REGIONAL AIRPORT Officials mull financial shift

Airport officials want to use the money for general operations instead of capital improvements.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners want to talk dollars and cents before deciding whether to allow its share of funding for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to be reallocated.
Commissioners contribute money each year for operation of the airport, sharing the cost equally with Trumbull County. In April, Mahoning commissioners approved an allocation of $454,263.
Port authority: Thomas P. Nolan, airport director of aviation, sent a letter to commissioners Oct. 3 saying that the Western Reserve Port Authority has eliminated all plans for capital improvements for the rest of the year.
The port authority oversees operation of the airport, which is in Trumbull County.
The port authority still has $131,195 of the Mahoning County allocation that is set aside for capital improvements. Since none will be done this year, he asked that commissioners instead authorize the port authority to use the money for operation and maintenance of the airport.
Financial downturn: The recent downturn in air travel in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, coupled with a previously existing budget crunch and increased utility costs, created the need to shift the funding, Nolan's letter said.
Before commissioners give the OK, they want Nolan and port authority Chairman Dino Theofilos to fill them in on the airport's financial status in a meeting.
"I just want to see where they're at financially," said Commissioner Ed Reese. "You don't just request moving that much money without coming down and talking to us about it."
Reese said he wants to know the airport's current financial situation as well as how the future looks. He's curious whether the panel has found ways to replace the revenue that was lost when U.S. Airways ceased operation at the airport earlier this month.
"I just want more than a letter," Reese said. "We need to sit down and talk about this."
A meeting date has not been set.
bjackson@vindy.com