Will The Cincinnati GA Airport Be Repaired Or Redeveloped?
There seems to be no
question that the runway at Cincinnati's Blue Ash Airport needs
some major repair. Peter Bronson writes in the Cincinnati
Enquirer that, while driving over the bumps, dips and potholes
doesn't seem too rough, it's a different story trying to land a
small plane.
"Coming in at 120 mph, it's a liability issue," said Bill
Christian, owner of Schmidt Aviation flying school tells the
Enquirer. "The prop spin kicks up dirt and chunks of
asphalt that can nick your propeller," Christian said.
Cincinnati Airports Manager Dan Dickten, tells the Enquirer that
the runway will be repaired this year, but not resurfaced. "State
tests showed the runway still has plenty of life left," he says.
Maintenance, he says, is not being neglected.
The runway is pushing 30 years old, almost 10 years past its
lifespan.
Already, the Enquirer reports, airplane owners are leaving Blue
Ash in droves. They cite poor maintenance and a lack of certainty
about the strip's future. And the irony is, the city of Cincinnati,
which owns the airport, is sitting on $450,000 in maintenance
funds.
Hoo boy, here come the questions.
The $450,000 in FAA money can be spent on the condition that the
city keep Blue Ash open for another 20 years. But Cincinnati won't
touch the funding and plans to allow $150,000 in annual FAA grants
to revert back to the federal government.
Part of the problem could be Cincinnati's own desperate cash
crunch. The airport sits on 230 acres of prime real estate within
the suburb of Blue Ash. The smaller town worked out a deal to
purchase the land from the Cincinnati Airports Authority for $20
million. Cincinnati countered with a price of $36 million. "That
might as well be $300 million," Blue Ash City Manager Marvin
Thompson said. "Everyone thinks Blue Ash has unlimited money. But
things are tight for us right now, too."
For its part, Cincinnati's Dickten says the city has no plans to
sell Blue Ash Airport, in spite of what he acknowledges is a
burning desire to convert the property into cash. "There is no
intention I am aware of to close the airport or not maintain it,"
Dickten says.
Blue Ash City Manager Marvin Thompson isn't so sure. "A lot of
people are wondering, and we're among them," he says.
In the meantime, users say the runway continues to crumble.
"It's just common sense that you shouldn't allow the runway to get
that way." Christian wants to expand his business. "But we can't do
anything because we don't know what city will own it. We've been
held hostage here for the past 25 years. We're like West Berlin in
East Germany." Catch-22?