MAHONING COUNTY Airport operator: I need to pay bills

The commissioners' deadline will have to be moved up a month.
By BOB JACKSONand DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- The operator of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport said bills are piling up and he can't wait until June 30 to find out if he's got money to pay them.
So Mahoning County commissioners promised to move up their self-imposed deadline for letting airport officials know where the county stands when it comes to funding the Vienna Township facility.
Commissioners have been hung up on whether the county can afford to provide operating capital this year for the Western Reserve Port Authority, which operates the airport.
Commissioners in Mahoning and Trumbull counties appoint members to the board and yearly contribute money for airport operations.
Two weeks ago, Commissioner Ed Reese's vote in favor of matching Trumbull County's $185,000 contribution was canceled out by Commissioner David Ludt's vote against it. Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock was not there to break the tie.
Amount reduced
The issue was back on the agenda Thursday, but Reese had reduced the amount to $62,000, which is one-third of the total he originally sought. The matter never made it to a vote, though, because no one made a motion to put it in the floor.
Earlier this week, county Auditor George Tablack suggested that commissioners hold off voting until June 30. In the meantime, he will work with them to identify revenue sources and find ways to cut airport operating costs. He also said commissioners must come up with a long-term plan for funding the facility.
"He raised some legitimate concerns," Sherlock said, noting that she wants them to be addressed before she votes.
Steve Bowser, airport director, said he'll be grateful to have a long-term funding plan in place.
"This is certainly not something that everybody wants to go through every quarter of every year in perpetuity," he said. "If we are able to come up with a long-term plan, I think it's the best thing we can do."
Pressing needs
But Bowser said the airport has immediate financial needs that won't wait until June 30, and he implored commissioners to move up their timetable. Sherlock said she's willing to speed up the process.
"I would not feel comfortable going past May 31," Bowser said.
Commissioners and community members have expressed concern that if the airport doesn't receive local financial support, the federal government will shut down the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, which operates there.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, is co-sponsoring legislation in the U.S. House to stop the next round of base closings scheduled for 2005. As many as 25 percent of the nation's military bases could be shut down two years from now under the Base Closure and Realignment Act.
The bill, co-sponsored by Ryan, would amend the 1990 federal act, which requires the base closings. If the bill is approved, it would save the Youngstown air base and others nationwide.
"Our national security needs are very different today than they were 13 years ago," Ryan said. "Moreover, with reservists playing an increasingly larger role in protecting U.S. national security, it simply does not make sense to close military bases or training facilities, particularly those, like the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, that are close to population centers where reservists live."
The bill has been referred to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, of which Ryan is a member.
bjackson@vindy.comskolnick@vindy.com