VIENNA Airport loses federal grant

Mahoning County commissioners are questioning how county payments to the airport should be spent.
By BOB JACKSON
and STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
VIENNA -- The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has been denied a $1 million federal grant local officials had touted as their best hope to revive the airport's passenger service.
"This is terrible," said Joseph J. Angelo Jr., a Trumbull County Commissioner. "I thought this grant was tailor-made for airports such as Youngstown-Warren."
A total of $20 million was awarded this week to 40 airports under the new Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program, designed to help smaller communities improve their air service.
The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is expected to lose all passenger service Sept. 8, the last day Northwest Airlines plans to fly from the facility.
The grant provided money for airports to not only market their facilities but also make direct payments to airlines for adding flights.
Being able to make these payments to airlines would help the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport compete with other airports, officials say.
Reactions
"Everyone is kind of in shock today," said Reid Dulberger, president of the board of the Western Reserve Port Authority, which runs the airport. "We thought we had a good application, but clearly we didn't have a winning one."
The only Ohio airport to get a grant through the Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program was Akron/Canton, which was awarded $950,000. The U.S. Department of Transportation received 179 applications.
Mahoning County Commissioner Ed Reese was disappointed at the rejection. And while Reese and his colleagues, David Ludt and Vicki Allen Sherlock, still support the airport, they no longer favor seeing all the county money pumped into its operation.
& quot;We are not in favor of shutting down the airport, but the day-to-day operation of that facility has to be looked at, & quot; Reese added.
Mahoning and Trumbull counties each contribute $300,000 a year to the port authority, which is used to pay for operating expenses.
Discussing spending
Reese said he'd rather see that money spent on land acquisition and economic development projects in Mahoning County, with less emphasis on projects around the airport.
& quot;We feel we've done our share as far as making the airport a viable facility, & quot; Reese said. & quot;We want to see our money spent locally now. & quot;
Mahoning commissioners said they want to schedule a meeting within a month with the port authority board to discuss the funding situation.
Sherlock said she has scheduled a meeting next week with officials from the neighboring Youngstown Air Reserve Station to find out what impact the potential loss of Mahoning County funding would have on its operation.
She and Reese also said Mahoning and Trumbull commissioners need to hear from local business representatives about whether it's important to keep funding the airport.
& quot;Does the business community even want it? & quot; Reese said. & quot;These are the things we need to know before we set up this meeting."