair.

They are set to get some help. In a separate action this spring, the council passed a 5 percent ticket surcharge at the Future of Flight and the fairgrounds. It was expected to take effect July 1, helping raise an estimated $400,000 yearly for aviation exhibits and for new buildings at the fairgrounds.

When the Future of Flight opened more than three years ago, the goal was to attract 230,000 visitors per year. That hasn’t happened. As a result, there’s less money flowing back to help the county pay off the buildings.

It remains to be seen whether the attendance figures are another casualty of the sputtering economy, or if they’ll always fall short of the mark. If they don’t meet expectations, some fear that bond payments for the Future of Flight’s building could be a drag on the airport.

“We’ve seen some indication that the airport may have some issues in the short term,” Sullivan said.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465 or nhaglund@heraldnet.com.