By Jeff Switzer, Jennifer
Warnick and Lukas Velush
For the Enterprise
Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon plans to appoint the mayors of Mukilteo and Everett to head a panel that will review the 1978 document that determines aviation uses at Paine Field.
“Citizens on both sides of this issue say a review is long overdue,” said Reardon, who said he will appoint Mukilteo Mayor Don Doran and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson as co-chairmen of the review panel.
Reardon proposed forming the panel at a packed meeting last week of Save Our Communities, a Mukilteo-based organization that opposes commercial air traffic at Paine Field. Who else will serve on the panel remains to be seen.
Reardon said he chose the two mayors for the first re-evaluation of Paine Field uses since 1978 because they’re good listeners.
Doran opposes the expansion, while Stephanson’s vision team supports the expansion.
“They can rise above the emotional debate that often bogs this type of work down,” Reardon said.
Doran said he appreciates such a prominent role on the committee. He said he plans to bring a voice of caution to the proceedings, saying that Mukilteo could lose millions of dollars if it has jetliners flying over the surrounding residential neighborhoods at all hours of the day and night.
“In Mukilteo, we don’t embrace the idea of changing the role of Paine Field at all,” he said.
Based on an estimate that property values around the airport would drop by 10 percent if the airport had regularly scheduled jet service, government agencies that collect property taxes in Mukilteo would lose $250 million a year, Doran said.
That “would drill a hole through the city’s budget,” he added.
Earlier in the year, Everett’s Vision 2025, a 32-member committee appointed by Stephanson to map out the city’s future, recommended adding commercial air passenger service at Paine Field. However, Stephanson said he’s keeping “a very open mind” on the issue.
“I’m really coming into it very objectively, because I’ve been asked to serve,” Stephanson said. “I think it’s timely to have a thorough review of the mediated agreement and resolve the issues.”
Jeff Switzer, Jennifer Warnick and Lukas Velush are writers for The Herald in Everett.
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