REGIONAL AIRPORT House stops loss of funding

Without the provision, the local airport would receive $150,000.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
VIENNA -- The U.S. House has approved legislation to avert an $850,000 loss in federal funding for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
The Vienna Township airport gets about $1 million annually in federal funds for capital improvements, but that money is contingent on having commercial passenger service.
The airport lost its last commercial airline, Northwest, in the fall of 2002.
Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, had an amendment inserted Wednesday into the reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration to help the local airport and 12 others nationwide keep their federal funding after losing commercial flights because of terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001. The bill passed the House 418-8.
The bill still faces Senate action.
The local airport met two of the three original criteria in the bill to keep the $1 million: having more than 10,000 passengers in either 2000 or 2001, and losing commercial airline business because of the terrorist attacks.
The third provision, dropping below 10,000 passengers in 2002, was not met. The local airport had 12,700 passengers last year.
Lobbied for change
Ryan successfully lobbied the House -- with the assistance of U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Madison, R-14th, and others -- to change the language of that last provision to read dropping below 10,000 passengers in 2002 or 2003, said Mary Ann Walsh, Ryan's chief of staff.
The local airport will have between 7,000 and 8,000 passengers, all on charter flights, this year, she said.
If that provision hadn't been eliminated, the local airport would have received $150,000.
"Without that $1 million, it would be very difficult for any major projects to be done," said Steve Bowser, the local airport's interim director.
The airport plans to use the money to improve the taxiing and hangar areas, Bowser said.
The $1 million federal grant is the primary funding source for capital improvements. The local airport is still experiencing problems with its operational costs and is facing a $400,000 deficit. The airport can't use this federal grant for operational costs, Bowser said.
After much debate, Mahoning County commissioners recently agreed to give the airport $100,000 for operating costs and is seeking $50,000 from the Youngstown/Mahoning County Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau for airport operations.
Trumbull County earlier gave $182,000 to the airport for operational costs.