Port Authority official praises plan

By Ed Runyan

‘We want the economic development person to be as far removed from the airport as possible,’ one airport official said.

VIENNA — The chairman of the Western Reserve Port Authority hailed the plan to create a separate economic development arm of the port authority as “one of the first times we’ve seen both counties and a city in both counties come together and work cooperatively.”

Chairman John Masternick said the port authority welcomes the proposal, even the part that keeps the economic development work separate from the operations of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

He said relieving the airport’s director, Steve Bowser, of having economic development responsibilities is better for everyone.

“He never should have been looking at economic development,” Masternick said. “His job is to run the airport.”

Bowser noted he has been proposing the hiring of an economic development expert for four years.

In the past, the port authority, which runs the airport, and its staff have tried to use the port authority’s economic development powers, but it has had too few financial and human resources to do the job properly, Masternick said.

In most cases, the port authority relied on the Regional Chamber and the Summit County Port Authority to carry out bond sales to help local companies expand.

Congressman Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, has persuaded local officials to hire an economic development professional to market the area to new and current businesses.

Masternick said economic development will be overseen by a port authority subcommittee, and that committee would be made up of representatives from all of the funding partners in the project — Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and the cities of Youngstown, Warren and Niles.

The port authority board would have no oversight of the new subcommittee, Masternick said.

So far, both counties have committed to giving $100,000 per year for three years to the project, and Niles has committed to providing $50,000 for one year with a re-evaluation thereafter.

Warren and Youngstown officials are expected to provide $50,000 each for three years, and the Western Reserve Building Trades Council is committing $25,000 for at least one year.

The economic development office would have an office within the Trumbull and Mahoning counties commissioners’ offices and not at the airport, Masternick said.

In fact, economic development would have little to do with the airport except to market the available land there, Masternick said.

“We want the economic development person to be as far removed from the airport as possible,” Masternick said.

The reason is officials want taxpayers to be confident that the money for economic development will not be used to operate the airport, a facility Masternick acknowledges some people have called a “black hole.”

The airport receives subsidies from each county each year for operational costs.

In other business, Bowser said Allegiant Air, the airport’s only regularly scheduled airline, has suspended service again this fall until Nov. 17 but is still taking reservations for November and a couple of months after that.

Bowser said flights originating from Vienna are doing well — with a 3 percent higher occupancy rate than the average Allegiant flight.

Bowser is meeting with an Allegiant vice president next week and will once again ask for flights to Las Vegas and other locations, he said.

He added he also is working with a consultant from Oregon to attract additional airlines.

runyan@vindy.com